The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Iveragh Mart more than just a place to do business
THERE’S no denying that Iveragh Mart has become more than just a place to do business, it’s also a way of life for the hundreds of people who pass through its gates every year. Some experts today have a tendency to reduce everything to economics but unless your customer base is open to what it is you’re trying to achieve, it’s pointless.
Iveragh Mart can be very proud of its thirty-year journey in which time it has grown to become a mart of renown in the region. But success also brings with it ambition and everyone at Iveragh Mart is determined to see the mart through to the next chapter in its story.
Changing with the times and circumstances is not lost on anyone at Iveragh Mart but the main aim is to make the next 30-years every bit as successful as the last.
Mike Kissane adds that the best way to achieve this is by introducing ‘new blood’ to the agricultural fabric of the region. This can be achieved by breeding better livestock and marketing it, while attracting young farmers to take up a way of life that has sustained the south Kerry region, through good and bad - for generations is also important to the future of the mart.
Mike insists that if you took the Iveragh Mart out of the area it would be a major loss. Its location on the edge of the peninsula means the nearest mart is Mid Kerry mart, which is 30 miles away; while it’s over 40 miles to Kenmare mart. This tells you something of the resilience Iveragh Mart shows in the face of what are clear geographical obstacles.
“These are huge distances, especially when people don’t have the time anymore to be travelling with livestock,” Mike asserts. “It’s a cog in the community and like most good things in life you don’t miss it until it’s gone. I hope to be in a position to hand the mart over someday in good condition and with a good reputation. That’s the goal for all of us.”