New Show head 'looking forward to the challenge'
A Ferbane suckler farmer whose father was the first Offaly IFA chairman in 1955 is to take the helm at the hugely-successful Tullamore Show for the next four years.
John Keena, who farms an 80 cow sucker farm in Ferbane with his wife, Breda, was the unanimous choice of delegates at the AGM of the Tullamore Show & National Livestock Show when he was elected to the position of chairman, taking over from Joe Molloy.
Having been a member of the Show Executive for a number of years and serving as the most recent Vice-Chairman, John is under no illusions as to the workload involved in his new role.
Speaking to the Offaly Independent this week he said he is “looking forward to the challenge” of assuming overall responsibility for what has now become the biggest one-day agricultural show in Europe.
“It will be a lot of hard work,” he admits, “but I have a very good team around me and we all work closely together to get the job done every year.”
While he has no plans to make any major changes to what is already an extremely successful show format, John Keena says he is hoping to “build and expand” on what has already been put in place by previous committees.
“I would hope to keep up the very high quality of all the livestock, and build on all the other areas, such as the Sustainable Village we introduced two years ago2.
He points out that farming is “very much a family enterprise” and Tullamore Show prides itself on having something of interest for every member of the family.
“We would very much hope to continue to build on that tradition” he adds.
The incoming chairman is loud in his praise of the team of volunteers which has been the “backbone” of the show.
“It is just amazing to go out to the Show site a few days before the event opens and see a green field, and bit by bit it is transformed into this huge showgrounds, it's a bit like watching mushrooms grow” he says, adding that this “could not happen without the wonderful team we have around us”.
John Keena previously served as Ferbane Macra chairman and also as Chairman of Offaly IFA, following in the footsteps of his father who was the first Offaly IFA Chairman in 1955.