NOMINATIONS CLOSED yesterday for the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) presidential election and three candidates will contest for the post being vacated in January by Pádraig Walshe.
The candidates are Kilkenny county chairman John Bryan, from Inistioge; deputy president Derek Deane from Hacketstown, Co Carlow, and national dairy chairman Richard Kennedy from Clarina, Co Limerick.
Each of the candidates has been nominated by their own county executive and has received the support of five other county chairmen, according to an IFA statement.
John Bryan has the support of the county chairmen from Wexford, Kerry, Mayo, Roscommon and Louth.
Derek Deane has the support of the county chairmen from Sligo, Clare, west Cork, Cavan and Kildare.
Richard Kennedy has the support of the county chairmen from south Tipperary, north Tipperary, Cork central, north Cork and Monaghan.
The voting is on a branch basis with the number of votes per branch determined on a weighted system determined by the number of active members in the branch who turn out on the night of voting.
The 85,000 strong organisation has 947 branches and voting will begin on Tuesday, December 1st and continue until Wednesday, December 16th and the national count will be held in Dublin on Monday, December 21st.
The membership will also be deciding on 14 other key positions in the organisation including the deputy president and the four regional vice presidents covering Munster, south Leinster, Ulster/north Leinster and Connacht.
When the nominations closed yesterday, it emerged there will be two candidates seeking the post of deputy president of the organisation.
They are Meath county chairman, Eddie Downey and Munster vice-president, Seán O’Leary.
Eddie Downey has the support of the Laois, Louth, Cavan, Wexford and Mayo county chairmen, while Seán O’Leary has been endorsed by the Cork central, west Cork, Waterford, Clare and Limerick county chairmen.
Mary Sherry, the only female candidate in the elections, is running for the regional vice presidential post in Ulster/north Leinster.
Ms Sherry is from Monaghan and is chairman of the IFA farm family committee.