Marina Fiddler: ADCH Trustee Honoured with Doctorate for Outstanding Animal Welfare Contributions
ADCH is delighted to celebrate Marina Fiddler, ADCH Trustee and co-founder of MADRA (Mutts Anonymous Dog Rescue and Adoption), on receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Galway.
This prestigious accolade recognises Marina’s remarkable contributions to animal welfare and her dedication to improving the lives of countless dogs.
Marina shares this recognition with her MADRA co-founder, Tara Nic Dhiarmada, with whom she established the charity in 2005. Together, they built MADRA into a vital organisation dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming stray and abandoned dogs, particularly in Galway and Mayo.
“On behalf of everyone at ADCH, I would like to congratulate Marina on this incredible and well-deserved recognition,” said Rebecca Cooper, Executive Director of ADCH. “
“Her lifelong dedication to animal welfare has transformed countless lives, both human and animal, and continues to inspire those of us working in the sector. We are immensely proud to have Marina as part of the ADCH family, and this honour reflects the profound impact she has made through her compassion, leadership, and unwavering commitment.”
Marina’s passion for animal welfare was ignited as a teenager volunteering with the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA). After moving to Galway in the 1980s, she became an active volunteer with the Galway SPCA before opening a dog boarding and training facility in Connemara in 1995 with her husband. This facility became the foundation for MADRA, which has since become a cornerstone of animal welfare in the West of Ireland.
Nearly 20 years since its founding, MADRA, based in Camus, Connemara, has rescued and rehomed over 10,000 dogs. Under Marina’s leadership, the charity has remained dedicated to providing dogs with the care and rehabilitation they need, ensuring they are placed in loving homes where they can begin new chapters in their lives.
Marina became an ADCH Trustee in 2019, and her expertise and dedication have since contributed to the ongoing work of the charity, helping advance its shared goals in the sector.
Her lifetime of dedication to animal welfare has previously been recognised with accolades such as the Galway Person of the Year Award in 2010. ADCH is proud to have Marina as a Trustee and congratulates her on this well-deserved honour. Her lifelong commitment to animal welfare is an inspiration, and her achievements continue to have a profound impact on the sector and the animals it serves.
Images courtesy of the University of Galway.
