It has been confirmed that Dairygold has appointed two dairy farmers as new members to its board in recent days.

Patrick Clancy – from Ballyporeen, Co. Tipperary – has been elected to the board to fill the position held by Pat O’Keeffe.

Clancy, who is a dairy farmer, has been a member of the Mitchelstown Regional Committee since 2005. He follows in his father’s footsteps as a member of the board of Dairygold.

The dairy farmer is married to Carmel and they have three children – Sean, Ellen and Alice. He is also the chairman of the Ballyporeen Childcare Committee.

Meanwhile, Maurice Curtin – a dairy farmer from Tournafulla, Co. Limerick – was elected to the board to fill the position held by Dairygold’s outgoing chairman James Lynch.

Curtin has been a member of the Limerick Regional Committee since 2004 and he is also an active member of his local GAA club. He is married to Carmel and they have two children – Diarmuid and Laoise.

Both James Lynch and Pat O’Keeffe will retire from the board at the end of the year, having served the maximum permitted term of 10 years. The election to fill the role of chairman will take place in early January.

Last week, Bertie O’Leary – a former chairman of Dairygold – was awarded the Plunkett Award for Co-operative Endeavour by the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS).

O’Leary, who is a dairy and beef farmer from Ballyvourney in Co. Cork, has an impressive CV; he previously held the positions of vice-chairman and chairman of Dairygold, as well serving as vice-president and president of ICOS. He was also the chairman of the ICOS Dairy Committee.

The Plunkett Award is the Irish co-operative movement’s highest honour and is presented annually to acknowledge exceptional dedication to co-operative endeavour in Ireland.