There has been a major shake-up of the directors of the Beef Plan Movement company in recent weeks.

Documents recently filed with the companies office (CRO) show that Laois man Enda Fingleton and Kilkenny native Alan O’Brien have both resigned as directors of the farmer organisation in the run-up to Christmas.

Both Fingleton and O’Brien had served just under two years as directors of the Beef Plan company.

In their place, Cork native Jason Fitzgerald and Emmanuel O’Dea from Athenry, Co Galway, have both been appointed directors of the Beef Plan.

Four directors

In total, there are now four directors of the Beef Plan Movement company: Hugh Doyle from Co Meath and Kevin O’Brien from Co Galway, alongside the aforementioned Fitzgerald and O’Dea.

Eamon Corley, who was one of the founding directors of the organisation alongside Hugh Doyle, resigned as a director of the organisation in August 2019 after just eight months as a director.

Corley, although no longer a director of the company, remains aligned with Hugh Doyle in one side of the now splintered Beef Plan Movement farmer group.

Power struggle

Following the beef factory protests, which brought meat factories to their knees and resulted in farmers being pursued through the High Court, there was a power struggle between several senior members of the Beef Plan group.

On one side were Eamon Corley and Hugh Doyle and their supporters.

On the other side were Eoin Donnelly and Dermot O’Brien, plus the two Beef Plan company directors who have now resigned – Enda Fingleton and Kevin O’Brien.

In the Department of Agriculture’s Beef Market Taskforce, it is Dermot O’Brien and Enda Fingleton who represent the group.

Attempts to change the personnel representing the Beef Plan group at the taskforce meetings were rejected by the Minister for Agriculture.

Update Friday 7pm: Beef Plan Movement directors dispute company filing

Enda Fingleton and Alan O'Brien have disputed the legal documents that record them as having resigned as directors.