Kilkenny’s Josephine O’Neill was elected the next president of Macra at the count in the Irish Farm Centre on Friday.
The count took place four weeks after the race closed to nominations and ended with a 29-vote margin, favouring O’Neill over Co Cork contender Conor Murphy.
The newly elected president is due to take the reins from outgoing president Elaine Houlihan at the young farmers’ group AGM in mid-May.
O’Neill is a secondary school teacher and drystock farmer, currently serving as chair of Macra’s board.
“It’s been a very busy couple of weeks, a great couple of weeks to be on the road, meeting members, being put through my paces,” she told the Irish Farmers Journal after Friday’s count. 
O'Neill was elected with 82 votes, while Cork contender Conor Murphy received 53. \ Philip Doyle
“I am a little bit overwhelmed and so honoured to have been bestowed this title by the membership and to be allowed to represent the members going forward.”
The views of members will guide O’Neill’s position on policies and the direction Macra takes over her two-year term at helm, she said.
“They are the people who voted for me, they have given me the honour of this title, so my number one priority going forward will be to ensure that our members are happy and represented.
“Every president is going to bring new ideas and their own personality to the table and I am hugely passionate about this organisation, and I see that there are huge opportunities for our organisation to grow and develop and become a more well-balanced organisation that represents everybody.”
The incoming president stated her intention to ensure that the organisation will encourage engagement by improving its offerings to them across competitions, rural youth and farm policy. Providing more travel and leadership opportunities could also help boost the recruitment of new members and the engagement of existing ones, O’Neill stated.
Outgoing president Elaine Houlihan and incoming president Josephine O’Neill at the Irish Farm Centre on Friday. \ Philip Doyle
“There is huge potential within out rural landscape for new members to join our organisation.
“There are so many members who could become more engaged with the organisation to start with and I would love to focus on helping to improve membership and engagement.
“Also, as a secondary school teacher, I look at my students and see them as being future members of our organisation and I want to develop ties with our secondary schools and agricultural colleges to further develop out membership moving forward.”
O’Neill spoke of nitrates rules and CAP reform as being among the key policy challenges awaiting her, with a farm succession scheme also high on her agenda.
“Over the last while, Macra has been very active in the area of generational renewal with our public consultations and based on those consultations and listening to the views, the opinions, the challenges faced by our members,” she continued.
“I look forward to engaging with the Commission on Generational Renewal to ensure that our membership’s needs are represented, so that we can see rural Ireland being supported – that we get our services.
“But also that the delivery of the succession scheme that has been promised by Government is actually done.”
Vice presidents
Friday also saw the election of organisation’s three regional vice presidents. William Clancy of Borrisoleigh Macra was elected Munster vice president on the first count.
Mountmellick Macra’s Andrew Dunne is the uncontested Leinster vice president and John Duffy of Three Parishes Macra in Co Monaghan assumed the role of northwest vice president without challenge.
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Kilkenny’s Josephine O’Neill was elected the next president of Macra at the count in the Irish Farm Centre on Friday.
The count took place four weeks after the race closed to nominations and ended with a 29-vote margin, favouring O’Neill over Co Cork contender Conor Murphy.
The newly elected president is due to take the reins from outgoing president Elaine Houlihan at the young farmers’ group AGM in mid-May.
O’Neill is a secondary school teacher and drystock farmer, currently serving as chair of Macra’s board.
“It’s been a very busy couple of weeks, a great couple of weeks to be on the road, meeting members, being put through my paces,” she told the Irish Farmers Journal after Friday’s count.
O'Neill was elected with 82 votes, while Cork contender Conor Murphy received 53. \ Philip Doyle
“I am a little bit overwhelmed and so honoured to have been bestowed this title by the membership and to be allowed to represent the members going forward.”
The views of members will guide O’Neill’s position on policies and the direction Macra takes over her two-year term at helm, she said.
“They are the people who voted for me, they have given me the honour of this title, so my number one priority going forward will be to ensure that our members are happy and represented.
“Every president is going to bring new ideas and their own personality to the table and I am hugely passionate about this organisation, and I see that there are huge opportunities for our organisation to grow and develop and become a more well-balanced organisation that represents everybody.”
The incoming president stated her intention to ensure that the organisation will encourage engagement by improving its offerings to them across competitions, rural youth and farm policy. Providing more travel and leadership opportunities could also help boost the recruitment of new members and the engagement of existing ones, O’Neill stated.
Outgoing president Elaine Houlihan and incoming president Josephine O’Neill at the Irish Farm Centre on Friday. \ Philip Doyle
“There is huge potential within out rural landscape for new members to join our organisation.
“There are so many members who could become more engaged with the organisation to start with and I would love to focus on helping to improve membership and engagement.
“Also, as a secondary school teacher, I look at my students and see them as being future members of our organisation and I want to develop ties with our secondary schools and agricultural colleges to further develop out membership moving forward.”
O’Neill spoke of nitrates rules and CAP reform as being among the key policy challenges awaiting her, with a farm succession scheme also high on her agenda.
“Over the last while, Macra has been very active in the area of generational renewal with our public consultations and based on those consultations and listening to the views, the opinions, the challenges faced by our members,” she continued.
“I look forward to engaging with the Commission on Generational Renewal to ensure that our membership’s needs are represented, so that we can see rural Ireland being supported – that we get our services.
“But also that the delivery of the succession scheme that has been promised by Government is actually done.”
Vice presidents
Friday also saw the election of organisation’s three regional vice presidents. William Clancy of Borrisoleigh Macra was elected Munster vice president on the first count.
Mountmellick Macra’s Andrew Dunne is the uncontested Leinster vice president and John Duffy of Three Parishes Macra in Co Monaghan assumed the role of northwest vice president without challenge.
Read more
Josephine O’Neill enters Macra presidential race
Macra 2025 presidential campaign intensifies
Young Stock Podcast: from teaching home economics to finishing cattle
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