A new IFA ‘baby’ is born in Cois Fharraige

IFA National President Eddie Downey (centre) pictured at the launch last week of the association’s newest branch, Cois Fharraige. The inaugural meeting took place in Tully Hall and pictured in the front row alongside the President are: Seamus de Bhaillis, Secretary; Tom Turley, Connacht Chairman; Uilic Ó Culáin, Chairman; Pat Murphy, Galway IFA Chairman and Pat Smith, IFA General Secretary. (Photo courtesy Roy O’Brien).

placeholder image — IFA National President Eddie Downey (centre) pictured at the launch last week of the association’s newest branch, Cois Fharraige. The inaugural meeting took place in Tully Hall and pictured in the front row alongside the President are: Seamus de Bhaillis, Secretary; Tom Turley, Connacht Chairman; Uilic Ó Culáin, Chairman; Pat Murphy, Galway IFA Chairman and Pat Smith, IFA General Secretary. (Photo courtesy Roy O’Brien).

THE South Connemara rural community of Cois Fharraige made history last week when they formed the 948th branch of IFA nationally and the 78th in Galway.

National IFA President, Eddie Downey, addressed the inaugural meeting of the Cois Fharraige branch at which a whole range of farming issues of relevance to the local community were discussed.

About 50 local farmers from the Cois Fharraige area that straddles the South Connemara coastline turned out for the meeting that was also addressed by Galway IFA officers and Connacht Chairman Tom Turley.

Roy O’Brien, Galway-Mayo IFA Regional Development Officer told The Farming Tribune that the first meeting of the branch in Tull Hall was an historic occasion both for the IFA at national and local level.

“It was great to have the National President down for the opening of the branch but when the meeting got going, there was a very lively discussion about a range of local issues,” said Roy O’Brien.

He added that the opening of the new branch epitomised what the IFA was all about – listening to and representing farmers at local level and making sure that their voices were heard by Government and Europe.

Connacht IFA Chairman, Tom Turley told The Farming Tribune said that a little bit of history was made last week with the setting up of the Cois Fharraige branch.

“It might just have been the first meeting of the branch but there was a really lively and informed debate about a whole range of issues affecting farmers in the region including inspections, commonages and the new GLAS scheme,” said Tom Turley.

The setting up of the branch comes at a time when hill farmers in the West and other counties are in the process of setting up a new organisation to ‘represent smaller farmers’ across the country.