National Cattle Breeding Centre appoints new chief executive

Doreen Corridan will succeed Bernard Eivers in 2024.

A qualified veterinary surgeon, Doreen Corridan has a PhD specialising in cattle reproduction and has served as a board director with NCBC and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

The National Cattle Breeding Centre (NCBC) has appointed Doreen Corridan to the role of chief executive.

Ms Corridan will succeed Bernard Eivers who is stepping down from the position, when she will take up her new role in 2024.

Ms Corridan is currently chief executive of Munster Bovine, having previously held the role of head of technical. 

She played a key role in the development of the Munster Bovine AI, milk recording and herd health programmes. 

A qualified veterinary surgeon, she has a PhD specialising in cattle reproduction and has served as a board director with NCBC and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

Strengthening industry

NCBC chairman Kevin Keavney said Ms Corridan "is widely acknowledged as one of the country’s leading experts on cattle breeding and bovine genetics". 

"I’m pleased that with the support of NCBC and Munster Bovine and their respective shareholders, she has agreed to lead NCBC in the important role of continuing to strengthen Ireland’s cattle breeding industry for the benefit of all herd owners and sustainable farming in Ireland," he said.

In his role as the first chief executive of NCBC, Bernard Eivers played a role in introducing genomic selection in 2009 being second only to the USA and more recently NCBC opened a sexing laboratory at the Naas headquarters. 

NCBC was established in 2005 as a joint venture between Munster Bovine and Progressive Genetics, to build a cattle breeding business of national scale, delivering the highest genetic merit semen to support Ireland’s Dairy, Dairy Beef and Beef breeding programmes.

Honour

Martin Kavanagh, currently business development and sustainability manager with Munster Bovine, has been appointed interim chief executive, while the company carries out a recruitment process, to appoint a permanent chief executive. 

Commenting on her move, Ms Corridan said: "As someone with a passionate interest in breeding and genetics, it has been a huge honour for me to serve as chief executive of Munster Bovine. 

"I will continue to work closely with Munster Bovine ensuring that it can play an effective role in the future of sustainable farming in the wider Munster region."

Munster Bovine is one of Ireland’s largest farm services providers. Headquartered in Ballyvorisheen, Mallow, Co Cork, the business provides superior genetics and related products and services to herd owners across Munster.