Chapter 10
Boherbue Co-Operative Creamery

BOHERBUE CO-OPERATIVE CREAMERY
1901
It has withstood the test of time

Dairy farming is the chief industry in rural Boherbue because the nature of the land and the climatic conditions are most suitable for the production of milk. For hundreds of years the tenant farmers of the area had slaved under very primitive conditions producing milk and its by-product Butter and the income from its sale helping towards paying the rent. Many the stories are told of the long arduous and dangerous journey to the Butter Exchange in Cork, which was established in 1770 A.D. The network of routes or trails, they travelled with their Firkins (small timber barrels containing 56 lbs) of butter, were known as Butter Roads. Depots, to facilitate the travellers were established along the way. These depots provided sustenance – both solid and liquid – for man and beast. You had one such depot at Changetown in Ballyhoolihan. The Roches of Drominarigle were local butter merchants who transported the local produce to Cork in carts or slung across the backs of horses, like the camel trains in the desert

Sir Arthur Young, the historian writing about his journeys through rural Ireland in the C18 describes the poverty and misery of the peasantry and of his amazement at their hospitality. Michael Davitt’s, Land League set about rectifying their plight and the nation-wide organisation of the League into branches which organised Mass Meetings against the evils of Landlordism. Their methods were fairly severe against – landlords and their agents, evictions, land grabbers. This unrest in rural Ireland lead to the passing of
The Land Purchase Acts of 1885,1893 and 1903, which gave the farmers the confidence to expand from the days of home butter production to a more organised system.

The Co-Operative Movement:-
Against that background, agriculture was in a very backward state in the 1890’s. Sir Horace Plunkett encouraged farmers to establish Co-Operatives on the Danish model. They were most successful in the south where they made the farmers more self reliant, improved farm production and increased farm incomes.
These developments, Land Purchase Acts and Co-Operative Movement, combined to bring about the gradual decline of the old methods and the Butter Market which served the farming community since 1770, closed in 1922. Other developments such as Mechanised Creameries, developed by companies, mainly British companies, were operating at strategic points all over the country and the new Co-Operative creamery Societies were also competing for the available milk supply

The Turnbull Company:-
From Yorkshire in the U.K. established the first creamery in Boherbue just before the beginning of the 20th century. It was a very impressive building containing the necessary machinery etc to cater for the dairy industry. It was built on the site now occupied by the D.I.Y. and Farm Supply section of Co.Op. The site was probably bought from local farmer, Hugh Cronin

The Boherbue Co-Operative Creamery was established in 1901:-
It has progressed steadily from humble beginnings to a modern complex of Creamery, grocery and hardware store and Milling business. The management, committee, farmers and staff of Boherbue Co-Operative Society can be rightly proud of their rural independent complex. Since 1901, this creamery has had just five managers namely :- James Forde, James Miskelly, Pat(Sonny) Godsil, Andrew O’Connor and Joe O’Connor all native sons except Miskelly, who came from the Sligo – Leitrim area.

Why was the Co-Op set up when the Turnbull creamery was already in existence. ?
Because:- The farmers in those far off days of 1901 became so dissatisfied with the price per gallon of milk,( 2.5d. -1p in modern money), being paid by Turnbull and Co. that they decided to establish their own creamery. Having studied what had been done by the farmers in the Lombardstown area, they succeeded in collecting sufficient funds to take over a small building, no larger than a little cottage, just beside the Turnbull creamery. Men who could ill afford a few pounds, managed to put up the cash and a separating machine was installed in the little house.
When it opened its door to customers in May,1901, the Boherbue Agricultural and Dairy Co-Operative Society came into existence.
Although, the first few years of their existence, were by all accounts turbulent—-- arguments with customers and Turnbull and Co. plus other “growing pains”, they have never looked back since that day in 1901. They paid 3.5 d per gallon for milk and within a short few years had bought out their rival. They moved their dairying business into the Turnbull creamery and a shop called "Duhallow Stores" was established in their original Co.Op. The Co.Op and the Duhallow stores were to remain independent of each other until sometime during the second World War. Farm equipment and animal feeds were the main commodities on sale in this store. Household goods and groceries got little attention – they were catered for by the smaller shops in the area. Anyway, Plunkett’s movement did not advocate getting involved in this type of business.
The two most important men in the Co. Op. Committee in the early years were Willie O’Gorman, Maule and Den”The Yank” Lenihan, Derrynatubrid.
A Branch Creamery was opened in Tureen, Knocknagree in 1919 under the management of a Mr Sharpe. In subsequent years this position was held by Dave O’Loughlin who became a Veterinary surgeon at a later stage Bernie O’Connor who became Manager of Newmarket Co.Op, Paddy Breen and Eamon Cronin, the last person to hold the position.

