An €11m investment to revamp Tirlán's 52 branches has commenced with work in its Athboy, Castlelyons and Bunclody stores already under way.

The investment package is part of a range of measures to future-proof its agri, retail and garden centre services in rural communities across 11 counties, Tirlán has said.

The plan will also include a significant upgrading of branch IT infrastructure with new technologies that will improve overall customer experience.

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These branch improvements will take place over the next four to five years including the establishment of new Tirlán CountryLife garden centres at existing branches in both Athboy Co Meath and Bennettsbridge in Co Kilkenny.

Tirlán Chair John Murphy said: "As a farmer-owned co-operative, Tirlán is committed to developing a modern network of stores that service the evolving needs of farmers and the communities we serve.

Many of these communities, he said, have lost their local post office, shops and other services in recent years and Tirlán aims to play its part in ensuring they remain vibrant and self-sufficient.

The first new concept store revamp in Bunclody will be completed in early 2023, Senan Foley, head of retail at Tirlán explained.

“Our 52-strong branch network is the face of Tirlán in our communities.

"They are more than just an agri store. Today, our branch network provides critical services in a setting that many of our shareholders, suppliers and customers have a strong affiliation with locally.

“Over a year ago, we partnered with An Post subsidiary PostPoint to bring a range of convenient services to rural communities. Today’s announcement is part of a wider investment programme that will not only further enhance our offering to customers, but also expand our role in the community."

Phase one of the investment programme sees stores in Ashford, Monasterevin, Castlelyons, Athboy and Bennettsbridge undergo significant renovations.

This will be followed by phase two branches in Dungarvan, Kilmeaden and Tullamore.

This rebrand will see agri stores rebranded to "Tirlán FarmLife", and agri stores with garden centres rebranded to "Tirlán CountryLife".

Further investment is being rolled out in areas such as people development and training, along with development of Farm Hardware Centres of Excellence.

The investment programme was unveiled at the first of Tirlán’s regional Farmer Information Meetings. They continue this and next week. They take place in Kilkenny’s Newpark Hotel on Thursday, January 12, at 11am and in The Killeshin in Portlaoise, Co Laois, on Monday, January 16 at 11am.

Meetings continue in The Ardboyne Hotel in Navan on Tuesday, January 17 at 11am and an online session for those unable to travel runs that evening at 7.30pm. The final regional Farmer Information Meeting runs in Enniscorthy’s Riverside on Wednesday, 18 January, also at 11am. For further details and to register for the online session, log on to www.tirlanfarmlife.com

Further investment is being rolled out in areas such as people training and the development of Farm Hardware Centres of Excellence, along with enhancement of their TirlanFarmLife.com ecommerce customer offering.