STEPHEN CULLINAN

FOUNDER OF MACRA NA FEIRME

Teacher in Athy Vocational School.

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Cullinane was the fifth and youngest son born on a small farm in Galway. There was little hope that he could remain at home farming.  Stephen's father, William, would appear to have been a very good farmer, and he worked the land intensively. It is probably here that his son saw the need for all farmers to learn how to farm more intensively.    Life in rural Ireland was rather depressing. The rural Electrification Scheme had not yet brought power to all farmhouses; in fact many of them would not receive electricity for another 20 years.  Transport was mostly by pony and trap.  Cars were too expensive and petrol was scarce.  Communication was by word of mouth or by letter. Telephones were mostly unheard of.  But the lot of the Irish farmer was not only depressed by external measures. Many of them didn’t have any                              

agricultural education and moreover the level of knowledge among the educated was low.   

 

Stephen Cullinane was a very intelligent young man and when he finished school he proceeded to study agriculture in University College Galway.  He thought that somehow he should try to educate the farmers to earn more for their resources. Stephen realised that with proper care and management the soil of Ireland was richer than almost anywhere else in the world. "The Gold of Ireland is Green," he often preached but things were a little more complicated than just digging it up. Having graduated in November 1941, Stephen was now qualified to teach rural science in a vocational school. Having spent so many years studying, it was time for him to earn a living of his own.

 

Stephen Cullinan sought a job in a vocational school and finally landed one in the south Kildare town of Athy.    Athy was then a quiet agricultural town situated in the centre of a broad rich valley of the river Barrow. Much of the land was arable but many of the farmers' sons were either too poor or too busy scraping a living to pursue further agricultural education past the school leaving age of fourteen.    Stephen saw a need within the farming community in Athy for further knowledge and in 1943 and 1944 he initiated some night classes on agriculture.  As a young man of  twenty-four or twenty-five himself, he communicated easily with other young farmers. When the spring came in and the night classes were coming to an end, Stephen encouraged the idea that maybe the class would continue and form a young farmers club as a discussion group.   

 

During his years in U.C.G., Stephen had read extensively about Young Farmer's Clubs in England and America and on the Continent; and he also corresponded with some of them. He therefore knew how such clubs were organised and he was also aware that such a club  had recently been established in Mooncoin in Co. Kilkenny.    He was elected as secretary of the Athy Club with Paddy Kehoe as chairman and they organised an interesting, informative and highly beneficial club programme. Stephen began doing soil tests for many of the members and advising them on the type of fertiliser to use on. This was highly beneficial and was financially rewarding for the young farmers.   Interest in the club rose to a membership of over one hundred in a short time.

 

Besides educational courses, the club became involved in the social scene, running quizzes and dances and they also organised their First Annual Produce Show held on November 1st. 1944.  The club quickly grew in stature and repute and soon there were requests for Stephen to help set up other clubs around Kildare, in places such as Rathangan, Monasterevan and Caragh.  Stephen was constantly on the road organising clubs, addressing meetings and encouraging farmers to join.    Almost immediately, Stephen and many of the others who were now completely involved saw the need for a central organising and co-ordinating committee.  It was then that the organisation, Macra na Feirme, much as we know it today, was founded.  

 

The rules and constitution of Macra na Feirme were not drawn up until 1948.  It was Stephen Cullinan who drafted most of those rules and ideas.  Much of the character of the organisation came directly from Stephen and we see his ideas in print many times.  He was a man of the future; born at the right time he was consistently ahead of his time. He never stopped looking forward. No success was sufficient; there was always more to be done.      When the organisation was set up, he wanted to publish an agricultural paper.  When that was done he wanted national competitions in the Spring Show and so on ....  He was a strong-willed man, a firm believer in democracy and the power of youth.  Nothing was too much for him to tackle... invite the President of Ireland down to Athy, send members to the U.S.A., travel extensively around the countryside ....    Stephen had a marvellous imagination and that, together with a strong will was the basic reasons behind the success of the organisation.                              

 

Unfortunately Stephen did not live long enough to see the N.F.A. formed; but he would have been delighted with the progress of the tiny venture he started in Athy.     The personal cost to him in terms of his own health was substantial.  Travelling on poor transport, often by bicycle, combined with his tireless  work for the organisation caused his health to give way.  He developed asthma in the late forties and spent much of 1950 in hospital.  Breathing became laborious for this thirty-one year old man and the relief of an oxygen tent wasn’t great.  He died on January llth., 1951 and is buried in Castlegar  in the heart of the Galway countryside he loved so well.    

