Dr. Ciaran Kelly trained as a marine biologist and subsequently as a fisheries scientist, with a degree from Trinity College Dublin and a PhD from University College Dublin. He has been involved in advice provision to government managers and policy makers for more than 20 years, working nationally and through international organisations such as the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF).

Ciaran has previously worked as a manager of integrated advice, and manager of the Office of Research and Development at the Marine Institute which was responsible for the planning and running of the Marine Institute's National Marine Research Investment programme.

Ciaran is Director of the Institute's Fisheries Ecosystems Advisory Services (FEAS), which undertakes resource assessments of commercial fish stocks, provides advice and policy support to the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), and undertakes research on marine ecosystems, fish stocks and aquaculture.