Well-known Mitchelstown pig farmer Pat O’Keeffe has been elected chair of North Cork IFA.

O’Keeffe defeated John Magner, who is the county’s forestry chair, by 33 votes to 30 following a very tight election.

The campaign dredged up some old divisions from the IFA presidential election when O’Keeffe was accused of supporting Tim Cullinan over local candidate John Coughlan.

However, O’Keeffe, who is a stalwart of the IFA in North Cork, just managed to gather enough support to stay ahead of his rival.

He replaces Anne Baker, who has completed her term in the position. Baker now takes over as North Cork PRO.

The election was restricted to branch delegates, with the ballot being a postal vote because of COVID-19 restrictions.

However, there was some concern at the count, which was held in Mallow GAA complex, as some of the branch votes had not arrived in time to be included in the poll.

Among the other positions filled in North Cork was vice-chair. The former Fine Gael councillor Liam Doherty was elected to the post unopposed.