Glanbia Ireland’s network of 14 Country Life Garden Centres have been extremely busy during this period, contributing to this €1.2 billion industry in Ireland last year. As an essential service, our garden centres saw a massive increase in sales since March of this year, more than doubling sales* when compared to the same period last year, with some already reaching sales targets for 2021.

With this huge interest in gardening, Overherd at Glanbia wanted to find out more about who’s driving it, what they’re purchasing and is gardening’s popularity here to stay? Helping us answer these questions and more are two experts who have been advising and helping people plan their ideal gardens for many years – our Ballyhale and Ashford Horticulturalists Mary Brennan and Anne Synnott.

Mary has been with Glanbia for 10 years, but only recently joined the team at our oldest garden centre in Ballyhale. She says customers have been looking for “instant colour in their gardens. They don’t want to wait for plants to grow as they’re looking to enjoy them immediately.” She added: “Some people are coming in looking for fully matured trees such as cherry blossoms just before they bloom.

People haven’t been afraid to spend money and are purchasing large items like pergolas to create areas of calmness in their gardens while they’re working from home. The feeling is they need down time and nice spaces to escape to.”

GI’s busiest garden centre is in Ashford, County Wicklow, where Anne has been working for four years. She describes re-openings after lockdowns as “intense, but thoroughly enjoyable as gardens have brought happiness to customers’ lives during these difficult times.” With a number of new housing estates being built around Ashford, Anne has seen a “boom in the number of young customers coming into the garden centre. They’ve done their research and know what they want in terms of garden design and plants such as perennials and also vegetables – chili peppers are a particular favourite!”

Tell us how long you have worked in Glanbia and a little about your role?
I have just completed my first year with Glanbia and my role is to establish and develop the Consumer category in the Middle East and Africa regions (MEA).

Your department is one of the lesser known teams in GI, tell us a bit about what the team looks after?
The MEA Consumer team’s first task is to make available Ireland’s favourite dairy brand to consumers in MEA as they dine-in and dine-out. The dine-in occasion continues to prove to be important, especially in tough times, so we are especially excited about Avonmore debuting in local supermarkets as soon as possible.

What’s your favourite thing about working in Glanbia Ireland?
My favourite thing is how a business at Glanbia Ireland is supported by multi-functional teams and systems and also enabled to work like an entrepreneur. It’s a rare mix in practice as I have come to experience and it’s a testament to the leadership, culture and the pragmatic and helpful people of Glanbia.

What are you most proud of in your job?
I am most proud of the opportunity to join you as an ambassador of the heritage, culture, milk, quality and values that make up Glanbia. I am also proud that Glanbia is now the sole supplier of UHT cream to the largest food and beverage manufacturer in the Middle East and seventh most valuable dairy brand worldwide – Almarai. It took years of hard work from the Ingredients folks to build enough trust combined with months of hard work by the Consumer folks to deliver this. To be part of this one multi-category team has truly been a memorable experience.

How do you describe GI to friends or family outside of work?
I tell them GI already feels like home in the first year and even from a distance, I know that we are going to accomplish great things in this region and that having been lucky enough to visit Kilkenny a few years ago, that Ireland is just beautiful.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I am very interested in health and wellness, so I start my day with a good run. I spend part of my spare time in the kitchen (nothing fancy) and practicing coaching in the emotional wellbeing space.

What are you most looking forward to post Covid/lockdown?
Just to be out there without masks, sanitizers and restrictions and to once again enjoy those tiny liberties that add to life.

Rory Hannon,
Commercial Manager, Belview

As a rugby player the gym has always been a big part of my fitness lifestyle and over the last number of years, my focus would have been on strength training. But with the gyms closing in December, I was forced to find new ways to get exercise in.

I was never a fan of running, in fact I would have done my best to avoid it but needs must and with a number of colleagues in the Growth team being keen runners, I decided to bite the bullet and take up a new challenge. I started with 5km, then 10km, 15km and in March I was delighted to run my first half marathon. Due to travel restrictions, I did the majority of running on the roads around my home in Waterford City. Since the restrictions have lifted, I’ve been lucky to be able to run in more scenic areas like Tramore, Dunmore East or on the Waterford Greenway.

When I started running in January my goal was to improve my fitness and lose weight, but after I completed a half marathon I decided to set the goal of running a full marathon. My aim is to run the Viking virtual marathon in June. I’ve had some challenges with some old rugby injuries coming back to haunt me, but my training is still on track. I never thought I would say this, but running is now something I actually enjoy and I plan to keep running even when the gyms are open again.

