  The electronic and nuclear dynamics in methanol, following 156~nm
photoexcitation, are investigated by combining a detailed analysis of
time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy experiments with electronic structure
calculations. The photoexcitation pump pulse is followed by a delayed 260~nm
photoionization probe pulse, to produce photoelectrons that are analyzed by
velocity map imaging. The yield of mass-resolved ions, measured with similar
experimental conditions, are found to exhibit the same time-dependence as
specific photoelectron spectral features. Energy-resolved signal onset and
decay times are extracted from the measured photoelectron spectra to achieve
high temporal resolution, beyond the 20~fs pump and probe pulse durations. When
combined with {\it ab initio} calculations of selected cuts through the excited
state potential energy surfaces, this information allows the dynamics of the
transient excited molecule, which exhibits multiple nuclear and electronic
degrees of freedom, to be tracked on its intrinsic few-femtosecond timescale.
Within 15~fs of photoexcitation, we observe nuclear motion on the initially
bound photoexcited 2$^{1}$A$''$ (S$_2$) electronic state, through a conical
intersection with the 1$^{1}$A$'$ (S$_3$) state, which reveals paths to
photodissociation following C--O stretch and C--O--H angle opening.
