The ongoing protests over beef prices was the order of the evening as 150 people attended the annual North Cork Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) dinner dance in Springfort Hall, Mallow last weekend.

The well-attended social event was sandwiched between 24 and 48-hour protests by farmers across the country outside meat factories, which included protests in Watergrasshill, Charleville and Bandon occurring recently in county Cork.

Guest speaker on the night was Sean Kelly, member of European Parliament and former president of the GAA. Other speakers included Deputy President of the IFA, Tim O’Leary, while Chairperson of North Cork IFA, Billy Cotter acted as master of ceremonies on the night.

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North Cork Dairy IFA chairperson, Mary Twomey-Casey, said the social event was a success and provided farmers an opportunity to engage in discussion with each other on important issues.

“It went very well, we had a great crowd and a very good night. Obviously the focus of a lot of the speeches on the night was on the beef protests, the 48-hour protests we’re engaging in at the moment, hopefully there will be some leverage on that soon.

“It was a great opportunity for farmers to actually sit down, we’re constantly prophesying so it’s the unique opportunity in the year where we can sit down and socialise,” she told The Avondhu this week.

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