John Donlon from Tulla has been selected as one of five agri leaders to receive a prestigious Nuffield Ireland Scholarship which will commence in 2026.
Nuffield Ireland’s mission is to discover, inspire and support people to develop their capacity, character and confidence to promote positive change and world class leadership in agriculture, food and farming. It is part of Nuffield International, a valuable global network which includes Nuffield organisations in 8 countries.
John is currently a veterinary surgeon specialising in cattle health and welfare with a focus on calves. After earning his veterinary degree from UCD in 2018, he completed a production animal internship at the Royal Veterinary College and later a PhD at University College Dublin (UCD) on housing and calf pneumonia.
He has worked with Teagasc to improve animal health in the dairy calf-to-beef sector and is a member of the Progressive Veterinary Network, co-authoring a landmark paper on veterinary workforce retention. Earlier this year, he joined Atlantic Technological University (ATU) as a Lecturer, contributing to the launch of Ireland’s new veterinary school.
John’s chosen topic for his Nuffield Scholarship research will be “Stopping the brain drain: retaining young veterinary professionals in rural Irish communities”.
John was selected alongside Conor Hogan, a beef farmer and leader of the People in Dairy Programme in Lorrha, Co. Tipperary; Paula McCooey, a poultry specialist from Scotstown, Co. Monaghan; Kenny McCauley, founder of McCauley Wood Fuels Ltd in Mohill, Co. Leitrim; and David Scallan, a fourth-generation dairy farmer from Ballymurn, Co. Wexford.
Grainne Dwyer, Nuffield Ireland Chair said: “We are delighted to welcome these five new Scholars to Nuffield Ireland’s community of agricultural leaders. Their timely research topics will help us to identify yet more practical solutions to the many challenges in Irish agriculture.”
The 2026 Nuffield Scholars will conduct their research over the next two years before returning to present their findings at the 2027 Nuffield Ireland Conference.