As the summer begins, Macra na Feirme looks back on the 75th Macra AGM, which was hosted and organised in May 2019 by Kildare Macra na Feirme in Athy, Co Kildare.

Macra was founded in Athy in 1944 by Stephen Cullinane and it was very fitting that the national AGM should return to where it all began for its 75th anniversary. A fantastic series of events was organised by Kildare Macra for the weekend of the 10-12 May.

On the evening of Friday 10 May, a wreath was laid at the Macra sundial by both the 2017-2019 Macra president James Healy and the 2019-2021 Macra president Thomas Duffy commemorating the location of the first Macra national headquarters at Athy town hall.

Athy farmer Liam Dunne, a former Macra county and national chair, gave a speech to the large crowd in attendance. Generations of Macra members had the opportunity to reminisce afterwards at the Clanard Court Hotel, Athy.

Kildare Macra published two booklets for the weekend, one detailing the events of the weekend with addresses from the Macra presidential team and the other, a recommissioned booklet on Stephen Cullinane, first published in July 1980.

Delegates from across Ireland gathered at the Clanard Court Hotel for the AGM on Saturday morning, where the 2019-2021 Macra presidential team were inaugurated and the future strategy of the rural organisation was discussed. At a black tie dinner at the hotel that evening, celebrating 75 years of Macra na Feirme, president, Thomas Duffy called on farmers not to allow the challenges they face to define them and described Macra as a force for change in the sector over the past 75 years. Similar sentiments about the organisation’s positive impact were echoed by Vincent Gorman from Glanbia (sponsors of the event), who is himself a former member of Kildare Macra and attributed skills such as having the confidence to stand up and speak in public to his time in the organisation. “It’s a great schooling for young people,” he said.

Thomas Honner, a former member of the national council who later served as Leinster vice-president and then Macra president from 2003 to 2005, noted that Macra has brought young people together and provided them with the opportunity to become leaders. “We have leaders from the hall to the Dáil,” he said. “This organisation has given them the grounding to go and achieve.”

Outgoing president James Healy said it was “extremely fitting” to be back in Athy, adding that the town “has been at the heart of everything that Macra has done since the very start.” The current president, Thomas Duffy, reiterated this sentiment that he could “feel the weight of history” in Athy, noting that there are so many incredible stories in Macra and “they all start with Stephen, they all start with Athy”.

Thomas O’Connor, Kildare county chair, expressed his delight with the turnout and thanked both Glanbia for their sponsorship and the hard work of the members of Kildare Macra for bringing the weekend together. “When the opportunity arose to host the 75th AGM, there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that Kildare had to play a central role”.

Looking back over the weekend of the AGM, Kildare Macra would like to take this opportunity to express their thanks to all those who attended any of the events over the weekend and who helped out in every way possible in the build-up to and during the AGM.