In 1940 a new building was erected by building contractor Jerome C. O’Mahony and a Milling business was established there. This building was built on the site of Famine Fever Hospital. It is now the Duhallow Food Training Centre and Meals on Wheels serve a wide area from here
A few years later, they bought the premises where Dermot O’Hanlon now lives and moved the Grocery business from the original store, thus leaving that store free to cater mainly for agricultural needs.
The Duhallow Stores had from the beginning been managed by Con O’Connor, Islandave and various assistants followed notably Mick Clifford and Patrick O’Connor. I can remember Mick Charley O’Sullivan and Billy Jack Jim O’Connor as helpers who loaded and unloaded goods. Con was known locally as Con the Store. When Con retired, Mick Clifford became manager of the agricultural store and Patrick O’Connor became manager of the grocery store.
Patrick and his assistant Paddy Fitzgerald were to remain in this store until 1958.This premises was also used as offices and Joan Ankettell was a very efficient secretary.
At this stage the Grocery and Household Goods section began to expand and more space was needed. The original Milling premised was refurbished and in 1958, Patrick moved his business across the road where it was to remain until 1993.
At this stage Joe O’Connor had become Manager (1990) and he saw that the Dairy industry was declining and that a new way forward was necessary. A complete re-organisation was to take place. The Cinderella industry of 1901 was to be the saviour of the Co-operative society

At this stage(1993) this building was rented by an organisation called the Integrated Resource Development ( I.R.D) to start a Food Training Centre. So the Grocery Store had to move again, this time, into temporary quarters (now Chemist shop) acquired from Joe Mulcahy until its new home Duhallow Retail Park was opened on the 28th, October 1994. The Retail Park was built on the site of the Turnbull Creamery which was lying idle since 1964 and had become a derelict site. The Duhallow stores were back together again under a different name in 1994
When Patrick O'Connor and his assistant retired in 1986, they were replaced by Tommy Lovett and Denise O'Gorman Feehan. Mick Clifford who had retired some years earlier was replaced by Mick Aherne, who when he became caretaker of the comprehensive school, was replaced by Sean Daly from the defunct butter-making sector.

The heyday of the Dairy industry
In 1953, a modern mill was erected (replacing a smaller one) to cater for the ever expanding needs of the dairy industry and the bacon industry, a huge industry in the area until it went into decline. Many, many reasons brought about this decline and today the number of pigs in the parish is minimal where once every farmer prepared huge numbers of pigs, Landraces and Large White Yorks, for delivery to the bacon factories in Tralee and Limerick. Haulage was provided by the Co.Op who at this stage had a “fleet” of lorries catering for the daily needs of their customers. The Pigs and Bacon Comission were a very prestigious body at this stage and Densie Murphy, Ballyhoolihan was a member of the executive. This mill was built by O'Flynn, building contractor, Millstreet and the site was bought from Danny Daly. While all these developments were going on, Dairy Products were being produced in the creamery for the home market and for export. The first fifty years were not very profitable years for the society because they had to endure and cope with the recessions caused by two world wars and the economic war of the 1930's. However, the show went on. In the 1950's the Co-Op moved up a gear. They financed the Pilot scheme operated by Dairy Science diploma students from U.C.C. and an Agricultural Officer, Mr. Hassett was appointed to assist the farmers of the catchment area. Mr Hassett was followed in this very important position by Pat Finn, Pat Duffy and Dan Madden. A large farm was bought with a view to the future. They kept monitoring agricultural developments elsewhere so as to be ready for the next great leap forward. Now, the common market was being spoken off, that great European market with its headquarters in Brussels. Our farmers were being conditioned for entry into this sophisticated market. Quality products based on Hygiene and efficiency became very important in all aspects of the Dairy Industry..
The march of time necessitated the building of a new creamery that would enable the society to place at the disposal of its 350 members the most up to date facilities for milk intake and for butter and cream production. This new creamery built across the road from the original Co.Op and formally opened on October 31st, 1964 by the then Minister for Agriculture, Charles J. Haughey, was probably unique in this country at that time by reason of the fact that it stands over a specially constructed cellar which is so huge that it may well be described as cavernous. The site where this new creamery was built was bought from local farmer Con Breen. This site was a just a swampy little field ranging from 10 to 15 feet under road level.
Our entry into the Common Market, as it was called at that time, was greeted with euphoria, the end of the bad old days and "Eldorado" just around the corner. It brought wealth to rural Ireland, wealth to big farmers but it also marked the beginning of the end for smaller milk producers. The Quota system was introduced and the standards of hygiene required meant that vast sums of money should be spent to compete in this world of quotas, hygiene and bulk collection. The old drill of going to the creamery and waiting your turn at the gate was coming to an end, entering into folklore.

