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Trevor Sargent
Opening address
Trevor Sargent is currently Minister of State for Food and Horticulture, a member of the Green Party since 1982 and a T.D. in the Dublin North constituency since 1992. He was elected first Leader of the Green Party in October 2001 and held the position until his resignation following the party's entry into Government in June 2007.
Trevor is co-founder and board member of Sonairte, the Irish National Ecology Centre in County Meath. He is also a member of Amnesty International, the Dublin Food Co-op, the Irish Organic Farmers' and Growers' Association, and the Organic Trust. A former teacher and fluent Irish speaker, his favourite form of relaxation is tending to his prolific organic garden at home in Balbriggan, North County Dublin
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Darina Allen
Founder and owner of Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry, Darina Allen is Ireland’s most famous chef – she is also a teacher, food writer, newspaper columnist, cookbook author and TV-cook. She presented nine series of her cookery programme, 'Simply Delicious' and is the author of over a dozen books.
She founded the first Farmers Markets in Ireland and is involved on an ongoing basis in helping set up new markets and is a councillor for Ireland in Slow Food Movement and President of East Cork Convivium of Slow Food. Darina has been chairman of the International Committee of the International Association of Cooking Professionals, a member of the Taste Council of the Irish Food Board, Chair of Artisan Food Forum of Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Trustee of the Irish Organic Centre, and a patron of Irish Seedsavers.
Founder of first Farmers Markets in Ireland and involved on an ongoing basis in helping set up new markets. Darina currently chair of the Midleton Farmers Market.
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Michael Kelly
Journalist & Author
Michael Kelly is a freelance writer, author and broadcaster. He is a contributor to The Irish Times, writing features on lifestyle issues, food, self-sufficiency, travel and health. His bestselling first book, Trading Paces (O’Brien Press) was published in April 2008 and marked by features in The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, Mail on Sunday, Sunday Mirror and regional press. His second book, Tales from the Home Farm, will be published in Autumn 2009.
He is currently doing a weekly slot on growing your own veg on The Frugal Household on RTE Radio 1 and has previously featured on Nationwide, Today with Pat Kenny, The Tubridy Show, The Afternoon Show, Mooney, Ireland AM and The Last Word. Michael is founder of GIY (Grow it Yourself) Ireland, a national food grower’s group which supports back-yard growing by getting amateur growers together to exchange skills, ideas, produce and knowledge
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Joy Larkcom
Author of ‘Grow your own Vegetables’ Where, what and how to grow (and other practicalities)
It’s no overstatement to say that Joy Larkcom’s seminal work “Grow your own Vegetables” is the bible for vegetable growers everywhere. Joy is a garden writer, who has been researching, growing and writing about vegetables for over 40 years, travelling far and wide to discover interesting vegetables and see how they are grown.
She has introduced many of the salad and oriental vegetables we find in shops today, and the ‘cut-and-come-again’ technique for getting the most out of small spaces. She is also passionate about making a vegetable and fruit garden as beautiful as possible. She and her husband Donald Pollard retired to a windy site in West Cork in 2002 where they have created a fan shaped ‘potager’. Joy has been awarded the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal and the Garden Writer’s Guild Lifetime Award.
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Clodagh McKenna
Chef, Author and Broadcaster, Fresh from the Sea – Cookery Demo
Clodagh McKenna trained as a chef at Ballymaloe Cookery School and then went on to work as a chef in Ballymaloe House for 3 years. After an inspiring visit to the Midleton Market, Clodagh decided to leave the kitchen and set up her own stall at the local market. Soon after, Clodagh was developing other farmers markets around Ireland.
Currently, she has her own weekly column for the Irish Examiner and a monthly column for RSVP Magazine. Her first book The Irish Farmers' Market Cookbook was published by Harper Collins in November 2006 and she has filmed a TV series to accompany the book which is titled Fresh from the Farmers Markets which debuted on RTE 1 in 2007. Part two of the series was broadcasted over the summer of 2008 and was also picked up by media outlets throughout Europe & New Zealand. The third series, Fresh From the Sea, will air June 30th 2009 on RTE 1. Clodagh has just completed writing her second book, Fresh From the Sea, which was released in May to coincide with her series
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Catherine Kenneally
Nutrition from the Garden - The health benefits of producing your own food
Catherine Kenneally is a Nutritional Therapist with practices in Cork and Waterford. Her goal is to improve peoples’ health through achievable dietary changes that are sustainable for life, in addition to giving them the tools to make healthy choices for the future. The primary focus is to do this through food, using supplements where necessary. She has a B.Sc from University College Cork, a diploma in Nutritional Therapy from the Institute of Complimentary and Integrated Medicine and is a member of Nutritional Therapists Of Ireland (NTOI).
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Will Sutherland
The John Seymour School of Self-Sufficiency
The life, times and legacy of John Seymour
Born in 1945, Will grew up on a traditional mixed farm in Northumberland. After taking a BA degree at Cambridge , he took a Diploma in Farm Management and MSc in Agricultural Economics before moving to Whitehall as a civil servant. His 10 years in public service included spells in the Department of the Environment, the Treasury and Westminster City Council; Will then joined Ernst and Young as a Management Consultant.
Will followed his interest in the political process by attending the Rio Earth summit in 1992 and afterwards editing and publishing the NGO Alternative Treaties. In 1991 Will met the environmentalist and world-renowned self-sufficiency advocate John Seymour and decided to leave London to help John run the Killowen, Co. Wexford smallholding. Will worked with John on a number of projects including an updated version of the smallholder’s bible ("New Complete Book of Self Sufficiency"). He continues to teach at the School of Self-Sufficiency in Killowen.
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Graham Strouts
Edible Forest Gardens with Graham Strouts, Permaculture teacher, Kinsale College of Further Education
Graham Strouts has been involved with Permaculture, sustainable design, woodlands and woodland crafts, and edible forest gardens for 20 years.
Since 2005 he has been course co-ordinator of the 2-year FETAC course in Practical sustainability in Kinsale.
This workshop will provide an introduction to Permaculture Gardening and Edible Forest Gardens- the creation of a low-maintenance edible food garden based on a natural woodland eco-system, with trees crops, fruit bushes, groundcover, medicinal and fibre plants, and perennial vegetables.
Graham has been developing edible forest gardens in his smallholding near Bantry in West Cork since 2001 and teaches short courses widely around Ireland. He writes a blog on permaculture and peak oil: www.zone5.org
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