Profile: The Irish Pig Health Society

Established in 1969 with the aims of supporting the Irish pig industry, disseminating relevant information to the sector and promoting new ideas of value to pig production, the IPHS holds an annual symposium and trade fair to accommodate face-to-face interaction among its members. The diverse make-up of the society is reflected in the IPHS Committee, led by current President Thomas Gallagher. Thomas works with MSD Animal Health Ireland and holds an honours degree in Agricultural Science from UCD. Subsequently, he completed an Executive MBA with the Smurfit Business School. Thomas is a Business Unit Director at MSD Animal Health.

James Luttrell is the vice president of IPHS. The Laois man holds a BSC in Agricultural Science from WIT, now the South East Technological University. James has been working as a pig nutritionist for the past five years with Devenish, having previously worked with Alltech.

Alltech’s Hazel Rooney also holds an officership as treasurer of IPHS. An Animal Science degree recipient with first class honours from UCD, Hazel undertook a PhD in swine nutrition from UCD and the Teagasc Pig Development Department, during which she researched maternal feeding strategies during sow gestation and lactation. Again, her background and role as Pig Technical Coordinator with Alltech fits perfectly for her involvement in the Pig Health Society. 

The Secretary of IPHS is Shane McAuliffe. From a large-scale pig farm in Kerry, Shane holds a Masters in Pig Health from the Royal Veterinary College of London. He has had a varied career to date, working with Animal Health Ireland, Interchem, and Easyfix, before taking up a role with AHV Ireland. As Head of Swine with AHV, Shane regularly lectures internationally and provides consultancy services to companies across the world. He is also secretary of the Irish branch of the European Pig Producers (EPP) organisation; is a member of the Irish Farmers' Association’s National Pigs and Pigmeat Committee; a member of World Animal Protection’s 3Ts Alliance; and a member of the Pig HealthCheck Implementation Group.

Ties with Teagasc

Teagasc is closely involved with IPHS and has a dedicated liaison appointee to the IPHS Committee. Amy Quinn, who has a range of academic qualifications including a BSc in Zoology, an MSc in Ecological Assessment and a PhD from the University of Warwick and Teagasc, brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her IPHS involvement. Since 2013, she has been employed by Teagasc as a Pig Development Officer with the Pig Development Department (PDD) providing an advisory, knowledge transfer and education service for Irish pig producers in order to enhance the sustainability of Irish pig meat production. Amy also coordinates the PDD education service, PDD events and the Teagasc PDD corporate website and is the editor of the stakeholder newsletter.

Collaboration

The IPHS is very much a collaborative cross-industry grouping. Industry advisors on the committee include Martin Tighe of Univiv, where he works as an independent consultant scientist and founder of Univiv Ltd. Martin’s qualifications in Chemistry, Nutrition and Integrated Health make him a valuable addition to the IPHS coordinating committee. He previously worked in agriculture and fisheries research in Iceland for six years and then changed career to focus on pharmaceutical product development. Martin has also contributed to novel technologies for oral drug and nutrient delivery in fields including rare diseases and oral insulin. Since 2011, he has worked with a range of natural chemistries that show promise as anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agents. Univiv develops and manufactures a range of health products for ruminants, swine, poultry and aquaculture.

Health focus

Carla Gomes brings another international dimension to IPHS. She graduated as a veterinary practitioner from the University of Porto, Portugal, and worked in a small animal practice while studying for an MSc in Veterinary Public Health in Lisbon Technical University. Carla then lectured in Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Porto and completed a PhD in Salmonella in pigs, specialising in risk characterisation and modelling of disease transmission within a herd. She moved to Scotland in 2012 to work for the Epidemiology Research Unit at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). Currently, Carla works with Animal Health Ireland (AHI) as the Programme Manager for the Pig HealthCheck Programme, an AHI-led programme co-funded by pig producers and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) with the aim of improving the profitability and sustainability of the Irish pig industry through improved animal health.

Another IPHS committee member is Jessica Connolly who has been working with JMW Farms since 2018, where she began working part-time on a 2,500-sow breeding site. She worked there until she completed her undergraduate degree in agriculture and then she took up a role as research and development coordinator, running various trials across all aspects of the business, from sows to finishers. Since completing her undergraduate degree, she has undertaken a MSc degree through University of Glasgow on a part-time basis, studying animal nutrition, specialisng in monogastrics.

Key stakeholders

Head of Pigmeat and Poultry for Bord Bia, Peter Duggan leads and manages the implementation of the organisation plans for these categories in response to sectoral developments. Peter has spent over a decade working with client companies and key stakeholders in his current position. From a farm in Co. Laois, he is an advocate for supporting farm families and food producers that help to contribute towards a vibrant rural economy.

Production

Completing the IPHS committee membership are two pig producers. Tom Sherman farms near Mallow, Co. Cork, where he keeps his dam-bred sows in a fully integrated unit. Tom is also on the IFA’s Southern Region Pig Committee and recently joined the Irish Pig Health Society (IPHS) committee as a farm representative.

Hannah Ryan is from a pig and dairy farm in South Tipperary, where she works alongside her father Charlie Ryan in an integrated unit. Hannah originally studied at Waterford Institute of Technology and, having completed her Green Cert, she is now studying pig production. Hannah spends most of her time between the farrowing rooms and completing office work for the farm. Hannah also works part-time in healthcare in her local hospital.