MEET OUR
LARGE ANIMAL TEAM
VETS
Michael Reilly MVB
Michael graduated from UCD in 1988 and joined the practice in 1991. He also is a keen farmer near Delvin where he breeds cows and pedigree sheep.
His main interest is bovine fertility but enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine. Michael lives outside Kells with his wife Anne, three children and three dogs.
Ciaran Mellett MVB
Ciaran graduated from UCD in 1992. He then completed a one-year small animal internship in UCD veterinary hospital. Afterwards he joined the practice in 1992. Ciaran is a member of Animal Health Ireland which is an important part of farm animal disease prevention in Ireland.
He has recently completed a two-year companion animal medicine course. He is also a keen sheep farmer. Ciaran lives in Navan with his wife Lorraine, four children and their dog.
Donal Donnelly BVMS
Donal graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2000. He took up a position in Northern Ireland in mixed practice until the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak of 2001 in England where he worked for nine months. Since then, Donal has worked in various practices including New Zealand until he joined the practice in 2003.
Donal has a keen interest in companion animal and equine veterinary but enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine. Donal lives outside Kells with his wife Grainne, daughter, son and dog Jinty.
Maria Sherlock MVB
Maria qualified from UCD in 1993 and commenced work in a large dairy practice in Bandon, West Cork. Four years later she returned to UCD as a Clinical Lecturer in Large Animal Medicine where she completed an MVM. This was followed by four years in mixed practices in Athboy and in Cavan. The following four years were spent as a locum in small animal practice in Dublin before returning home to Athboy for a further six and a half years. Maria then worked as a locum again in Dublin for a couple of years and started working with Smith and Foley in January 2016.
Maria enjoys both small animal and farm animal practice. She has a cat called Pixie and a dog called Monty.
Amy Ryan MVB
Amy is a native of Co. Tipperary. She graduated from University College Dublin in June 2019. She joined the Smith and Foley team in August 2019.
Amy comes from an agricultural background. She enjoys the variety of working with both small and large animals on a daily basis. In her spare time, she can be found walking her dog, working on her family farm and spending time with friends.
Susan Baugh DVM
Susan graduated from University of Veterinary Medicine in Budapest in 2024. She has worked with Smith and Foley sonce completing her studies.
Susan enjoys both small and large animal practice. She lives on a small farm with her dogs Dellboy, Thompson and her cat Rodney.
Isabel Ruiz Garrido DVM
Isabel graduated from the University of Córdoba, Spain. She began her professional career working in various places across Spain, including the Association of Breeders of the Malagueña Goat.
In 2022, she moved to Ireland, where she worked for over two years in County Donegal. In late 2024, she started working at Smith and Foley, where she enjoys working with both small and large animals.
She has two small dogs named Mocca and Matcha.
KELLS & NAVAN
SUPPORT STAFF
Aideen Coyle - Reception
Aideen is from Kilmessan. She joined the practice at Advanced Pet Care in 2011. She has always had a love and an affinity for all animals large and small including lots of rescues of stoats, crows, jackdaws, hares as well as the odd hedgehog or 3. She also has her own menagerie of animals with 5 dogs, a cat and horses.
Claire Garry - Animal Care Assistant
Claire is from Delvin, Co. Westmeath. She joined our team in March 2016. Having come from an agricultural background, she has a great interest in farm animal health. Claire is a huge animal lover and always makes time for a cuddle with the furry patients. She has a cat called Molly and a dog called Rossy. In her spare time she likes to help out on her home farm, she also enjoys going for runs, and going for a hack on her horse.
Mary Hyland - Animal Care Assistant
Mary is from Fordstown. She has been with Smith and Foley since 2002. When Mary is not in the practice she is kept busy at home on her own farm with her cattle and horses. She enjoys horse riding and walking with her 2 dogs.
Katie Flynn - Animal Care Assistant
Katie eagerly joined our team in March 2022. She has a huge passion and love for animals, having 3 dogs and 2 cats of her own. Katie provides the same care and time in her workday building trustful relationships with all of our furry clients as she would her own.
Katie has experience with both small and large animals having completed work experience on dairy farms. When katie is not in the practice, she enjoys outdoor life and enjoys long walks on neighbouring family farms. Katie treats every day at work as an opportunity to gain new experiences and aims to further her career into veterinary nursing.
Róisín Byrne - Animal Care Assistant
Róisín has joined the team in May 2023. She lives on a suckler farm in Lobinstown, Co. Meath. Róisín studied BSc (Hons) in sustainable Agriculture in DkIT/Teagasc Ballyhaise College and graduated in 2021. Róisín thoroughly enjoys working with both large and small animals.
Ciara Garry - Animal Care Assistant
Ciara joined our team in April 2023 after studying Animal care in Cavan. She grew up on a suckler farm in Meath. Ciara has a great interest in animal health and her favourite part of the job is seeing patients go home happy and healthy.
Taylor Hatton - Animal Care Assistant
Taylor is from Co. Meath. She joined our team in January 2024. Taylor has had all sorts of animals all her life from dogs and cats to horses and axolotls. In her spare time she enjoys going horse riding and spending time with her two cats Belle and Phoebe.
Rachel Smyth - Animal Care Assistant
Rachel is from Co. Cavan. She joined the practice in September 2024. She graduated from DkIT in 2018 with BSc (Hons) in Sustainable Agriculture. Rachel has several years experience in the agricultural and veterinary sector. She comes from a farming background and has a suckler to dairy enterprise. She has a 7yr old Huskey called Tonto and 2 horses.
