Ornua has made three new appointments to the company’s board of directors.

Dermot Farrell from Lakeland Dairies, Tim Healy from Dairygold and Frank Tobin from Tirlán are the three new directors replacing Seán Brady, Edmund Lynch and Diarmuid Lally on Ornua's board.

Dermot Farrell joined the Ornua board in December 2025 as the Lakeland Dairies nominee.

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Farrell previously held the position of general manager of the food service and consumer foods division with Lakeland Dairies and was also chair of Dairy Council Northern Ireland.

He is succeeding outgoing Lakeland Dairies nominee Seán Brady.

Tim Healy will join Ornua’s board in March 2026 as the Dairygold nominee.

During a 37-year career with Dairygold, Healy held a number of executive roles including chief operations officer and general manager of the Dairy Ireland and overseas businesses.

He led major strategic projects including Dairygold’s dairy infrastructure expansion programme. Healy will succeed outgoing Dairygold nominee Edmund Lynch on the Ornua board.

Frank Tobin will join in June 2026 as the Tirlán nominee.

Tobin served as executive director of Tirlán, where he held the role of chief investments and strategy officer, following a 46-year career with the co-operative.

During this time, he held a number of senior leadership positions, including chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Tobin will succeed outgoing Tirlán nominee Diarmuid Lally on the board.

Ornua has said that each of the new directors brings deep industry expertise and significant leadership and governance experience to the board, strengthening Ornua’s connection to its member co-operatives and the farm family suppliers they each represent.

Ornua chair Kevin Toland commented: “On behalf of the Ornua board of directors, I am delighted to welcome the appointments of Dermot Farrell, Tim Healy and Frank Tobin to the board, following respective nominations from our member co-operatives.

"Their combined leadership experience, sectoral knowledge and fresh perspectives will be hugely important as we continue to strengthen the company’s strategic oversight and long-term vision of driving value for Irish dairy farmers during a complex period for the global and domestic dairy sectors."

He also thanked the outgoing board directors for their invaluable contributions to Ornua over the past number of years.