The Dealer had to scratch his head the other day when he came across a photo launching a new agricultural research centre at UCD Lyons, to which FBD Holdings and FBD Trust are donating €6m.

Pictured were Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and FBD Trust’s Michael Berkery – neither a stranger to having their photo taken. Also in the photo were the UCD president and the CEO of FBD Group. But whose presence really caught my eye was Liam Herlihy.. Again, he’s no stranger to having his photo taken, as a former chair of Glanbia plc and current chair of both FBD Holdings and the Teagasc Authority.

But in what capacity was he operating in here? As chair of Teagasc, he’s hardly happy to see €6m of funding go to a rival research centre? As someone quipped recently, Liam wears so many hats he’ll never get his head wet. To be fair, three FBD entities gave €6m to Teagasc last year to build a new research centre dedicated to the late Padraig Walshe.