Professor Roger Delves says authenticity is key to developing a deep sense of purpose

Before the Christmas holidays, Professor Roger Delves hosted an exclusive Tirlán webinar which explored the theory behind developing a more authentic leadership style and the connection between integrity, values and authenticity.

In the webinar, Roger discusses how authentic leaders have a deep sense of purpose and are true to their core values. Having recently launched our new Purpose, Vision and Values (PVV), this is particularly important for our organisation as the core behaviour of authenticity can and should inform the actions of everyone in the organisation.

Make sure to watch the video below if you’d like to develop a very clear idea of why authenticity is such a desirable behaviour in organisations and also get a real sense of what changes you can make as an individual to increase your personal authenticity in our new organisation.

Roger Delves is a Professor, Hult International Business School, author & speaker with an interest in authentic and transformational leadership Roger Delves | LinkedIn

Tirlán staff dug deep this Christmas for Focus Ireland

Thanks to a big festive effort from colleagues across Tirlán, €10,000 was raised for homeless charity Focus Ireland this Christmas.

€4,835 was raised through generous donations from colleagues, which has been rounded up and matched by Tirlán to help people who find themselves homeless in Ireland.

Big thanks goes to everyone who got in the Christmas spirit and donned their favourite jumpers across all of Tirlán and congratulations to our four competition winners who each picked up a €100 One4All voucher.

Operation Biodiversity aims to plant over 450,000 native trees and hedgerows by 2025

Tirlán FarmLife and its family farm suppliers have set an ambitious new target of delivering 450,000 native trees and hedgerow plants to enhance the Irish countryside through the Operation Biodiversity programme.

Last year, the Operation Biodiversity initiative reached its original 100,000 tree and hedgerow target 12 months ahead of schedule. To celebrate, Tirlán donated 10,000 native Irish trees to its farm family suppliers, customers and community groups.

At the recent launch of Tirlán’s latest iteration of the programme, Tirlán Chairman John Murphy attributed the success of Operation Biodiversity to the enthusiasm and willingness of farm families working to enhance and protect the land for themselves and the generations to come.

“Operation Biodiversity has helped enrich our landscape and provide much-needed food and shelter for our native wildlife since its launch in 2020. Every native Irish tree and hedgerow planted builds on the ongoing biodiversity work that farm families are already doing as custodians of the land,” he said.

Seán Molloy, Chief Ingredients & Agri Officer at Tirlán, said: “We reached our original 100,000 target in record time. This shows the clear and unequivocal momentum behind our Living Proof sustainability strategy and the appetite for biodiversity and climate action on family farms and in the community.

“We’re proud of what we have achieved to date and look forward to working with our suppliers and in our communities to reach these new targets, which also align with the increased environmental ambitions of the next CAP from 2023 onwards.”

Specially selected planting packages

As the tree and hedgerow planting season opens, horticulturists and employees across Tirlán’s 52 local stores, including our 14 CountryLife Garden Centres, are helping farm families pick the right hedging plants and trees for their individual farms, providing shelter and food for wildlife while also boosting their sustainability credentials.

To help drive this initiative Tirlán FarmLife has committed to delivering excellent value, including low-cost bundles, along with providing horticultural expertise to help guide on selection of trees and hedging and planting.

Through Operation Biodiversity, the excellent value bundles include a hedging mix of native Irish hedgerow plants specially selected by Tirlán FarmLife horticulturalists. Each bundle includes Blackthorn, Whitethorn, Hazel and Alder and covers approximate 12 metres of hedging.

The specially selected, rich species tree bundle includes a mix of Birch, Alder, Oak and Mountain Ash trees. Both packages are available through the Tirlán FarmLife network of branches and Tirlán CountryLife garden centres.

“There’s space for nature on every farm and I’d encourage farmers to talk to our team of experienced horticulturalists and discuss the best tree and hedgerow options to boost biodiversity on their farms. Every tree planted makes a difference,” said Chairman John Murphy.

With Christmas just around the corner we’re officially in the festive season, with lots to look forward to over the coming weeks

December 14th

Making 2023 the Best Year Ever with Owen Fitzpatrick

As we find ourselves nearing the end of 2022, we prepare for another year full of opportunities, challenges and surprises. Many of us make New Year resolutions, but inevitably find ourselves reverting back to the same old habits. In an upcoming webinar on Wednesday, December 14th, you will learn why resolutions and best laid plans often go to waste and what you need to do instead to take advantage of the fresh new start of 2023.

You’ll discover how to prioritise what matters most and learn a brand new framework to organise your year, so you achieve what you want. You will become aware of the most important elements of taking care of yourself, maintaining high performance while achieving more work life balance and what science tells us about wellbeing.

December 15^th

Cookery demo with Catherine Fulvio, live from Abbey Quarter

Are you looking for the perfect festive meal that will impress friends and family without spending hours slaving away in the kitchen this Christmas?

