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Damian McDonald grew up on a dairy, beef and pig farm in Crossabeg, Co Wexford. He is a son of Albert and Angela McDonald and he currently lives in Stradbally, Co Laois, with his wife Siobhan (O Dowd, who also formerly worked with Macra) and his three children Mark (17), Kate (15) and Sean (13).
Irish Field reporter Isabel Hurley said that as as the first CEO of Horse Sport Ireland, a job he began in 2007, McDonald had the “unenviable task of trying to bring together the disparate multi-faceted strands of the €700m Irish sport horse industry during his years in the hot seat”.
“With over 20 affiliates under their wing, representing everything from show jumping, eventing, dressage, breeding, right down to polo and carriage driving, the job of CEO was regarded by many industry insiders as something of a poisoned chalice,” she said. Hurley says the general view is that McDonald did much to both establish Horse Sport Ireland on a firm footing and to unite the often very separate elements of the unwieldy Irish sport horse industry.
The 10-year strategy Reaching New Heights, launched last year by former Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, now forms the blueprint for the industry.
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For all his experience in the equestrian industry, MacDonald also has extensive experience in the agriculture sector, serving as both ag policy officer of Macra (1997-1999) and then CEO between 2001 and 2007. Between those stints, he worked for IFA as livestock services manager for direct payments and animal health in the organisation between 1999 and 2001.
His other professional experience gives extra weight to the perception that McDonald is not a man who shies away from leadership roles.
He was team leader for the Irish equestrian team during the London Olympics in 2012 and a governing body member of Dublin Institute of Technology between 2001 and 2007.
He has a masters in economics from University College Dublin
A great lover of sport, he has a keen interest in hurling and football. He has coached the DIT hurling team, and was a selector on Dublin under-21 team.
Additional reporting by Caitriona Murphy
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