Each month, we put the spotlight on a Tirlán employee and for our June newsletter, we’re talking to Ailish Byrne

Newly appointed Director of Agribusiness, Ailish Byrne, has only been in the role since March 1 but says she can’t believe how quickly time has passed and how seamless her transition was from Head of Agriculture with Ulster Bank, where she worked for 20 years.

“In my earlier years, I would have had lots of direct interaction with farmers and in the latter stages in my former post, I had more engagement with the IFA, the Minister and other stakeholders in the sector. It all means that I am very comfortable with the high-level approach in my new role, the language, our customers and the sector as a whole.

“From day one, Tirlán took me on as me. They wanted my views. Listened to my ideas. I’ve only been here three months, but it seems longer. It’s an environment in which people’s ideas and opinions are valued and respected.

“We had over 40 people at our team strategy day. It was really positive, with lots of enthusiasm from everyone – there was fantastic interaction from the entire team. Tirlán is an environment which really values individuals for what they can bring to the table.”

In her role, Ailish leads the Agribusiness team. This includes ruminant, equine, pet, the 52 branches, CountryLife, all the marketing and loyalty programme teams as well as the grain and procurement teams.

“It is a very diverse team and our job is to ensure that our farmers, our shareholders and our customers have access to all the inputs they need to run their dairy, beef or tillage farm. There has also been a huge growth in step-out programmes such as FarmGen, E-Commerce and the Twenty20 Beef Club.

“What amazes me most is the level of continuous interaction with the representative structures. I knew joining that it is a cooperative, but I didn’t realise the level of engagement and the continuous interaction between those representative structures – the board, the council, the business itself. It keeps everyone up to speed, keeps vital information flowing. Keeps it all very real.

“I do a bit of tillage myself at our home in Crossneen, on the edge of Carlow town. We usually grow malting barley but I’m growing sugar beet and some peas this year. Being involved in farming, from my background and from my new role, I know the pressures there are this year. We are coming off a very strong 2022 for dairy and for grain. The pressures for 2023 are very real and we can all feel it.

“That said, we are a cooperative that is definitely true to our values. We are in business to make money but it’s also about getting the balance right, about competitively pricing our inputs so we can deliver the best possible milk and grain price for our farmer suppliers.”

And how does Ailish relax and unwind from it all? “My husband and I have two daughters, so lots of evenings and weekends are spent on the sidelines at football or soccer matches or at show jumping events. So not quite relaxing at times – a different sort of pressure from work.”