Tuesday, 17^th December 2019 – The outstanding lifelong contribution to the Irish co-operative movement by Brendan O’Mahony (a former Chair and current director for over two decades in the National Federation of Group Water Schemes) has been recognised nationally with the co-operative industry’s highest national honour – The Plunkett Award for Co-operative Endeavour.

Mr. O’Mahony (from Cross, Co. Mayo) attended the ceremony at ICOS headquarters in Dublin last night with his daughter Cathriona, son Fergal, daughter in law Georgina and grandchildren Niamh and Conor.

Presenting the Plunkett Award, ICOS President Jerry Long said, “Brendan O’Mahony has made a truly outstanding contribution, on a local and a national level, working selflessly to improve the lives of everyday people through the establishment, growth and development of Group Water Schemes and a lifelong commitment to rural communities and co-operative enterprise.”

Presenting the Plunkett Award, ICOS President Jerry Long said, “Brendan O’Mahony has made a truly outstanding contribution, on a local and a national level, working selflessly to improve the lives of everyday people through the establishment, growth and development of Group Water Schemes and a lifelong commitment to rural communities and co-operative enterprise.”

“While investment in the provision of clean and sustainable water has proven controversial in Ireland over recent years, there has been huge and silent movement of over 80,000 rural dwellers, often forgotten by the authorities, who were getting on with their business, running their own Group water Schemes, serving their rural communities and embracing all that is good in the co-operative movement.”

“Brendan O’Mahony has made an extraordinary contribution over his lifelong career to date, demonstrating a forthright and dynamic capability to energise change and development for the greater good of rural communities throughout Ireland. In doing so, he has upheld the vision and aims of co-operation as a key driver of community and economic progress, locally, regionally and nationally across Ireland.”

Brendan O’Mahony has served on the board of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS) since it was established in February 1997, almost 23 years ago. The federation has been a member of ICOS since it formed a co-operative in 1999.

The organisation is the representative body for the group water scheme sector, providing advice and information, training as well as promoting best practice in GWS governance using the co-operative structure.

The organisation had grown under Brendan’s stewardship, with now over 400 group water scheme affiliate members in 2017, the vast majority of which are co-operative entities themselves.

Mr. O’Mahony was one of the founding members of the Cross GWS in Co. Mayo, now the Cross GWS Co-operative Society Limited, of which he is an active member and shareholder. He acted as secretary of the original GWS from when it was established in the mid 70’s and actively encouraged the scheme to form a co-operative in 2007.

He has served as a board member of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes since 1997. He was appointed by the Board as Joint Treasurer in his first year and then as Chairperson of the organisation in 2002.

Mr. O’Mahony has been an active member of the IFA for many years and has served in five different executive positions since 1993. He served both as County Secretary and Chairperson to Mayo IFA. He served 4 years as an active member of the IFA National Council and was then elected Vice-President of the IFA Connacht region, serving a full term of 4 years. his was followed by a term on the IFA Rules and Privilege committee. He continues to be a member of the IFA and is an active beef and sheep farmer in Co. Mayo and is still involved in a number of local Agricultural Co-operatives.

During his tenure in these positions with the IFA, he was a member of a large number of committees and stakeholder groups representing the interests of Irish farmers particularly with a focus on the challenges faced by farmers in the West of Ireland. These include the National Rural Water Services Committee which he was an active member until the committee was replaced by the National Water Forum in 2017, but also on 2 regional fishery Boards, the Western Regional Fishery Board in Galway and the North Western Regional Fishery Board in Ballina. Brendan was also instrumental in the dissolving of these Boards and the establishment of the newly formed ‘Inland Fisheries Ireland’ which he chaired from 2010 – 2015.

The Plunkett Award is the premier honorary award made by ICOS annually. Chosen from a shortlist of distinguished nominees, it is presented to just one individual each year who is regarded as having made an outstanding lifelong contribution to the co-operative movement in Ireland.

ICOS (the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society) represents over 130 co-operatives in Ireland – including the Irish dairy processing co-operatives and livestock marts – whose associated businesses have a combined turnover in the region of €14 billion, with some 150,000 individual members, employing 12,000 people in Ireland, and a further 24,000 people overseas.