Included at the cheque presentation at the new Tirlán headquarters were Eoin Murphy, Sinead O’Sullivan and Jim O’Neill of Tirlán, Diane O’Neill, Ford; Leslie Moynan, Carlow/Kilkenny Homecare; Viv Rooney, Geraldine Quigley and Anne O’Brien, Ford; Pat Jordan, Focus Ireland; Gerry Warren and Barbara Browne, Tirlán and Luke Decaux, Focus Ireland.

Tirlán has donated €44,850 to three worthy causes in the community, living up to the commitments made in its Living Proof sustainability strategy.

The funds were raised through the annual, two day Glanbia 300 fundraising cycle which saw Tirlán and Glanbia employees cycle from its plants in Ballyragget to Wexford and return the following day.

“This was a huge company-wide drive to raise funds for three very worthy causes,” cycle organiser, Jim O’Neill, said. “There was great buy-in from right across the company and from our farm family suppliers and funds poured in from co-workers, from family, friends and lots of our suppliers.

“Over the past 10 years, we have raised over €330,000 for charities. We’re already planning our 2023 cycle and will make an even greater push to bring that tally to €400,000.

“As a farmer-owned cooperative, Tirlán is firmly rooted in the community. It is only fitting therefore that we support causes like Focus Ireland, Carlow/Kilkenny Homecare Team and the Ford Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre. They are doing trojan work in this region and we’re delighted to support those efforts. We are very, very thankful to everyone who played their part.”

Leslie Moynan of Carlow/Kilkenny Homecare thanked all who contributed. “We provide end of life care to cancer and other end of life patients in their own homes. Our team of nurses will benefit directly and will be able to help more families in the community thanks to this donation.”

Viv Rooney of the Ford Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre was equally thankful to all. “We will now be able to offer more counselling to people in Wexford thanks to this donation. We were able to see 120 extra people last year thanks to the generosity of the public. This money will be put to very good use to help and support those individuals who come to us, their wider families and the community.”

Niall Gaffney of Focus Ireland said funds raised locally stay locally. “The funds from this event will be used for our aftercare service in Wexford. We have a service in Wexford for people leaving state care at 18 years of age. They are at a higher risk of homelessness because they don’t have a support structure in place. This aftercare service helps them make the transition to independent living and equips them with the tools they need to thrive in their lives.”

Each month, we put the spotlight on a Tirlán employee and for our October newsletter, we’re talking to Ann-Marie Drennan

Fertiliser Transport Planner Ann-Marie Drennan absolutely thrives on hitting the ground running in any role or with any task. Her characteristics made her the ideal candidate to fill such a demanding role at such a challenging time.

“I’m only in this role since mid-August. My job is to get fertiliser from the producer to the farmers. Fertiliser is in such demand and supply has been so tight that it was definitely sink or swim for me over the past few weeks. However, coming from a farming background really helped me understand it that little bit more.

“Thankfully, we’ve kept everything afloat. I don’t really believe in any roadblocks. Diversions maybe, but not roadblocks. There is a solution to everything in life. It sometimes just takes an outsider looking in to see it.

“The past weeks have been challenging but I expect things to wind down until January, which will allow us to prepare for the challenges that 2023 will bring, while also getting an understanding for how feed transport is coordinated. The focus over this time is to understand the processes involved and implement any changes that can help along the way for the 2023 season.

“I started working in Glanbia in the HR department by supporting the Graduate Programme in recruiting. I then branched out into other contracts from Warehousing/IT/Treasury, but eventually decided that Logistics was the function I wanted to focus on.

“I applied for a role within the Exports function. This role involved exporting butter to the EU and rest of the world, along with managing the TGF shipments to the USA and taking on any projects and challenges along the way.

“From Johnstown Co Kilkenny, having Ballyragget as a base office was ideal as I only lived across the road. However, during Covid and working from home, you would miss the social interaction with work colleagues. It’s great to be back in a collaborative office, particularly in the new Abbey Quarter office based in the heart of Kilkenny city where you can work together in person. I find Logistics a very sociable place to work in.

“It’s not all work. I come from a farming background, so there is always something to be done. From feeding calves in the spring to silage in the summer, I tend to retire from the farm in winter, so it’s only part time really and at that I wouldn’t even call it work.

“The work life balance is key to anyone that works in Tirlán. For the last three years, I was working full time and studying part time. I finished my degree in May. This taught me to utilise my time efficiently, which helps me finish my work on time. I can now switch off for the evenings and be ready for what the next day will bring.”

