The death has been announced of Jimmy Murphy, the first chief executive of Arrabawn Co-op and a former chief executive of Nenagh Co-op.

ArraTipp, which is a merger of Arrabawn and Tipperary Co-op, paid tribute to Jimmy, saying they learned of his death "with great sadness".

ArraTipp said that he had devoted more than ​four ​decades ​of ​his working life ​to the ​co-operative ​movement and made an immense contribution ​to the development ​of ​dairying ​and ​agriculture across the region.

The business said that Jimmy's leadership was ​instrumental ​in ​building Nenagh ​Co-op, ​and that he brought local creameries together and ​strengthened the ​co-operative for generations ​of ​farming ​families.

"His vision and commitment were ​particularly evident ​in the ​merger of Nenagh ​Co-op ​and Mid-West Farmers Co-op, which ​led ​to the ​formation ​of Arrabawn in 2001," ArraTipp said.

"As its first ​chief ​executive, Jimmy ​helped ​lay ​the foundations for ​the organisation ​we ​know ​today," a statement from the business added.

"Such was ​Jimmy's contribution ​to the industry ​that he received ​national ​recognition ​when ​awarded ​the ​2009 ICOS ​Plunkett Award ​for Co-operative ​Endeavour, ​with ICOS noting that he ​had devoted more than 48 years ​to Irish ​agriculture," ArraTipp said.

The co-op said that he was widely respected ​throughout Irish agriculture for his ​integrity, leadership and deep ​commitment to the ​co-operative ​ethos.

"His contribution ​to ​our ​co-op ​and to the ​communities ​it ​serves will long be ​remembered," ArraTipp said.

The statement added: "On behalf of ​the board, management, ​staff and ​members ​of ArraTipp Co-op, ​we ​extend ​our ​sincere condolences ​to Jimmy's family and friends ​at this sad ​time."

ArraTipp

ArraTipp was formally established at its inaugural board meeting in February 2025.

The co-op has 1,400 dairy farmer suppliers, with the dairy business - a merger of Arrabawn Co-operative Society and Tipperary Co-operative Creameries - saying at the time that the venture "consolidates the future of dairying" for those farmers.

The co-op society is owned by over 4,800 members.

More than 1,400 farmers across 16 counties supply roughly 750 million litres of milk annually.

In its first annual report since the merger, which was published in April of this year, ArraTipp Co-op said it saw a strong performance for last year’s financial year.

The company reported an operating profit of €14.1 million for the preceding 10-month period, up from €9.5 million on a combined basis for the previous 14 months.