Following consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, today announced the appointment of one new Director, Ms. Dairine Walsh and the re-appointment of Ms. Jessica Harrington, Mr. Mark Weld and Dr. Sean Brady to the board of the Irish National Stud.

The Minister congratulated the new directors and said that he was "confident that their backgrounds, experiences and individual skill sets will bring a wealth of professional experience to the stud”. The Minister also thanked the outgoing director Ms Kate Horgan for "her valuable contribution to the work of the National Stud”.

Minister Creed said the appointments were made following a competitive selection process run by the Public Appointments Service (PAS).

The appointments are as follows;

Dairine Walsh is a new appointment to the Board. Dairine is a Solicitor and experienced Company Director and has extensive experience in strategic planning and marketing.

Mark Weld is a re-appointment to the Board.  Mark brings extensive knowledge of the horse industry to the Board.

Dr Sean Brady is a re-appointment to the Board.  Dr Brady is a successful businessman, currently the Chairman of Dairy Processing Technical Centre-UL, Chairman of the Kilkenny Co. Co. Audit Committee and Council Member of Irish Management Institute.

Jessica Harrington is a re-appointment to the Board. Jessica is a highly regarded and successful national hunt and flat race horse trainer.  Jessica trains at Moone, Co Kildare, and will be forever associated with the great Moscow Flyer, winner of two Queen Mother Champion Chases and numerous other top-class hurdle and chase races. She is also a patron of the Irish Horse Welfare Trust.

View this Press Release as a PDF: DAFMPR 96/2016 (pdf 365Kb) 

Date Released: 02 September 2016