 

 

 

Stephen Cullinane was the fifth and youngest son born on a small farm in Galway. There was little hope that he could remain at home farming.  Stephen's father, William, would appear to have been a very good farmer, and he worked the land intensively. It is probably here that his son saw the need for all farmers to learn how to farm more intensively.    Life in rural Ireland was rather depressing. The rural Electrification Scheme had not yet brought power to all farmhouses; in fact many of them would not receive electricity for another 20 years.  Transport was mostly by pony and trap.  Cars were too expensive and petrol was scarce.  Communication was by word of mouth or by letter. Telephones were mostly unheard of.  But the lot of the Irish farmer was not only depressed by external measures. Many of them didn’t have any                              

agricultural education and moreover the level of knowledge among the educated was low.   

 

Stephen Cullinane was a very intelligent young man and when he finished school he proceeded to study agriculture in University College Galway.  He thought that somehow he should try to educate the farmers to earn more for their resources. Stephen realised that with proper care and management the soil of Ireland was richer than almost anywhere else in the world. "The Gold of Ireland is Green," he often preached but things were a little more complicated than just digging it up. Having graduated in November 1941, Stephen was now qualified to teach rural science in a vocational school. Having spent so many years studying, it was time for him to earn a living of his own.

 

Stephen Cullinan sought a job in a vocational school and finally landed one in the south Kildare town of Athy.    Athy was then a quiet agricultural town situated in the centre of a broad rich valley of the river Barrow. Much of the land was arable but many of the farmers' sons were either too poor or too busy scraping a living to pursue further agricultural education past the school leaving age of fourteen.    Stephen saw a need within the farming community in Athy for further knowledge and in 1943 and 1944 he initiated some night classes on agriculture.  As a young man of  twenty-four or twenty-five himself, he communicated easily with other young farmers. When the spring came in and the night classes were coming to an end, Stephen encouraged the idea that maybe the class would continue and form a young farmers club as a discussion group.   

 

During his years in U.C.G., Stephen had read extensively about Young Farmer's Clubs in England and America and on the Continent; and he also corresponded with some of them. He therefore knew how such clubs were organised and he was also aware that such a club  had recently been established in Mooncoin in Co. Kilkenny.    He was elected as secretary of the Athy Club with Paddy Kehoe as chairman and they organised an interesting, informative and highly beneficial club programme. Stephen began doing soil tests for many of the members and advising them on the type of fertiliser to use on. This was highly beneficial and was financially rewarding for the young farmers.   Interest in the club rose to a membership of over one hundred in a short time.

 

Besides educational courses, the club became involved in the social scene, running quizzes and dances and they also organised their First Annual Produce Show held on November 1st. 1944.  The club quickly grew in stature and repute and soon there were requests for Stephen to help set up other clubs around Kildare, in places such as Rathangan, Monasterevan and Caragh.  Stephen was constantly on the road organising clubs, addressing meetings and encouraging farmers to join.    Almost immediately, Stephen and many of the others who were now completely involved saw the need for a central organising and co-ordinating committee.  It was then that the organisation, Macra na Feirme, much as we know it today, was founded.  

 

The rules and constitution of Macra na Feirme were not drawn up until 1948.  It was Stephen Cullinan who drafted most of those rules and ideas.  Much of the character of the organisation came directly from Stephen and we see his ideas in print many times.  He was a man of the future; born at the right time he was consistently ahead of his time. He never stopped looking forward. No success was sufficient; there was always more to be done.      When the organisation was set up, he wanted to publish an agricultural paper.  When that was done he wanted national competitions in the Spring Show and so on ....  He was a strong-willed man, a firm believer in democracy and the power of youth.  Nothing was too much for him to tackle... invite the President of Ireland down to Athy, send members to the U.S.A., travel extensively around the countryside ....    Stephen had a marvellous imagination and that, together with a strong will was the basic reasons behind the success of the organisation.                              

 

Unfortunately Stephen did not live long enough to see the N.F.A. formed; but he would have been delighted with the progress of the tiny venture he started in Athy.     The personal cost to him in terms of his own health was substantial.  Travelling on poor transport, often by bicycle, combined with his tireless  work for the organisation caused his health to give way.  He developed asthma in the late forties and spent much of 1950 in hospital.  Breathing became laborious for this thirty-one year old man and the relief of an oxygen tent wasn’t great.  He died on January llth., 1951 and is buried in Castlegar  in the heart of the Galway countryside he loved so well.