Irish Farmers' Association

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Irish Farmers' Association
Feirmeoirí Aontaithe na hÉireann
Founded1955
HeadquartersIrish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin
Location
  • Ireland
Members72,000
Websitewww.ifa.ie

The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) (Irish: Feirmeoirí Aontaithe na hÉireann) is a national organisation to represent the interests of all sectors of farming in Ireland. The IFA is Ireland's largest farming representative organisation and has operated for more than 60 years.[1][2][3][4][5]

The IFA represents Irish farmers at home and in Europe, lobbying and campaigning for improved conditions and incomes for farm families.[1][6][7][8] It also provides representation, support and advice to members on an individual basis.[9][4][10]

IFA is a democratic association, organised in branches, county executive and national committees.[11]

The IFA's head office is at the Irish Farm Centre, in Bluebell, Dublin. It also maintains 12 regional offices and an office in Brussels.[1]

History

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Foundation as the National Farmers' Association

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The organisation was founded in January 1955 as the National Farmers Association (NFA), aiming to lead Irish farmers out of the depression and deprivation which had dominated rural Ireland for decades.[12][3][13]

Merging of organisations

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The NFA merged in the 1960s with four smaller organisations representing specific sectors (including Leinster Milk Producers[14] (now Fresh Milk Producers), beet growers and horticulture) to form the Irish Farmers Association – the IFA.[15][5][16]

Engagement with Europe

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In the 1972 referendum on Irish membership of the European Economic Community, the IFA campaigned for a "yes" vote, seeking access to European markets and higher prices for agricultural produce.[3]

The IFA denounced the European Union–Mercosur Free Trade Agreement as a "disgraceful and feeble sell-out".[17]

Salary controversy

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In November 2015, Eddie Downey (President) and Pat Smith (General Secretary) resigned due to a salary controversy. Smith's salary in 2013 had been €535,000. He resigned on 18 November. A week later, members of the organisation's national executive council were informed that Smith had been given €2m in severance and €2.7m in pension. Eddie Downey admitted he had signed off on this agreement and resigned. Downey was earning €147,000 a year plus €50,000 in add-ons when he resigned.[18]

The IFA confirmed that former chief economist Con Lucey—who had attempted to raise concerns over financial issues and transparency before quitting under duress in 2014—would oversee a review of salaries and expenses.[10]

List of presidents

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Name Year Origin
Juan Greene 1955–1962 County Kildare
Rickard Deasy 1962–1967 County Tipperary
T. J. Maher 1967–1976 County Tipperary
Paddy Lane 1976–1980 County Clare
Donal Cashman 1980–1984 County Cork
Joe Rea 1984–1988 County Tipperary
Tom Clinton 1988–1990 County Meath
Alan Gillis 1990–1994 County Kildare
John Donnelly 1994–1998 County Galway
Tom Parlon 1998–2002 County Offaly
John Dillon 2002–2006 County Limerick
Padraig Walshe[19] 2006–2010 County Laois
John Bryan[20] 2010–2014 County Kilkenny
Eddie Downey 2014–2015 County Meath
Joe Healy 2016–2020 County Galway
Tim Cullinan 2020–2024 County Tipperary[21]
Francie Gorman[22] 2024–present County Laois

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Who We Are". Irish Farmers' Association. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Our History". Irish Farmers' Association. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b c The Path to Power: 60 Years of the Irish Farmers' Association. Irish Farmers' Association. 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Why Become a Member". Irish Farmers' Association. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  5. ^ a b "IFA launches book to mark 60 years". Irish Farmers Journal. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  6. ^ "IFA Brussels Office". Irish Farmers' Association. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  7. ^ "Copa-Cogeca Members". Copa-Cogeca. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  8. ^ "IFA AGM hears from EU Commissioners". Irish Farmers Journal. 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Legal Advice". Irish Farmers' Association. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Annual Report 2022". Irish Farmers' Association. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  11. ^ "About Us". Irish Farmers' Association. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  12. ^ Moody, Theodore William; Martin, Francis X.; Byrne, Francis John (1982). A New History of Ireland: A chronology of Irish history to 1976. Clarendon Press.
  13. ^ Gibbons, Ann (2010). "Farmers on the move : the strategic mobilisation of the farming lobby in 1960s Ireland". UCD.
  14. ^ Gibbons, Mary (2012). "Invisible Farmers: the Role of Irish Women in the National Farmers' Association, Farmers' Rights Campaign of the 1960s". UCD.
  15. ^ Finnegan, Richard B. (20 February 2018). Ireland: Historical Echoes, Contemporary Politics. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-96817-4.
  16. ^ Wilson, Thomas M. (1 March 1989). "Large Farms, Local Politics, and the International Arena: The Irish Tax Dispute of 1979". Human Organization. 48 (1): 60–70. doi:10.17730/humo.48.1.1p4162g70816j42n. ISSN 0018-7259.
  17. ^ "Farmers, environmentalists slam 'sell-out' EU-Mercosur trade deal". France24. 29 June 2019.
  18. ^ Ó Cionnaith, Fiachra (26 November 2015). "Eddie Downey resigns as IFA face multi-million euro legal pay battle". Irish Examiner. Cork. Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  19. ^ "Walshe elected as IFA president". RTÉ News. 20 December 2005. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  20. ^ "Bryan elected IFA president". RTÉ News. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  21. ^ "Tim Cullinan elected president of Irish Farmers' Association". RTÉ News. 18 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Laois farmer Francie Gorman elected Irish Farmers' Association president". RTÉ News. 13 December 2023.
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