Lauren Baker,
Export Operations and Project Manager Equine, Purcellsinch

I am lucky to own a lovely Connemara pony named Rocky and thankfully, I have been able to continue to exercise and school him at home during lockdown. The struggle for me as an amateur rider was the fact that we could not compete our horses during lockdown. This made keeping the motivation to continue to keep him fit difficult at times, as I had absolutely no idea what I was working towards and when I would get to compete again.

I am very happy to say we had our first cross country training lesson last Sunday at Wexford Equestrian, which is a beautiful equestrian venue. Now I’m looking forward to our first competition on the 13th of June! My big goal is to qualify Rocky for the Connemara performance class at the RDS Dublin Horse Show, although that will now be pushed out to 2022 due to Covid!

Throughout the summer, I will compete for my riding club Carne in south Wexford in eventing and show jumping and I’ll do some Connemara classes at local shows. When I’m not training with Rocky, I do a lot of running on the hills around home which makes a huge difference to my strength and fitness for horse riding.

Ian Cahill,
Commercial Development Manager, Citywest

I’ve been playing American Football in Ireland and Dubai for over 10 years, representing four club teams and two national teams in that time. The football season in Ireland generally runs from March to August, but this year we’ll have an augmented season due to Covid disruptions and given the late start to training, friendly games will be played in August/September.

During lockdown, the thing I missed most was the comradery of my teammates. I missed that feeling you get when 30 other people are on your team, supporting each other and believing in you and your abilities. I truly see my teammates like a family and I am glad to be back with them.

The Senior American Football League has been running in Ireland since 1985, with the national title game titled the “Shamrock Bowl” usually played in the first week of August. The most recent final was in 2019 at Energia stadium in Donnybrook, which my club the South Dublin Panthers unfortunately lost to the Belfast Trojans.

I’m really looking forward to getting back playing this summer and in preparation, my training has been focused on improving my speed, throwing mechanics (which is critical for my position at quarterback) and flexibility to decrease the likelihood of injury. Outside of my own games, I really look forward to and enjoy coaching the Academy (youth) team and having an impact on the upcoming young athletes and thereby helping to improve the sport here in Ireland.

Denise Hayes,
HR Business Partner, Growth

I am so excited to get back to some hiking and trail running this summer. Luckily, we have some fantastic trails and loops in south Tipperary that are close to my home. I’ve managed to complete some great 8km and 10km tail loops in the beautiful Glen of Aherlow over the past few years and this summer, I’m also really looking forward to a hike with friends to the top of Galtymore where the views stretch as far as Cork on a clear day. I had two failed attempts at the summit last summer due to weather, which is very changeable on the Galtee’s. The route from the Mitchelstown side is a fairly direct and manageable trek but for keen hikers looking for a bit of a scramble, the Ballinacourty side is fabulous, with lake views and (apparently) a famine wall.

Of course I can’t forget Tipp’s famous Slievenamon either, near Kilkash village, which is a real thigh burner and cardio workout. It’s a shorter trek but an easy route to follow, with views into Kilkenny and Waterford. All free bar the coffee and treat afterwards!

Around the world, June is recognised as LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) Pride Month to commemorate a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States —the Stonewall Uprising. The Uprising lasted six days in Manhattan in June 1969 as police clashed with LGBTQ+ protesters.

Today, Pride celebrations attract millions of participants each year as LGBTQ+ communities and allies honour their identity through parades, workshops, parties, picnics, lectures, concerts and more. Along with our Glanbia colleagues globally, we are inviting you to get involved in some way to celebrate our LGBTQ+ colleagues, friends and families.

On June 21st Siobhan Talbot, our Group CEO, will host a global employee forum discussion with Matt Lindley, an ex RAF Squadron pilot and one of the first openly gay pilots in the military. Please keep an eye out for more details on how to join this discussion over the coming days. You can also show your support of our LGBTQ+ colleagues by downloading GI’s MS Teams ‘Pride’ background for meetings throughout June by clicking here.

Please keep an eye out for communications about further activities during the month. We’d love to see more people getting involved and helping us shape activities. If you’d like to get involved or simply wish to make a suggestion, please email Helen at helenkiely@glanbia.ie.

Our Plant Pink campaign has launched in all of our 14 award-winning garden centres across Leinster and Munster and online at CountryLife.ie. CountryLife are donating €2 to Breast Cancer Ireland for every one of its special ‘Tickled Pink’ Dianthus sold. The sun-loving plant was chosen because of its beauty, its unmistakable perfume, its resilience and its sun-loving characteristics. The specially chosen Pink Dianthus is grown in Limerick in a biologically friendly way with virtually no chemical pest control methods at the family-run Young Nurseries.

Tickled Pink is a compact, upright evergreen perennial that grows up to 30cm in height, with long, narrow blue-green leaves. It is neat and compact and is perfect for containers or borders. It has gorgeous vanilla-like scented lavender-pink flowers from summer to Autumn.