HUGE HONOUR FOR FERNS MAN PEADAR

A Wexford man is to get the highest honour of the co-op movement, the Horace Plunkett award for Co-operative Endeavour, at The Plunkett House, 84 Merrion Square, in Dublin, on Thursday (December 15).

He is Peadar Murphy, native of Ballylough, Ferns who became general secretary of Macra na Feirme back in the ‘60s. He is an agricultural science graduate of UCD.

Martin Keane, president of ICOs, the co-op movement’s umbrella body, will present the award to him ‘in recognition of outstanding co-operative endeavour and achievement over a long number of years’.

Peadar was amongst those who brought Sicco Mansholt, European Commissioner to Ireland heralding our entry to the European Community. He was once an agricultural adviser in Wexford and in Waterford. He was appointed General Secretary of Macra na Feirme back around 1969. He was a member of the board of the Irish Farm Centre in Bluebell, headquarters of the IFA, Irish Farmers’ Journal, Foroige and other bodies formed from their parent Macra na Feirme.

He later became president of the Agricultural Science Association, the professional body for agricultural and horticultural scientists and was one-time president of the European Young Farmers Association.

Peadar left Macra na Feirme to co-found the farmer and agri-business accountancy firm Irish Farm Accounts Co-op (IFAC) which became one of the biggest accountancy firms in the country servicing more than 12,000 clients of mainly farmers and farm families.

He is a founder member of the Irish Agricultural Museum at Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford and is a board member of the museum. His wife is Brid, nee Dempsey, also from Wexford, a native of Ballymorris, Galbally.