The six finalists in Macra’s National Leadership Awards have been announced. Each finalist went through a challenging interview process and will now proceed to the final interview stage.

The finalists are:

  • Colm Stenson, South Leitrim Macra.
  • Eilis Ahern, Carrigaline Macra, Seandun, Cork.
  • Grainne O’Reilly, Ramor Macra, Cavan.
  • Joan Marie Healy, Berrings Macra, Muskerry, Cork.
  • Marie Murphy, Freemount Macra, Avondhu, Cork.
  • Noel Duffy, Ferbane/Banagher Macra, Offaly.

    • The awards are organised as part of Macra’s leadership training programme. The aim is to provide opportunities for members to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes necessary for leadership positions either in Macra or in other voluntary roles or future occupations.

    The national final will take place on Tuesday 2 February in the Irish Farm Centre, Dublin.

    The first three of the finalists are profiled below. Next week, we will profile the remaining three finalists. Macra na Feirme wishes each finalist the best of luck.

    Colm Stenson

    Colm Stenson is a 32-year-old from Eslin, Co Leitrim. He is a part-time farmer, a member of South Leitrim Macra, the Irish Simmental Cattle Society and a local group water scheme, of which he is a former chair.

    Colm was one of the founding members of South Leitrim Macra in 2009, immediately becoming chair of the club and also acting as county chair. In 2010, another club was developed in North Leitrim. Colm also became Leitrim national council representative (NCR) in 2011, a role he still holds. Colm serves on the Macra agricultural affairs sub-committee, having previously been on the rural youth committee.

    He was elected to the Macra national executive in 2015. Colm is also currently club secretary of South Leitrim Macra. He was awarded a silver leadership distinction award in 2014 and went on to be awarded a gold leadership distinction award in 2015.

    Colm participated in most aspects of Macra’s many activities and competitions, with the highlight for him being awarded the community involvement award at the FBD Young Farmer of the Year final in 2013. Outside of Macra, Colm is actively involved in the local community, a keen follower of sports events locally and enjoys an odd holiday.

    Joan-Marie Healy

    Joan-Marie Healy is a member of the Berrings Macra na Feirme club in the Muskerry region in Cork. She is currently president of Muskerry Macra na Feirme, having previously served as the Muskerry NCR. Joan-Marie was a member of the national executive and was also national secretary of Macra. She was a member of the Muskerry rally committee, who organised the 2015 national conference, the Rally in the Lee Valley, last October.

    Joan-Marie is a primary school teacher and principal of Drimoleague National School in West Cork. She lives in Skibbereen with her husband Seán Ronan, a former Carbery representative on the national council and executive, whom she married in December.

    If you attended a national round of FBD Capers from 2009 to 2013, you would have seen Joan-Marie as one of her many aliases, such as Susan Boyle, Mary Byrne and June Rogers. A jack of all trades, she has tried her hand at much of what Macra has to offer.

    Joan-Marie has a keen interest in music, having served as organist for Berrings choir for nearly 20 years. She is an assistant musical director of the National Children’s Choir, bringing the National Children’s Choir to Cork for the first time in a long time in 2015, where she conducted a choir of over 200 children. She is a qualified Irish dancing teacher and ran her own Irish dancing school for 10 years in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow (where she taught before Drimoleague NS). She’s very interested in developmental education, having made visits as part of study groups to Brazil in South America, Zambia in Africa and Beijing in China.

    Joan-Marie loves to get involved in activities, initiatives and fundraisers, especially in the local community, which is probably why she enjoys being a member of Macra na Feirme so much. Her motto is: “just do it”.

    Grainne O’Reilly

    Grainne is chair of the national competitions committee having served on the committee since becoming NCR in 2012. She was also a member of the national executive committee in 2014. While serving as NCR, she was also county chair from 2013 to 2015 and is the current county vice-chair. Grainne is a member of the Ramor club in Cavan since 2005, when she was persuaded to join by a good friend and she hasn’t looked back since. Grainne has held the roles of chair, secretary and treasurer in the club and has also served as competitions officer and public relations officer in the county at different times.

    Grainne is an active member of both the club and county and regularly represents club and county in Macra competitions, as well as attending as many club and county events as possible. Some of her highlights included being part of the Cavan Rainbow team, which reached the FBD Capers finals in 2013 and 2014 and reaching the impromptu public speaking finals in 2014.

    Outside of Macra, Grainne is also an active member of her local football club in Cavan, Killinkere GFC and is in her third year as assistant secretary of the club. In 2011, she was awarded club person of the year for the football club.