Nigel Renaghan, the current Irish Farmers Association’s (IFA) poultry chairman, has received backing from his home county of Monaghan to run for Ulster/north Leinster chairman of IFA.

Renaghan, who ran for the position of IFA vice-president in the elections over a year ago, is now looking for backing from two other counties in the region to get the nomination for the position.

There is a vacancy for the position, and another of others, after the IFA voted to return to a voting system every two years.

The south Leinster position is also up for grabs, and names being circulated for the position include Pat Farrell (Kildare), Tom Shortt (Wicklow), Tom Doyle and Pat Murray (both Wexford).

Another position on offer is that of the returning office/treasurer. This looks to be a hotly-contested position, with a range of names already in the hat, including Pat Murphy (Galway), Maura Canning (Galway), James Murphy (Kilkenny), current dairy chair Sean O’Leary and Tim Cullinan (Tipperary).

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Nigel Renaghan gets the nod to run for IFA Ulster/north Leinster chair

With IFA elections due before year end for a number of positions, there is a list of names already in the offing.