Dr Padraig O’Kiely has been awarded the gold medal for exceptional contribution to Teagasc and the agriculture and food sectors.

Dr O’Kiely graduated from UCD with a first-class honours degree in agricultural science in 1978. He then went on to complete a masters degree in agricultural science and a PhD, both in the area of silage production.

Teagasc said it was his “contribution to agricultural research that is of international stature, specifically his contribution to advancing scientific and practical knowledge of forage production, its conservation and utilisation for livestock production”.

Accepting the award, Dr O’Kiely said it was a “huge honour and very humbling”.

“I have always approached my research work to find out the truth and then tell the truth and supply the information to farmers and other people who needed it,” he added.

Leading the way

Dr O’Kiely is a past president of the Irish Grassland Association and in 2011 was awarded the Irish Grassland Association lifetime merit award.

Dr Cawley presented the award at a meeting of the Teagasc authority in Oak Park, Co Carlow.

He described the recipient as “one of the leading worldwide figures in forage agronomy, conservation, and utilisation”.

Dr O’Kiely was one of the first recipients of a Fulbright Scholarship and spent 1986 at the United States Dairy Forage Research Centre on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.

Dr Cawley also added: “He is an editor of five prestigious international peer reviewed journals. His work has stood the test of time and he is one of the outstanding scientists in the organisation.”