As I reported last week, a special general meeting, or SGM, was required to make two significant rule changes at LacPatrick. The first was to reduce the board from 25 to 16. The second was to establish a 60-person council from which board members would be chosen. The council would have been drawn from 20 shareholders in Cavan/Monaghan, 18 in Derry/Antrim and 11 each in Down/Armagh and Fermanagh/Tyrone.

Over 100 LacPatrick shareholders voted at the SGM on Tuesday. The Dealer understands that the result was roughly 50/50, short of the required two-thirds majority.

This means the board will continue to have 25 members and there will be no 60-person council. The board is very large because it encompasses the individual boards of Town of Monaghan as well as Ballyrashane, following the merger of the two co-ops in 2015.