Ann-Marie likes to travel, be it hopping on a flight for a few days in the sun or even sightseeing around Ireland. “The flexibility of being able to travel again is fantastic. Although my job is demanding, my hope for the near future is that we continue to improve our transport planning by implementing the ORTEC system. That will give us clear visibility of the fertiliser from time of purchase to the end customer.

“I am looking forward to the company changing over the next few months and excited to see what opportunities arise for Tirlán. We’re always looking ahead in transport, building up and planning for the months ahead to help Tirlán farm families have fertiliser where and when they need it next year.”

Emerging and future Tirlán leaders gather at different stages on their career journeys

Capstone event rounds off leadership programme

Last month, 15 participants from our Emerging Leader programme met with senior business leaders in The Newpark Hotel Kilkenny to present their learnings from the programme and to discuss their leadership journeys.

The programme, which launched in December 2022, explored leadership capabilities with a focus on coaching and empowering others. This was, according to all involved, an inspiring event showcasing our emerging talent and highlighting the importance of leadership behaviours.

Speaking after the event, Beef Twenty20 Programme Manager Ross Brady said: “The Capstone event was a good way to finish off the programme by bringing all the emerging leaders together to showcase our learnings and highlight all the positives we gained from partaking in the emerging leader programme. It also gives the SLG who attended a good insight into what we learned over our time in the programme. Networking with the SLG team was also beneficial for our group.”

Vivian Gee, Advanced Analytical Senior Manager said: “I found the Emerging Leadership programme to be one of the most insightful, challenging and useful development courses I’ve taken part in. It gave me many practical tools, a more complete sense of self-awareness and a new network of friends / colleagues for my leadership journey and for life in general.”

ABOVE: Tirlán’s Future Leaders pictured at the recent Emerging Leaders event in Kilkenny

Graduate programme Induction

Also in September, we welcomed our new graduates to Tirlán. The group of 15 who will be working across the business came together in Hotel Kilkenny to participate in a two-day induction event. They were welcomed by Tirlán CEO Jim Bergin and Chief People, D&I and Organisational Design Officer Michael O’Leary, who gave an insight into the business and our culture, including the importance of authenticity, psychological safety and our coaching journey.

Tirlán’s Head of Environmental and Sustainability Compliance Audrey O’Shea provided an overview of Living Proof, our sustainability strategy, and graduates were encouraged to become involved in our sustainability agenda. Former graduates also met with the group to talk about life as a graduate.

As part of a senior leadership session, Tirlán’s Head of Nutrition and Sustainability Innovation Michelle Collins described her own leadership journey and provided some valuable advice. A team building event helped to build the relationships that are an integral part of the graduate programme.

Please welcome and support graduates in your area to settle into the business as they commence their careers with Tirlán.

ABOVE: Jim Bergin, Audrey O’Shea and Mick O’Leary pictured with Tirlán’s 2022 Graduate Programme inductees

Receiving the award for Best B2B Website on behalf of Tirlán are: (back row) Praveen Babu – Ecommerce Architect, Mark Dillon – Ecommerce Manager, Jess Kelly – Digital & Loyalty Marketing Manager, Gomathi Hariharan – Senior Digital Technical Analyst, Eimear Coleman – Senior Digital Consultant, James Brennan – Farmer Communications Manager, (front row) Melanie Mynhardt – Ecommerce Development Executive, Jane Maher – Ecommerce Development Executive, and Ava Whelan – Marketing Inter.

At the recent Irish Ecommerce awards, the Tirlanfarmlife.com team took home the award for Best B2B Website of the Year!

Held at the Mansion House in Dublin, the Awards recognise and reward the organisations, teams and individuals who are shaping the thriving internet retail industry across the island of Ireland. The Tirlán FarmLife team was thrilled to take home the best B2B Website award, while Tirlanfarmlife.com was also shortlisted for the Overall Website of the Year award.

Tirlanfarmlife.com is our 24/7 farmer facing hub packed with farm advice and support, technical advice, ‘my account’ area for farmers to access all of their important on farm dashboards in addition to the thousands of farm and home products available to be delivered direct to farm!

This award marks another milestone on the Agri team’s eCommerce journey and is testament to the continued development of tiranfarmlife.com and the pivotal role it plays within our farmer community.

Who’s the lucky winner of our Elverys voucher competition?

In last month’s edition of Overherd at Tirlán, you were given the chance to win a €200 Elverys voucher thanks to Avonmore Milk. Our Standard Avonmore Milk range is currently running an on-pack competition giving consumers the chance to win a €200 Elverys voucher every day until October 16th.

All you had to do to win was tell us what you would spend your €200 voucher on!

Congratulations to Helen McCabe from Virginia who told us she’d purchase a new pair of running trainers to get out and about this autumn. Congrats Helen, the voucher is on its way to you!