Our Team

The Organic Growers of Ireland team is made up of a board of volunteers with significant growing experience, that meets regularly to steer OGI programmes and activities.

Five part-time staff members manage different aspects of the organisation – the General Manager, Internship Programme Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, Commercial Markets Coordinator and Administrator. 

Colm O’ Driscoll

A graduate of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, Colm has had a diverse career in Horticulture gaining experience in many areas of the industry. As part of his role as Head Gardener at Airfield Estate, Colm managed the 3 acres of certified horticultural production using regenerative organic principals, producing seeds, vegetables fruits and flowers.

Now Head Gardener at Lismore Castle Gardens, Colm is a dedicated exponent of organic horticulture. Colm is also a regular contributor to the Irish Garden magazine where he shares his gardening knowledge with a focus on organic methodologies. He also presented RTE’s television series Home Grown with OGI General Manager Kitty Scully.

Noel Clinton

Having worked in the landscaping sector for a number of years both in Ireland and abroad, Noel Clinton returned to Ireland with more of a focus on Organic Horticulture and worked on Mulberry Meadow Farm in his home county of Monaghan. He then did the MSc in Organic Horticulture in Skibbereen through UCC. On completion of this, he worked on Castleruddery Organic Farm in Co. Wicklow.

After 3 years in the role of Coordinator of the OGI Organic Farming Internship Programme in Horticulture, he became as a board member, and took on the role of OGI Chairperson from 2021 to 2024. Noel feels its an honour to be in this role and to work with so many great people involved with the OGI and the organic sector as a whole.

Conor Foxton

Having completed the OGI Internship in Organic Horticulture and Jim Cronin’s Organic Market Gardening Course in 2015, Conor went on to establish his business, Redwood Market Garden, located in Lorrha, North Tipperary with the aim of growing seasonal vegetables for local farmers markets.

He is a founder member of Lakeshore Community Market, located in Terryglass, County Tipperary, where he sells his produce on Saturdays and also trades at Killaloe Farmers Market on Sundays.

Barry Connolly

Barry developed Pure Rare Organics in 2017 out of the walled garden in Helen’s Bay, growing for several Michelin starred restaurants in Belfast, as well as developing the first CSA veg-box scheme in the north of Ireland. He worked extensively across France, from vineyards to lemon farms, and in 2022 was part of the team of the renowned market garden Une Ferme du Perche. Barry graduated in 2024 with an MSc in Organic farming from the Scottish Rural College where his thesis looked at the potential of small-scale producer groups and grower collectives across Ireland.

He recently moved back to Ireland and is based on the Fermanagh/Monaghan border where he has established 5 acres of fruit and nut orchards and syntropic agroforestry systems, a tree nursery and a market garden that incorporates small-scale vegetable seed production. Barry joined the OGI Board in January 2025.

Erin O’Brien

Erin is a land use planner/ data analyst who is passionate about systems change. Her professional work focuses on policy development and actions to implement ‘green and blue’ infrastructure. She has also been part of several community initiatives related to food systems and composting, including the Cork Urban Soil Project and The People’s Kitchen.

Erin was raised on a farm in the American Great Plains and has an MSc in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas in Austin. She joined the OGI board in January 2025.

General Manager – Kitty Scully

Kitty Scully is a well-known organic gardener and local food advocate in Ireland. Growing up on a mixed organic farm in Co Laois, she picked up a love of eating and growing good food at a young age. She nurtured this through travelling the world working on organic farms and studying. An MSc in Organic Horticulture is her highest paper accolade but her practical achievements go far beyond. Kitty has had a diverse career in organic horticulture, from managing a market garden for nuns to writing for national papers and presenting on TV gardening shows, including RTE’s Home Grown with OGI board member Colm O’Driscoll.

She was former Head Food Gardener in Airfield Estate where she spearheaded the kitchen gardens conversion to organic production principles. Kitty is a natural communicator who regularly gives talks, lectures and teaches workshops on food growing using organic methods. She has recently returned to her native county after indulging her passion for travel, continued learning and Regenerative Agriculture systems on a one year farm study trip to South America. Kitty’s energy and enthusiasm for growing, learning and talking about all things soil based is endless!

Internship Programme Coordinator – Una Wycherley

Una farms in Puckane, Co. Tipperary with her partner Dan and two children. They have a mixed farm with a certified organic suckler beef herd, tillage barley and oats and up to 8 acres of commercial horticulture which are available through the Urban Coop Grocery & Wellness Hub, Limerick, Supervalu Killaloe and some local shops and restaurants around Nenagh.

She grew up on an organic farm where her mother was a huge influence, being the main farmer managing the holding with great care and pride in her work. Una trained and worked in complementary health therapies after leaving school, but over a number of years merged back in to farming and horticulture by completing the OGI Organic Farming Internship Programme in Horticulture. She has a PgDip in Organic Farming through SRUC Scotland.

Una served on the OGI Board for many years and has been involved with the OGI Internship Programme as a host farm. In 2024 she took over the role of OGI Internship Programme Coordinator, bringing all her knowledge and experience to this role, helping young farmers and growers enter the sector and supporting existing growers through knowledge sharing events and workshops.

Membership Coordinator – Shóna Patterson

Shóna has always had a keen interest in every aspect of the natural world, and fed this curiosity by studying Herbal Medicine and Naturopathy. She carried on to qualify as a Vet from University College Dublin in 2015 and since then she has worked in a range of clinics across Ireland and the UK covering farm and companion animal practice both in conventional and holistic clinics. 

Over the last few years her flair for and connection with herbs has been re-ignited and she is currently focusing her energy on learning and growing Organic Medicinal herbs, and has recently completed a Diploma in Organic Medicinal Herb Growing.

Shóna joined the OGI in March 2026, and is excited to have the opportunity to become part of the OGI team in the Membership Co-ordinator role and looks forward to meeting you all at the various events that will be offered throughout the year and for many years to come.

Commercial Development Coordinator – Barry Mac Devitt

Barry is an organic market gardener and long-time business professional with a passion for growing Ireland’s organic food sector from the ground up. He runs Down to Earth Greens, a one-acre organic market garden in County Kildare, where he grows and supplies fresh salads and herbs to local retailers and food businesses.

Before swapping meetings for muddy boots, Barry spent over 25 years working across Ireland, the UK and France in marketing, innovation and business development. He has led projects for organisations big and small, bringing people together, turning ideas into action, and helping initiatives find their feet and grow.

Now firmly invested in organic horticulture, Barry brings both practical, hands-on experience and a strong understanding of the wider system—from crop planning and certification to dealing with buyers and navigating the realities of supply. He is particularly interested in how growers can work together to overcome common challenges and build a stronger, more resilient organic sector in Ireland.

A firm believer in “healthy food, healthy people, healthy planet,” Barry is keen to connect, share, and support fellow growers in developing Ireland’s organic sector. Barry has a M.Sc in Marketing from TU Dublin and QQI level 5 in Organic Market Gardening.

Administrator – Sarah Mac Cann

Sarah joined the OGI as Administrator in November 2023. Her diverse career began as an environmental researcher and project manager, and has encompassed a range of sectors in the UK and Ireland, from start-up, SME, multinationals, charities, government and media – including stints at The Guardian newspaper and Thomson Reuters – to running her own small businesses.

She now keeps all the plates spinning at the OGI! Sarah has an MSc in Environmental Management from The University of Stirling.