Speculation mounts as to who will chair ICMSA as Cahill moves to IDB

TIPPERARY dairy and beef farmer Jackie Cahill has already chaired his first meeting of the National Dairy Council, having been formally elected chairman earlier this week.

The council’s new vice-chairman is Stephen Shorten from Courtleigh, Newcestown, Co Cork. Outgoing chairman Dominic Cronin remains on the board, as does its sitting chief executive, Zoe Kavanagh.

Meanwhile, these are busy times for Jackie Cahill. With his term as chairman of the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) not due to expire until December, he will carry out both executive functions for the next few months, along with tending to the dairy and beef herds on his farm near Thurles.

He has been a member of the NDC board for the past five-and-a-half years. He is on the board of the Irish Dairy Board and Bord Bia. He will continue in his ICMSA role until Christmas.

While it is too early to predict who will succeed him in the ICMSA chair, many in the industry believe it will be Dominic Cronin, the outgoing council chairman, who has expressed his interest in the role — a switch resembling musical chairs, with each man moving into the other’s old job.

A farmer in Boherbue, Co Cork, Mr Cronin remains on the board of the council, while outgoing vice-chairman Henry Corbally from Kilmainhamwood, Co Meath, has retired from the council board. His co-op, Glanbia, is now represented on the council board by John Murphy from Wexford.

For the council, the arrival of Jackie Cahill will mean business as usual, both due to his presence on the board for almost six years, plus his view that the management has done an outstanding job promoting the interests of the dairy sector within the 26 counties.

Jackie Cahill said: “When I was asking people to vote for me, some of them were asking me what my plans would be for the council. I might have had something stronger to say five years ago, but the council has been doing an outstanding job in promoting the interests of Irish milk in recent years, most notably in boosting the health qualities of Irish dairy produce.”

The council’s function is primarily focused on promoting dairy consumption within the 26 counties. While it does have overseas partners who collaborate on research projects, this work is generally geared towards the council’s primary role in developing the dairy sector’s domestic profile, for example, medical studies relating to the health benefits of milk and dairy products.