The Teagasc Authority

Our 11 member Authority is appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine and has representatives from the farming organisations, the food industry, the universities, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Teagasc staff.

Teagasc Authority Vacancies

In September 2014, the Government decided that The Public Appointments Service (PAS), established under statute in 2004, be given responsibility for putting in place an open, accessible, rigorous and transparent system to support Ministers in making appointments to State Boards, including Teagasc. A dedicated website, stateboards.ie is the channel through which the PAS advertises vacancies on State Boards. It is also the means through which accomplished, experienced and qualified people, including people who might not previously have been identified as available for appointment, can then apply to be considered for particular vacancies.

The Authority meets on the first Wednesday of every month except in August. The Authority also has five committees as follows: Advisory and Education Committee, Audit & Risk Committee, Nominations Committee, Operations Committee and Research Committee.

Code of Business Conduct for members of the Teagasc Authority.

Teagasc Authority Members


Mr Liam Herlihy (Chairman) Mr Herlihy is a dairy farmer from County Waterford. He was originally appointed Chairperson of the Teagasc Authority in September 2018 and he has been reappointed (July 2023) for a further period of five years by Minister McConalogue. He brings to the Authority considerable commercial experience and deep insights into the farming, food and general agricultural sector in Ireland. He is also Chairperson of FBD Holdings since May 2017 having joined the Board in 2015. Previously he was Group Chairperson of Glanbia Plc for over seven years, a leading Irish-based performance nutrition and ingredients group, during which he presided over a period of significant structural change and unprecedented growth for Glanbia plc. He is also a former Director of the Irish Dairy Board (now Ornua) and ICOS. Mr Herlihy completed the Institute of Directors’ Development Programme and holds a certificate of merit in Corporate Governance from University College Dublin	Mr Donald Scully Donald is a third generation dairy farmer, a member of ICMSA’s National Council and former member of ICMSA’s Executive Committee. His experience within a farm representative body and, as a dairy farmer himself, allows Donald to contribute his deep agricultural sectoral knowledge based on first-hand experience to the Teagasc Authority. He has been County Chairperson for Laois ICMSA for the last fifteen years. Donald was educated at Portlaoise CBS and Rockwell College. He also successfully undertook the Teagasc Advanced Certificate in Dairy Herd Management	Vacant

Vacant	Ms Elizabeth Reynolds Elizabeth is a consultant, board member and experienced business leader. She worked with GlaxoSmithKline for 24 years and brings to the Teagasc Authority a wealth of international business experience. She has a thorough understanding of what is required to lead and drive a successful business in competitive, diverse markets, and, in turnaround situations. Elizabeth is also currently a member of the Board of the IDA and has held several Board/Director roles within a number of companies, associations and industry bodies across the globe focusing on risk management and governance. Elizabeth has worked in Ireland, UK, China, Australia, Singapore and the Asia Pacific region in major international corporations across General/Commercial Management, Marketing and related roles in consumer goods, medical devices and healthcare. She holds a Master's degree and Bachelor's degree in Marketing and Commerce	Vacant

Ms Martina Donnelly Martina is a Business and Technology Advisor at Teagasc, Advisory and Training Centre, Mellows Campus, Athenry, Co. Galway. Martina is the Teagasc Staff Representative and Joint Chair of the National Partnership Committee in Teagasc. With over 20 years’ experience working in the advisory and education services in the west and northwest of Ireland, Martina has considerable experience working within the drystock farming sector. Martina qualified in 2001 with a BAgSc degree and has a Masters of Science in World Heritage Management. She also successfully undertook Teagasc’s Leadership Development Programme (Level 9 Diploma).	Professor Thia Hennessy Thia is Head of the College of Business and Law at University College Cork and also Professor of Agri-Food Economics. As a senior academic and an agricultural economist, Thia is in a position to make a considerable contribution to the Teagasc Authority in the area of strategy and supporting agriculture and food development. Thia is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Irish Management Institute and the Council of the Economic and Social Research Institute; she is a qualified Charter Director (Institute of Directors). Prior to joining UCC in 2016, Thia was previously employed by Teagasc where she managed the agricultural and environmental economic research programme. She was also responsible for the Teagasc National Farm Survey which produces the official national statistics on farming in Ireland and is a member of the European Commission’s Farm Accountancy Data Network. Her research interests include the sustainable development of the agri-food sector with a particular interest in the impact of public policy on the farm sector. Thia is a member of a number of international research consortia examining issues such as the economic performance of farms, the sustainability of food production and the impact of climate change on agriculture.	Mr Brian Rushe Brian is a dairy farmer and Deputy President of the Irish Farmers’ Association, which represents farmers across all sectors of Irish agriculture. As both a farmer and a farmers representative, Brian brings a valuable insight to the Teagasc Authority in terms of a deep understanding of the issues farmers are facing every day to develop their farms and generate a family income while farming sustainably. Brian is a Nuffield Scholar and is the author of a report ‘Speaking Up For Agriculture – Protecting Farming’s Social Licence’.

Mr Liam Woulfe Liam is Managing Director of Grassland Agro and Chairman and owner of Freshgrass Group. Liam is also a Director in 15 other companies including the Irish Farmers Journal Group. Liam became the Cecil King-Ireland Young Manager in the 1990's. Liam has been a past finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year and he has many other distinguished awards for his achievements through innovative and commercial endeavour. Liam brings a vast wealth of financial and commercial acumen to the Teagasc Authority and has considerable insights, knowledge and understanding of the agriculture and food sectors. Liam studied Dairy Science in UCC followed later with an MSc of Executive Leadership from the University of Ulster. After graduating from UCC in 1981, he worked in the dairy development and operations areas of the now Aurivo Co-op. After this, he spent 15 years working across all aspects of Golden Vale Plc and two years with Kerry Group Plc, after Kerry acquired Golden Vale Plc. He founded Freshgrass in 2002 and acquired/developed a number of businesses. Today, Freshgrass Group's businesses have an annual turnover of circa €250m and employ over 230 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) employees. Liam has been a member of Institute of Directors since 2006. He was in Cohort 1 of the IoDs Chartered Director Programme in Ireland and was one of the first in Ireland to qualify as a Chartered Director (CDir.).	Louise Byrne Louise is the Deputy Chief Inspector in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Food and Feed Safety, Crop Policy and Plant Health and is the current Chief Plant Health Officer for Ireland. Louise is the Department representative on the Teagasc Authority and brings a huge knowledge of agricultural and food policy issues to the Authority given her 25 years’ experience of working in DAFM. Louise is also the Ministerial representative on the Bord Bia Dairy Subsidiary Board. Louise has worked primarily in areas relating to animal breeding and official controls along the agri food and feed chain with extensive audit experience. Louise is a member of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Audit Committee and the Teagasc Audit and Risk Committee. She was previously Head of the Brexit and International Trade Division in the Department of Agriculture with responsibility for Brexit and International Trade matters, including co-ordinating all aspects of the Department’s response to the UK’s decision to leave the EU. Louise holds a Degree in Agricultural Science, specialising in Animal Science from University College Dublin. She went on to qualify with a Masters in Agricultural Science from UCD on ‘Protein and energy availability from grass and grass/clover swards during the growing season’ which was researched at Teagasc, Grange. Louise also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Law.