Farming in Ireland – Conclusion

Woodland in Polmounty

An excellent view of a number of shade-loving plants can be found in this wet willow-alder-ash woodland in Polmounty in the South of Carlow including ferns, ivy and brambles.

Betsey Hickey

Woodland in Polmounty
Betsey Hickey

Woodland in Polmounty

An excellent view of a number of shade-loving plants can be found in this wet willow-alder-ash woodland in Polmounty in the South of Carlow including ferns, ivy and brambles.

Betsey Hickey

Enlarge image

As the preceding sections show, Ireland has a superb farming resource and a rich farming heritage. By its nature, the text can only offer a brief overview of farming in Ireland, a diverse topic that is constantly evolving. The captions of the accompanying photographs from the Irish Farmers Journal collection should help to provide additional information, while the videos of contemporary Irish farming scenes offer a summary overview. For those interested in more detail and up to date statistics, the linked websites are recommended.

As well as being very important to Ireland in economic terms, farming is also at the heart of Ireland’s rural communities. This is eloquently captured in the works of Patrick Kavanagh, John B Keane, John McGahern, and many other exceptional Irish writers.

Horace Plunkett and the co-operative movement

Horace Plunkett and the Co-operative movement: One man who had a tremendous positive impact on Irish agriculture was Horace Plunkett, who led the introduction of the co-operative movement. In 1889, Plunkett established a co-operative butter-making industry in southwest Ireland, basing his structure on a Scandinavian model. In 1894 Plunkett founded the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society with 33 affiliated dairy co-operative societies or “creameries”. His organisation expanded rapidly; four years later there were 243 affiliated societies. Later, as an MEP at Westminster, he inspired the Recess Committee Report of 1896, which documented failure in Irish agriculture administration. The government eventually accepted his plan, and by the turn of the century the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland (DATI) was established, with Plunkett as vice-president. Cooperatives still dominate Irish agriculture; you can learn more from their umbrella organisation, the Irish Cooperative Organisation Society (ICOS) (www.icos.ie) For more on Horace Plunkett, see www.plunkett.co.uk

Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

Horace Plunkett and the co-operative movement
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

Horace Plunkett and the co-operative movement

Horace Plunkett and the Co-operative movement: One man who had a tremendous positive impact on Irish agriculture was Horace Plunkett, who led the introduction of the co-operative movement. In 1889, Plunkett established a co-operative butter-making industry in southwest Ireland, basing his structure on a Scandinavian model. In 1894 Plunkett founded the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society with 33 affiliated dairy co-operative societies or “creameries”. His organisation expanded rapidly; four years later there were 243 affiliated societies. Later, as an MEP at Westminster, he inspired the Recess Committee Report of 1896, which documented failure in Irish agriculture administration. The government eventually accepted his plan, and by the turn of the century the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland (DATI) was established, with Plunkett as vice-president. Cooperatives still dominate Irish agriculture; you can learn more from their umbrella organisation, the Irish Cooperative Organisation Society (ICOS) (www.icos.ie) For more on Horace Plunkett, see www.plunkett.co.uk

Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

Enlarge image

Their works can of course be found in your local library, where you can also access to fascinating material such as Arthur Young’s seminal “A Tour in Ireland”, which is a graphic record of farming in Ireland between 1777 and 1779.

Those who prefer to browse remotely, and readers outside of Ireland, can learn more about Ireland’s farming history and heritage, as well as the flora and fauna of Ireland, by reading some of the other sections on this website. This site also provides free searchable access to a digital edition of Griffith’s Valuation, which was published between 1847 and 1864. It was the first full scale property valuation in Ireland and offers a wonderfully accurate and enlightening window on Ireland’s past.

With global food demand growing on the back of rising population and evolving diets, Ireland’s farmers are required to increase the volume of their output. However, they must do that in tandem with a responsibility to protect and enhance the rich natural environment that they inherited from their ancestors. This includes a responsibility to protect flora and fauna, enhance air and water quality and preserve our fantastic archaeological heritage. With agriculture currently accounting for 32% of Ireland’s national emissions, the need for diversification in this sector is ever more crucial if sustainable, lower carbon intensity farming is to be achieved within the context of our national climate targets.

With agricultural colleges full to capacity with bright, enthusiastic young people, Ireland’s rich farm tradition looks to be in safe hands.