M Magazine Summer 2013 - Macra na Feirme

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Meet the new
Macra president
On 9 April, members
elected
Kieran O’Dowd,
South Sligo Macra, as
national president of
Macra.
He took up his
position at the AGM
on 11 May, alongside
his three vice presidents,
James Healy, Munster VP (Donoughmore
Macra, Muskerry), Patrick
Delaney, Leinster VP (Portlaoise Macra)
and Sean Finan, North West VP
(Castlerea Macra, Roscommon).
We asked members to put their
Ryan Tubridy hats on and come up
with some questions for our new
national president and three vice
presidents.
These are the questions put to each
one from Macra members on Facebook.
Q&A
with president and
vice presidents
Five questions
1) As elected members, what
do you envisage doing in your
term that hasn’t been done
before — James
2) What do the president and
three vice-presidents bring to Macra
that is different to the last president
and vice-presidents — Louise
3) Will they be photographed as much
as Alan Jagoe was! – Philip
4) Seeing what is going on at the
moment with the fodder crisis — are
you thinking about the future Are you
thinking of implementing a plan/procedure
in case it happens again, which
is likely to happen — Sarah
5) Blur or Oasis — James
KIERAN O’DOWD, NATIONAL PRESIDENT
1) I intend to prioritise the area of land
mobility and working closely with the
various stakeholders to initiate progress
in the area.
2) Coming from a different part of
Ireland will mean that, naturally, I will
have a different perspective on some
issues. In addition, coming from a different
work background, I hope to tailor
my skills and experience to achieve the
James Healy, Munster
vice president
1) Personal development is a huge part of
what Macra is about and something which
I think as VP I can do a lot to facilitate. For
that reason, I hope to organise courses,
give Macra members a very useful skill but
which will also add to their CV in the current
economic climate.
2) From my own perspective, I think I bring
a lot of experience gained from my time on
competitions, which I am extremely happy
to share, whether they are questions on
presiding, running workshops or putting
counties or clubs, who may want a little
extra practice, in contact with each other
3) Despite what everybody at work thinks,
I haven’t been photographed that often
but it’s getting harder and harder to stay
out of Daniel O’Regan’s lens, so it’s very
possible!
4) I think it’s very possible that there will
be a shortage again next year given that a
huge amount of reserves have been eaten
in to this year. For that reason, I think
farmers need to look carefully and try and
plan for that shortage by buying early and
at a reasonable price. Beyond that, I think
Macra would need to co-ordinate with the
other farming organisations to put a plan
in place.
5) I never really got that you had to be one
4 | m | Summer 2013
or the other, but gun to head, Oasis by a
nose.
Sean Finan, North West
vice president
1) I hope to work to further raise the
awareness of what Macra has to offer
by encouraging counties in my region to
meet with their local print media to advise
and highlight to them that Macra is the
representative body for young farmers but
A recent survey carried out by a county in
the northwest highlighted the importance
Macra.
All too often, Macra’s coverage of
performing arts, sports, etc, is covered in
the agricultural page. If this information
were to appear in the sports pages or the
arts and cultural page, it would have a far
broader reach and attract more members
to the organisation that might not necessarily
know what we do.
At the National AGM, I presented
details of the proposed ‘Night at the Dogs’
Fundraising initiative which will take
place at four greyhound tracks at the end
of November 2013. This fundraising is
necessary to bridge the gap in funding as
a result in the cut of the Youth Services
Grant. As vice president, I will lead the
organisation of this event in the venue in
the northwest region. This is a new event
times, it is paramount that it is successful. I
will lead from the front in making this event
a success in my region.
2) Each vice president and president past
and present brings something different to
the organisation as every person has a
different background, level of experience
and approach when it comes to Macra. It’s
all about working as part of a team. I can
only speak for myself and say that I am a
hard worker, a team player and passion-
members and I will work tirelessly to grow
and develop our organisation over the next
two years.
3) Alan Jagoe was a very popular and
hardworking president. The president is the
full-time representative of the organisation
at a national level and, as a result, is likely
to be photographed more than all the VPs
together during the two-year term. A VP
would never expect to receive the same
exposure as the role is more centred on
their own region.
4) Due to the size of our organisation and
our limited resources, we will be somewhat
restricted in what we can and cannot do
in the event of a crisis, such as the fodder
crisis. We can only do whatever we can as
each crisis arises, however big or small
that intervention may be.
5) Oasis