The Southern Star and Celtic Ross Hotel 'West Cork Farming Awards' June monthly winner is John Joe Kelleher, Terelton.
JOHN Joe Kelleher bought a bulldozer when he was just 18, with a bank loan of £30,000, and had it fully paid back in just three years.
That says a lot about his appetite for hard work, his drive, and his ambition, which are all traits the Terelton man has applied to the huge number of organisations he’s benefited by being a part of in West Cork.
They include Macra na Feirme, the IFA, Cork Marts, Dairygold, West Cork LEADER, and his parish council.
The common theme for his involvement is his desire to improve life and conditions for people living in rural West Cork, and there’s plenty of evidence to show he’s done that and more, including donating land to the local national school to allow for its expansion.
John Joe, who is Terelton born and bred, is the eldest of 14 and always had a shared passion for both farming and machinery which saw him working with a contractor from his early teens.
‘I left school when I was 15 to go farming and bought the bulldozer a few years later. At the time there were big grants for land reclamation, and there was loads of work for someone with a machine so I said I’d invest to be able to do work on our own place and for hire as well,’ he said.
He’s not a man who is afraid to make big decisions, and in 1980 he made another one when he returned to education and attained a qualification in dairy science in UCC and The Munster Institute.
That gave him the confidence to buy his own farm at the age of 21, in 1982. Considering this was a time when interest rates were 21% and 22% it was a plucky move.
It was 80 acres of rough land, but with his bulldozer and appetite for work it’s hardly surprising that, along with his wife Helena from Grenagh, he now milks a herd of 100 high yielding pedigree cows in an autumn and spring calving system.
John Joe Kelleher with his IFA awards in his home at Terelton.
John Joe, who was already involved in his local Macra, attended his first IFA meeting in Terelton in 1982, having been invited by his father and neighbour. Little did he know that it was the beginning of many years of service to the organisation.
‘I suppose I was hoodwinked into going!’ jokes John Joe, who was made branch secretary that first night and delegate to the old mid-Cork IFA region.
When Cork County was divided into three county executives in 1987, he was elected as the first grain representative for the new West Cork IFA Executive. He served as chairman of the West Cork IFA from 1991 to 1995 and along with the other responsibilities of a chairman, he led the revival of five IFA branches in West Cork and assisted in negotiating with the Department of Agriculture for farmers who had difficulty drawing down their payments.
‘This was when cattle tags were made of brass and it was fierce easy to make a mistake when you were inputting your details, something which people in offices couldn’t understand,’ said John Joe, who has a strong sense of fair play and justice.
John Joe and the IFA were also at the forefront in getting Telecom Éireann to reduce their trunk call fees from the West Cork area to other areas of the country.
Following his term as county chairman, he went on to become the West Cork livestock committee chairman.
He also represented West Cork on the industrial, environment and farm business committees, along with representing the IFA on the county development board.
John Joe served on the regional committee of Dairygold for 20 years, and has been elected onto the general committee for 10 years.
He became a member of the advisory committee of Macroom mart, representing the wider farming community in 1998 and later served as chairman of this committee for 10 years.
John Joe has been on the board of Cork Marts since 2018, and was involved in its a project that saw 38 houses built and occupied in Midleton through the housing charity Respond. The board is also behind a development of 40 houses currently underway in Bandon. He also represents Cork Marts on the board of farmer business developments.
He served on the agriculture committee of West Cork LEADER, and also represented his local community of Terelton on the Lee Valley Enterprise Board.
John Joe and Helena have four sons and a daughter ranging in ages from 23 to 34, one of whom lives in West Cork, two in Dublin, one in London and one in Vancouver.
‘They all helped out growing up and still do when they’re around, but we do employ help on a part-time basis when needed on the farm,’ said John Joe, whose enduring love of machinery sees him do his own mowing and raking, in case he wasn’t busy enough!
Community is very important to the 64-year-old West Cork man. As part of his parish council he was involved in major fundraising initiatives that saw reconstruction of one of the churches in the parish and the restoration of two others, and also the development of GAA dressing rooms and a club hall.
John Joe and Helena bought land in 2000 adjacent to the local national school where their kids attended at the time, and ensured the school got the field nearest to them free of charge.
What motivates him? A modest John Joe says he simply gets satisfaction in helping out and meeting people.
When he’s not working, he enjoys travelling, and taking short breaks with Helena, for a work/life balance is important. ‘It’s important to recharge the batteries; the work will still be there when you get back,’ he laughed.
Winning The Southern Star farming award was ‘nice recognition,’ said John Joe. who was also nominated for the Paddy Fitzgerald award in 2024, which recognise the achievements of IFA members who are committed to their communities.
‘I was in the middle of moving cattle when I got the call from The Southern Star. It’s a great honour to win this.’
Farming for over four decades, he still loves the work, even if increased legislation is making it more challenging. John Joe says he is confident for the future of the sector but says anyone embarking on a career needs to really
love it.
‘You also have to be prepared to work hard, and have all your family supporting you,’ he said.
