05 December 2024
Teagasc research economist, Anne Kinsella scoops AgriGuild 2024 Award
The great and good of the Irish agri media gathered for the AgriGuild Awards 2024 in Dublin on Thursday, November 28, 2024. Representing Teagasc in the coveted ‘Best Technical Article’ category was Anne Kinsella, a Senior Research Economist at Teagasc’s Rural Economy and Development Programme.
Anne Kinsella’s entry: The successful ‘back to basics’ approach of farming in the Burren, which was published through the RTÉ Brainstorm platform and available to read through the link below, provided an analysis of the BurrenLIFE project – a pioneering initiative which developed an evidence-based approach to managing species-rich grasslands, other limestone habitats and water quality as part of livestock systems.
Ultimately, Anne Kinsella’s entry proved successful and she took home the ‘Best Technical Article’ award from the FBD Insurance sponsored biennial ceremony, after the independent judging panel of: Tom McGuire, former RTÉ Editor and chair of the judging panel; Maeve Dineen, communications consultant and former journalist; Joe Healy, former IFA President and chair of the Agri-Food Regulator; Michele Filippi, PR consultant; and Anne-Marie Butler, Head of Education, Teagasc, had assessed the entries.
Pictured at the AgriGuild Awards 2024 are: Chair of Guild of Agricultural Journalists, Southern Section, Stella Meehan, Agriland; Chair of judging panel, Tom McGuire, Former RTE editor; Anne Kinsella, Teagasc economist and winner of the Best Technical Article category; and Chair of FBD Trust, Michael Berkery.
What’s even more fitting is since studying in UCD, the Burren, its landscape and sustainable farming, has been to the fore of research undertaken by Anne Kinsella and is an interdisciplinary research area very close to her heart. Her thesis investigated regional specific environmental policies in which she undertook a case study in the Burren and, on joining Teagasc, she was a member of steering committee for the award-winning BurrenLIFE project.
Along with sharing the key work of the BurrenLIFE project to an Irish audience, the impact of Anne Kinsella’s article stretched further afield and it was the catalyst for a visit of the Director-General of the United Nations FAO, Mr Qu Dongyu to the West of Ireland to observe sustainable farming in the Burren of June this year.
Speaking after receiving the award, Anne Kinsella said: “I have been fortunate to have been afforded the opportunity in Teagasc to continue my research associations with the Burren.
“The Burren is a place that resonates many wonderful memories for me, a landscape of contradictions yet parallels, a uniqueness unrivalled. The Burren, its farming, landscape and its custodians all shone through in the article, I just merely put the words on the page.
“It was a real honour to be even shortlisted amidst such prestigious journalists, of such high calibre. It was already a most surreal week for me to learn of my inclusion in the nominations, but attending the prestigious AgriGuild Awards ceremony itself, and being selected, was at a different level.”
Pictured at the AgriGuild Awards 2024 are Teagasc staff: Eric Donald, Head of Public Relations; Anne-Marie Butler, Head of Education; Anne Kinsella, Teagasc economist; Professor Frank O’Mara, Director of Teagasc; Catriona Boyle, TResearch Editor; and Mark Moore, KT Publications Manager and Editor of Today’s Farm.
The AgriGuild Awards
The Guild of Agricultural Journalists, which was established in 1961, supports journalists, editors, public relations and marketing professionals in the agri-media sector across the island of Ireland to network, inspire, inform and learn. The AgriGuild Awards in a biennial event which acknowledges and recognises their achievements and efforts.
A total of nine category awards were presented as part of the AgriGuild Awards 2024, along with the overall prize, the bronze sculpture known as ‘The Bull’ presented to a category winner of exceptional merit. All category winners were presented with a framed certificate and a cash prize, while the overall winner received ‘The Bull’ along with a cash prize, with the latter being awarded to Caitriona Morrissey of the Irish Farmers Journal.
Commenting at the awards ceremony, Chair of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists Southern Section, Stella Meehan said: “The quality of agricultural journalism and communications across the island of Ireland was very much on display on the list of finalists for this year’s awards.
“I want to congratulate all of the winners on their exceptional achievement and in particular to the recipient of The Bull, Caitriona Morrissey who impressed the judges with her in-depth research and accessible writing style. We are very grateful to FBD Insurance for their support of this event and we also look forward to seeing the ‘Rising Stars’ of agri-media continue to make their mark into the future.”