Tag Archives: Tom Cahill

A special stone plaque commemorating the life of a Corofin “natural farming leader” will be revealed at the Clare IFA 60th anniversary dinner dance in Treacy’s West County Hotel on Saturday night. Clare IFA will present the plaque to the family of the late Tom Cahill, who will lay it on his grave at Corofin cemetery after the function. The citation on the stone reads, “Tom Cahill, in recognition of your outstanding contribution to Irish farming, Clare IFA”. The first Clare IFA chairman was one of the most influential figures in local and national politics for years, particularly during the formative years of the new association. Among his main achievements was being a founder member of National Farmers’ Association (NFA) in 1955, which later became the IFA, serving as secretary of the national council. A staunch supporter of farmers’ rights, he devoted his life to improving the supports for farmers and left a huge legacy to Irish agriculture when he …

IFA president, Eddie Downey has paid tribute to Tom Cahill one of the nine central figures in the historic Farmers’ Rights campaign of 1966, who passed away last night. Tom Cahill, from Ballyportry, Corofin, was the last surviving member of the nine farmers who led more than 40,000 farmers in a march to Dublin after which Tom, along with eight other selected representatives, made their way to the Department of Agriculture to meet with the minister. When the minister refused to speak with the group, they staged a sit-in on the steps outside Government Buildings, which lasted 21 days, before the Government backtracked and agreed to discuss the concerns of the farming community. IFA president, Eddie Downey said the legacy of the effort and the hard work by Tom Cahill and his farmer colleagues in 1966 is evident in the continued survival of not just the IFA, but the farming community. Mr Downey said he believed the effort made by …