In a short time this ultra modern creamery became obsolete. Butter and cream production ceased in the early 1970’s, the number of suppliers decreased and the creamery, like the country schools and barracks, was in danger of amalgamation. However, amalgamation was never contemplated by the Society because inter alia they had a milk contract of long standing with the Fry-Cadbury Company in Rathmore.
So, what was to be the fate of the Creamery? Joe O'Connor became general manager in 1990 and immediately saw the urgent necessity for change. To repeat what I have already stated :-
The old creameries of Turnbull and the Farmers were demolished and rebuild, creating a huge shopping complex called "Duhallow Retail Park", the new creamery was leased to a Venison processing company and the 1940 store is now called "The Duhallow Food Training Centre" The mill building is a storage depot and distributing centre and the little creamery of 1901 is back to where it started, just a little shed, a collecting point for the few farmers who still transport their milk to the creamery. A huge herd of Deer is a sight to behold in the creamery farm.
"Tempora mutantar nos et mutamur in illis". "Times change and we change with them."

This article would be unfinished without mentioning other outstanding people who were part and parcel of this success. story .
Assistant managers, John O'Connor, who died in the great “flu” epidemic in 1919.
Jim Hegarty, later to become General Manager of Kilcorney.
Tim Mulcahy, Martin Flahive, and Dan O'Connor were the people directly in contact with the farmers.
Butter-Makers, Kathy Dunlea, Mary Ellen Guiney, Mary Corbett, Bridie Murphy Feehan, and Sean Daly.
The Engine Driver, called maintenance man today, was a very important man in the business because in those far off days, he had to be on the job before daybreak to start the furnace and have steam enough generated for the start of the new day.
Names that spring to mind --- Dan O'Sullivan, a Healon man and in my time Jack Mick O'Connor and Tadhg Shine.
Truck drivers attended to their daily routine either travelling to Cork with goods or for goods, delivering animal feeds to the farmers, transporting pigs to the various bacon factories and making sure that the chocolate factory in Rathmore had a constant supply of milk. Stephen McCarthy, Eugene Charley O ’Sullivan, Thade Riordan, John Joe Lenihan, Den Joe McCarthy, belonged to this era of the rigid truck. In more recent times and with modern trucks, John O’Reardon, Johnny Lane and Bill O’Keeffe are the hauliers.
The Mill was kept grinding by The Buckley twins, Andrew and Denis Thade Cronin, Jack Guerin, Dan O’Halloran, Ned Fitzgerald, Dan O’Mahony, Jimmy Guerin.
The Dairy in the far off days was looked after by Patrick Kerins and Connie H. O’Connor. Mick “Jack Mick” O’Connor, Danny Gerrard O’Sullivan, Brendan Clifford, Jim Thornhill, Phil O’Sullivan and Davy O’Riordan were their successors in this area. They were responsible for the cleanliness of the manufacturing area and the onerous task of keeping the indispensable machinery in working order. They also looked after the daily intake of milk and supervised the amount of separated or skimmed milk taken by the farmer.
The Cooper, in the era of “firkins” was Mike Wall and Denis Dennehy made the butter boxes.
The Accountants were Joan Ankettell, Joe Mulcahy, Charley Lenihan, Sean Lenihan and Noreen Lenihan O’Connell.
The chairman of the Co.Op has always been held in high esteem in the community and those who held the position in my time were Richard (Dick) Sheahan, Knockmanaugh, Dan Duane, Keelnahulla, Pat O’Sullivan, Gneeves, Denis (Densie) Murphy, Ballyhoolihan and the present incumbent is John (Sonny) Breen, Doon.
The local G.P Dr. Cronin, and Parish Priest, The Rev. Fr. Brick P.P were chairmen at an earlier time.
To my generation the whole complex is still the creamery. Times have changed. Now it is generally known as “The Co-Op” or “The Retail Park”
1901-to 1998 ---- what changes!

Note:- The above is mainly a statistical survey covering a period of nearly a century, the pre - Duhallow Park era. I did not deal with the Duhallow Park in any detail – Scéal eile, lá eigin. No serious research was done to compile this essay. I depended on local information, my own memory and the memories of older people to supply the knowledge. I would like to stress, however, that memories can often be flawed and biased so my apologies for any mis-information, inaccuracies or omissions that occur in the story.

Epilogue :- A word of thanks to those people who resisted the lure of Amalgamation in the past. Imagine the Boherbue of 1998 without our creamery or Call it what you like. Sin, Sin

Addendum:-
Since I completed this article in 1998, much has happened.
The Co-Op bought Sheehan’s SuperValu.
The Mill has been knocked and a huge SuperValu Store built on Mill site.
Ingredients Solutions (cheese processing) opened in 2000 A.D. on the site of1964 creamery. This building was bought from the Co-Op. In 2003. The managing director is Ian Galletly
Sheehans SuperValu premises has been sold.
Joe O’Connor has changed his position.
The current manager is Delan O’Keeffe.

The Dairy Industry has all but vanished but the Co-op. Complex in the west end of Boherbue is thriving in many other ways and above all, it is giving good employment.