Dairygold has announced dairy farmer, Patrick O’Donovan to its board of directors from January 1 2025, following an election which took place in East Cork, on December 6, 2024.
O’Donovan from Whitegate, Co. Cork, was elected to fill the East Cork vacancy, replacing outgoing board chair, Seán O’Brien.
O’Brien will complete his maximum permitted consecutive service period on the Dairygold Representative Structure on December 31, 2024.
He had been announced the chair of Dairygold Co-op in January 2023, succeeding John O’Gorman who had served as chair for five years and had stepped down after having served the maximum term permitted on the board.
The news emerged following a Special General Meeting (SGM) where Dairygold members voted to adopt a number of rule amendments yesterday (Wednesday, December 4).
O’Donovan represents the Ballyrichard or Cobh electoral group, and was elected to the east Cork regional committee in 2009. He has been a member of the general committee since 2016.
The dairy farmer is married to Katherine and they have five adult children, Emer, Conor, Ciara, Siobhán and Pádraig.
He has completed the co-op member upskilling programme and is a member of the Co. Cork branch of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA).
The programme affords participants the opportunity to learn more about Dairygold, its operations and governance structures.
The programme is accredited by Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) Skillnet and qualifies participants for admission as Members of the Plunkett Institute.
O’Donovan has a long association with Dairygold, first taking up employment as a teenager in Midleton Co-op Superstores, before commencing full time farming in Cobh, Co. Cork.