Máire returns to the banking sector

A FAMILIAR face in West Cork farming circles has taken up her new appointment as Bank of Ireland manager for the Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Bantry branches.

Kilbrittain native Máire McCarthy is also involved in dairy farming with her husband, Brian, in Innishannon and she is also a member of the board of Bandon Co-Op. The mother of three was a Nuffield Scholar in 2015 and her project was about women in agriculture, something she is very passionate about.

Máire said that the female is a very important part of the holistic family unit that is the centrepiece of most farming operations, especially here in West Cork. In her own case, she milks cows in the mornings before going to her bank job, registers calves and does many other tasks around the farm. Apart from farming, she says her hobbies include horse riding.

She fears that milk prices are going to ‘take a hit’ due the Covid-19 virus restrictions. However, she acknowledged how lucky West Cork farmers are to have the Carbery Group with an emergency fund available to buffer them against the effects of any fall in prices.

As a child in Kilbrittain, the young Máire Ahern attended Gurraneasig National School and completed her secondary education at Coláiste na Toirbhirte in Bandon. She joined AIB in 1988 and has been involved in financial services since then, working at Capita in Clonakilty, where she was involved with Bord Bia and Fáilte Ireland, before moving to FBD Insurances and now to Bank of Ireland.

‘Being local and supporting local communities is important,’ she feels and it is also an advantage, ‘If you’re from the area, that you tend to know the strengths or weaknesses of businesses.’

A qualified financial advisor, Máire McCarthy is contactable directly at 087-2354353.