The integral role the Irish dairy sector plays in the Irish drinks industry was highlighted at the 2025 Irish Drinks Forum this week.

Mary Sadlier, CEO of Coole Swan, spoke at the event which took place at the BIA Innovator Campus in Athenry, Co. Galway on Wednesday (September 3) and Thursday (September 4).

Sadlier, who runs a dairy farm alongside her husband, explained how emphasising quality has stood to their brand over the years.

She said: “It’s a very short production cycle. We milk the cow on a Monday and the product is in the bottle by Wednesday. That’s why it’s quite popular in the drinks trade.

“The cow is there seven days a week, she’s a great lady, and she never lets you down.”

The Coole Swan CEO noted that the business had to overcome many obstacles over the years, one of which was the introduction of tariffs.

Sadlier said: “In 2018, the wonderful Mr. Trump put tariffs on cream liqueurs. I don’t know what happened there.

“Somebody woke up and they’d taken tariffs off everything but somehow they left it on dairy and forgot that cream liqueurs were in dairy, so we got hammered with the tariff.”

National Dairy Council

Emma Walls, CEO of the National Dairy Council (NDC) also spoke at the event.

During her speech, Walls explained the role the NDC has in promoting the consumption of dairy in Ireland.

She said: “We have two jobs to do. One is to drive consumption of dairy in this country and help people understand why it’s important to them.

“But our primary job is to advocate for the sector and protect the social licence to produce.

“It’s a massive industry and we’re exporting more than 90% of what we produce, so we produce far more than we need.

“So we operate at quite an intensive level, and we need the support of the public behind us to do that.”

Walls also highlighted the importance of sustainability within the Irish dairy sector, noting that there is no “silver bullet” to address climate issues.

Ian Perez, head of BrandArc by MHW, a US-based company that specialises in creating a path to market, explained the volatility of tariffs in the US when he spoke at the event.

He stressed that in the short time-frame of six weeks, tariff percentages can change rapidly, and emphasised how volatile that market can be for Irish drinks companies trying to expand into the US.

National Dairy Council

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Highlighting Irish dairy at the 2025 Irish Drinks Forum