Meet The Team 👨⚕️👩⚕️
Veterinary Surgeons
Brian Jones MVB MRCVS
Brian graduated from UCD in 1984. Brian worked in small animal practice in England for three years before moving to Australia for another three years He set up Ancu in 1991 and has a particular interest in sporting dogs, and orthopaedics. He also specialises in all aspects of canine reproduction. Ancu was the first practice in Ireland to do Progesterone testing. This pinpoints the exact time of ovulation.
Brian enjoys cycling in his spare time and tries to get out about three times weekly He has two dogs, Lucy a rescued Labrador, and a mischievous retriever Zola. He has also some greyhounds both retired and racing. He is a track veterinarian at Dundalk stadium.
John Melia MVB MSc MRCVS
John graduated with honours from UCD in 1995. He spent 12 years working in small animal practice in the UK, 5 of these as a partner in his own successful clinic in Birmingham.
He returned home in 2007, spending 2 years working in Dublin before joining Ancu Vets in 2009. John’s principal interest is in internal medicine, with a particular focus on cardiology and endocrinology. He completed an MSc in molecular science at Queens University Belfast, graduating with distinction in 2011.
Currently, he has 2 bouncy labradors, 2 contented cats, and a lot of fish. He is a part-time lecturer in veterinary nursing at Dundalk Institute of Technology. John also works as a consulting genealogist in his spare time.
Ciara O'Neill MVB MRCVS
Ciara graduated with Honours from UCD in 2006. After doing a small animal internship in the UK, Ciara worked in various small animal practices throughout England and then settled in Sheffield for 11 years. Here, she was clinical director of a busy, city centre small animal practice. She then decided to move home to sunny Ireland and has been working at Ancu Blackrock since September 2021. Ciara loves all aspects of small animal practice especially dermatology, ophthalmology, and feline medicine. Ciara is currently studying for her masters level qualification in Feline Medicine. Outside of work, Ciara is Mammy to her 3 young kids, her greyhounds, and her Standard Poodle Heidi. Coming to work is a break from a busy house!
Grainne Maguire MVB MRCVS
Grainne graduated from UCD in 1992 and started working in a mixed animal practice for 5 years before joining the Department of Agriculture & Regional Development (DARN). This led to a variety of posts including general field work, auditor, equine lecturer in Enniskillen College, brucellosis certification, and working at a meat plant. Grainne now also works part-time in our Ancu Newry Clinic.
Outside of work, Grainne is kept busy with her ever-growing menagerie of dogs, horses, cats, ducks, hens, and peacocks, which have to be fed, exercised, and entertained.
Veterinary Nurses
Joanne Austin
Joanne attended DIFE, where she was awarded FETAC 5 & 6 in Animal Science. Joanne then continued on to DKIT & graduated with a BSc in Veterinary nursing. For several years Joanne was a vet nurse attached to Tayto Park, where she was involved in treating their many exotic & zoo animals. Still continuing her education Joanne has attained certificates in Animal Behaviour, Oral Care & Beekeeping. Joanne has many years experience in showing horses & is particularly interested in animal nutrition, weight clinics & always provides the highest level of nursing care to all of our patients & our clients.
David Connolly
David graduated in 2012 in BSC Veterinary Nursing at DKIT and joined the Ancu team in 2013. David enjoys all aspects of veterinary nursing and has a particular interest in canine reproduction work where he is responsible for the chilling and freezing of canine samples in-house. David and his wife are very involved in showing their Weimaraners & Border Collies to some success and they have both judged abroad on many occasions. One of their highlights was winning the pastoral group and being in the last 7 in Best In Show with Roo the border collie at Crufts.
Marese McCaughey
Marese graduated as a Veterinary Nurse from Greenmount College of Agriculture in 2003. Followed a year later with the A1 assessor award which allowed her to mentor the next generation of Veterinary Nurses. Marese is currently completing a master’s level qualification in Teaching and Learning at the DKIT.
Marese shares her home with Holly the labrador retriever and Panda her cat, a horse called Bailey, and numerous fish.
Grace Vallely
Grace started working in Ancu after school in 2008. Since then she qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2014 from Greenmount College of Agriculture. In 2011 she completed a Hawks Moor Certificate of Training in Canine Hydrotherapy which she puts to good use in our underwater treadmill. She is also a City & Guilds Qualified Pet Groomer. She has a great interest in all aspects of canine reproduction and likes nothing more than assisting in Caesarean Sections. Grace shares her home and time with her horses, racing, and retired greyhounds.
Clíodhna Hughes
Clíodhna completed her placement with Ancu Vets in 2019. Before beginning Veterinary Nursing, Clíodhna studied independently and attained a qualification in wildlife rehabilitation and holds a Level 4 NVQ in dog grooming. Clíodhna has just recently qualified with a BSc in Veterinary Nursing from DKIT in 2022.
Clíodhna has a keen interest in orthopaedic surgery, clinical reproduction, and parasitology. Her favourite aspects of the job are inpatient care and post-surgery recovery care. When not working, she is kept busy with training in mixed martial arts, weight lifting, and walking her dog.
Nicole Campbell
Nicole is a 3rd year Veterinary Nursing student, currently studying in Dundalk Institute of Technology. Nicole has always wanted to work with animals and is very passionate about animals, owning 2 dogs, a snake and a horse of her own. Nicole was first was introduced to Ancu Vets in her first-year of College, when she completed a placement block of 6 weeks in our practice in Blackrock. Nicole then became a part of our team after her placement was completed, working during the summer and on Saturdays. Nicole has a particular interest in animal behaviour and inpatient care.
Admin & Vet Tech Staff
Susanna Robinson
After a career in Construction Quality Management, Susanna trained as a professional dog groomer at Dublin School of Grooming and currently runs her own part-time grooming business.
Susanna joined the practice in January 2022 and has a love for all things animal-related.
In her spare time she likes nothing more than spending time with her greyhounds both racing and retired.