Speakers - VICAS
Darragh O' Hanlon
Darragh is a veterinary dermatologist, actively involved in the European Society of Veterinary Dermatology. Darragh enjoys all things dermatology, with a special interest in immune-mediated dermatoses such as allergies. Darragh accepts dermatology referrals from all over Ireland, performing advanced dermatological procedures such as intradermal testing and otoendoscopy.
Georgina Murphy
Georgina Murphy RVN Dip AVN (Surgical) PgDip Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, qualified as a Vet Nurse in 1988 in the UK. She worked for over 20 years in the UK in first opinion practice and veterinary hospitals. Following a move to Ireland in 2006, she worked in first opinion practice before pursuing an interest in anaesthesia by becoming Senior Nurse in Anaesthesia in UCDVH for 12 years. Recently, she has combined working part-time as a lecturer, locum, and nurse mentor with studying for a post graduate qualification in veterinary anaesthesia.
Jennyfer Thibaud
Jennyfer graduated from the University CEU Cardenal Herrera, Spain, in 2020. After her graduation, Jennyfer underwent a small animal rotating internship in a private practice in the South of France (CHV Saint Martin), followed by a surgical internship in Paris (CHV des Cordeliers). Jennyfer then moved to Ireland and to Veterinary Specialists Ireland to perform a second surgical internship. She started an ECVS Residency in small animal surgery in July 2023 and has a strong interest for mini-invasive surgeries.
Jerry O'Riordan
Jerry graduated from University College Dublin in 1997. He obtained a Small Animal Surgery Certificate (an initial indicator of interest in the field of small animal surgery) and has previously worked as a specialist surgeon in both soft tissue and orthopaedics in two of the leading referral practices in the UK – Fitzpatrick Referrals and Wear Referrals. He has lectured domestically and internationally and has been involved in the development of new techniques to improve the management of a number of conditions. He was one of the first Irish qualified surgeons to train and perform TPLOs and arthroscopy.
Following a period of time working in the Veterinary Hospital in UCD, he obtained his European College of Veterinary Surgery Diploma and became one of the few EBVS specialists in small animal surgery in Ireland.
He has worked in universities in Ireland, Scotland, France and America and in private clinics in New Zealand and England. Jerry is offering specialist services in small animal surgery (soft tissue and orthopaedics) and spinal / neurological surgery.
Laura Cuddy
American, EBVS®, RCVS and VCI Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
American and EBVS® Specialist in Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
Laura graduated from University College Dublin in 2008 with a first-class honors degree in Veterinary Medicine. She completed a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery, followed by a Masters of Science and residency in small animal surgery at the University of Florida (UF) in 2013.
Laura is a Diplomate of the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Surgeons and the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Laura co-founded Veterinary Specialists Ireland in 2019 and Veterinary Specialists Cork in 2024. She continues to maintain a high clinical caseload, consisting of orthopaedic, neurologic, soft tissue and sports medicine cases. Laura is actively involved in teaching and regularly delivers lectures and practical workshops, both nationally and internationally. Her research interests include orthopaedic biomechanics, specifically relating to medial coronoid disease in dogs, arthrology, and teaching and proficiency assessment in minimally invasive procedures.
Dr Robert Foale
Rob qualified from the RVC in 1996, having previously completed a joint honours degree in Physiology and Pharmacology at King's College, London. He spent four years in mixed practice in Hertfordshire and Sterlingshire, before joining the medicine service at the University of Cambridge as an ECVIM-CA Resident in small animal medicine, where he remained until the end of 2003. He then joined Dick White Referrals in 2004, founding the internal medicine and medical oncology services and served as Head of the Medicine Service from 2004 to 2016, before becoming Clinical Director, Director and a Partner, roles he held until 2021 when he left DWR. Rob worked as part of the clinical team at Virtual Veterinary Specialists from 2022 to 2024 but is now a Director and co-owner of the newly founded independent referral centre, Granta Veterinary Specialists, near Cambridge, UK. Since 2020, Rob has also held the role of Professor of Small Animal Medicine at the University of Nottingham and now teaches the renal disease and infectious disease modules on the University advanced practitioners course, as well as various CPD courses. He obtained his CertSAM in 2001, his DSAM in 2003, his DipECVIM-CA in 2005 and became a Fellow of the RCVS in 2019.
His main clinical interests are endocrinology, haematology and medical oncology. His active research interest is in the development of a gene therapy treatment for insulin-deficient diabetic dogs, which has been in clinical trial and has, so far, led to five abstracts and two papers being published.