To call something the end of an era is an often overused cliché, but how else can you describe the retirement of Anne McGrath from the IFA’s Brussels office?

Anne, a Dub, joined the IFA in 1982, less than 10 years after Ireland’s accession to the EEC. From 1989 until 2014, she supported Michael Treacy as the pair built the influence of the IFA and indeed Irish farming, with the European Commission and within the European Parliament.

Liam McHale, the IFA’s s current Brussels office director, said: “In a city built on reputations, Anne has few equals.” All Irish farmers owe her a debt of gratitude.