Well look no further! As part of Tirlán’s employee activities this winter, we are delighted to announce that Avonmore ambassador and celebrity chef Catherine Fulvio will host a Live Cookery Demo exclusively for Tirlán employees from Abbey Quarter on Thursday December 15th!

What’s Cooking?

During the fun and entertaining cooking demo, you’ll learn how to prepare three scrumptious dishes for all the family to enjoy over the festive season.

Festive Maple Duck with Orange Cherry Sauce

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Creamy Braised Butternut Squash

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Christmas Delight – White Chocolate Ginger Mousse Tart

December 22^nd

Christmas Jumper Day and End of Year Message from Jim Bergin

Tirlán is happy once again to be supporting homeless charity Focus Ireland and their Christmas appeal. You can help raise money for those experiencing homelessness in Ireland by wearing your favourite Christmas jumper on Thursday, December 22^nd.

An iDonate fundraising page has been set up and Tirlán will match all donations from colleagues.  You can begin donating by clicking here today, or by wearing your jumper on the 22^nd and donating then!

Also on December 22^nd, Tirlán CEO Jim Bergin will host a MS Teams call for his end of year message. It’s been a momentous year for our organisation and we hope everyone from across the business will be able to join the call.

Each month, we put the spotlight on a Tirlán employee and for our December newsletter, we’re talking to Gerry Fogarty

Production Planner in Consumer, Gerry Fogarty, is preparing for a marathon few weeks ahead. On top of his role which involves planning the production of UHT at the Lough Egish site in Monaghan, he’s preparing to step in and help with the pre-Christmas Avonmore Cream rush.

“I also provide cover with the milk and cream team. We normally do about 100 tonnes of cream a week. That increases ninefold over the December period. Whipped Cream has been a huge success story and ensuring we have supply to meet demand takes a massive team effort. The team in Ballitore will start packing Christmas cream around the 9^th or 10^th of December. That shift will run 24 hours, right up until December 24^th. The 250ml and 500ml cream will be packed into cartons in the TT3 filling line in Drogheda for the first time. Normally we would have three shifts a week on this line. That increases to three shifts a day in the run-up to Christmas.

“It’s an exceptionally busy time and you really don’t get time to get bored. But like all departments in Tirlán, people come together in a massive team effort. While it’s very busy, it’s also great to be involved. You really do play to your strengths and enjoy the buzz of it all.

“Everyone plays their part. In the 10 days up to Christmas we do a huge volume of our annual sales, so it’s all shoulders to the wheel. Everyone in sales, marketing, even some of the most senior people in the cooperative, take two to three shops and they work around the clock to ensure the cream is on the shelf, not in the back store. Margins on cream are significant, so it’s a time of year that we all pull together to meet our targets and ensure the revenue comes in.”

Gerry, who lives in Navan, started out with Tirlán on a college placement in 1984. He studied Agricultural Science in WIT, which is now the South East Technological University. Like so many more, he never left the company.

“When I started here, it was Drogheda Dairies. It became Avonmore, then we merged with Waterford to become AWG. We then became Glanbia and now Tirlán. There has been lots of comings and goings since then, but it’s a fabulous place to work and you really can’t beat the team effort, particularly at this time of year.”

While Gerry has been with the company for 38 years, he has enjoyed several different roles, including working in the process area, moving on to become a shift manager, part of the central planning team in 2009 and now part of Fran Ryan’s team in Consumer Foods.

Asked if he still enjoys Avonmore Cream on Christmas day, Gerry quipped: “Absolutely. I don’t get too emotional about the Christmas build-up. Teamwork gets us through it and we make sure our customers have their Avonmore Cream – with a cherry on top if they want.”

MyMilkman and agency Zoo collected the Bronze Award in Best App Category at this year’s DMA’s. Pictured from L-R are Rachel Carrigan (Zoo), Colin Hetherington (Zoo), Sandra Downey,(MyMilkman Marketing Manager, Tirlan), Robert Jordan (Head of DTC Channel, Tirlán), and Mark O’Grady (Zoo)

The innovative app was recognised at this year’s Irish Digital Media Awards

MyMilkman recently picked up Bronze in the Best App Category at the Irish Digital Media Awards held in Dublin recently. Now in their 19th year, the Digital Media Awards are the most prestigious digital awards in Ireland. They recognise creativity and innovation across multiple areas including digital content creation, advertising and marketing, mobile media, social networking, app development, web design and development.

Launched to consumers in October 2021 The MyMilkman app was borne out of a shift in consumer behaviour in recent years, with smartphone usage surpassing computers and laptops. The award-winning app was recognised for its great features, such as one click log in, the ability to change/ add products to your daily order at a tap, a new product categories area, a ‘People Also Bought’ section to cross sell and upsell the wider product range, and an improved consumer sign up journey.

Initial targets of 20k downloads of the app have been exceeded and now 25% of the MyMilkman team’s customer acquisition is being generated via the app which is expected to go from strength to strength over the coming years.

Each month, we put the spotlight on a Tirlán employee and for our November newsletter, we’re talking to Eoin Maher 

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