Two of the three finalists for this year’s Geographical Society of Ireland (GSI) Doctoral Awards have been involved in research with Teagasc.
Dr. Jack McCarthy, a former Teagasc Walsh Scholar, and Dr. Shane Conway collaborated extensively with Teagasc in the development of their research.
They will present their research to the GSI today (Wednesday, December 16) to compete for the overall prize.
Collaboration and generational renewal
Dr. McCarthy’s PhD explored collaboration and cooperation among farmers and rural policy stakeholders involved in the EIP-AGRI initiative.
Dr. Jack McCarthy
Dr. David Meredith of Teagasc’s rural economy and development programme and Dr. Christine Bonnin of University College Dublin’s (UCD’s) school of geography supervised the research.
Dr. Conway’s doctoral research focused on generational renewal in Irish farming and was completed under the guidance of Dr. John McDonagh and Dr. Maura Farrell at the rural studies unit of NUI Galway.
Dr. Shane Conway. Image source: Twitter
As part of this research, Dr. Conway collaborated with Teagasc’s ‘Transferring the Family Farm’ clinics and the Land Mobility farm survey.
Dr. David Meredith, senior research officer with Teagasc and adjunct fellow at UCD’s school of geography, said: “These contributions to knowledge demonstrate the important role that human geography can play in expanding our understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing farmers, farm households and rural communities.
“Teagasc continues to work with leading geography departments to advance this line of research.”
The GSI doctoral research competition is open to any graduate of a Higher Education institute on the island of Ireland who has successfully defended their PhD degree since January 1, 2015.