Declan O’Brien is a senior news correspondent with the Irish Farmers Journal. The Limerick man has more than 25 years’ experience as an agricultural journalist. O’Brien recently completed a PhD at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick on the growth of the Irish beef processing industry, and its impact on Irish agricultural policy. This work was supported by the Irish Research Council. His MA thesis on the demise and closure of the Dublin Cattle Market is being published this month by Four Courts Press.