Macra na Feirme (; officially meaning 'stalwarts of the land') is an Irish voluntary rural youth organisation. It provides a social outlet for members in sport, travel, public speaking, performing arts, community involvement and agriculture. The organisation rebranded in September 2022 by shortening the organisation to Macra.

History

Macra na Feirme was founded in 1944 by Stephen Cullinan, a rural science teacher. The organisation's original purpose was to provide young

farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

with adequate training to ensure their livelihood and to provide an outlet for socialising in rural areas.

Athy Town Hall Athy Town Hall () is a municipal building in Emily Street, Athy, County Kildare, Ireland. The building accommodated the offices of Athy Urban District Council until 1985, but is now used as a heritage centre. History The building was commissi ...

became the national headquarters of the organisation in September 1947. The organisation has been involved in the establishment of: * ''

Irish Farmers Journal The ''Irish Farmers Journal'' is a weekly agricultural newspaper (published Thursdays) which provides farming news, specialist advice, market data and country living features to the Irish agricultural industry. As of October 2019, it reportedl ...

'' * Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association *

Foróige Foróige is an Irish organisation whose purpose is "to enable young people to involve themselves consciously and actively in their development and in the development of society". Macra na Tuaithe, the youth branch of Macra na Feirme, was formed ...

(up to 1982 known as Macra na Tuaithe) * National Farmers' Association (now the

Irish Farmers' Association The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) (Irish: ''Feirmeoirí Aontaithe na hÉireann'') is a national organisation to represent the interests of all sectors of farming in Ireland. The IFA is Ireland's largest farming representative organisation an ...

) * Farm Apprenticeship Scheme Since its foundation, over 250,000 young people have passed through the ranks of Macra na Feirme.

Organisation

Macra membership is open to everyone aged 17–40 (although members must be under 35 to take part in competitions). As of June 2025, Macra na Feirme had over 10,000 members in approximately 150 clubs around Ireland.

References

External links

* 1944 establishments in Ireland Agricultural organisations based in Ireland Agrarianism in Ireland {{agri-stub

History

Organisation

See also

References

External links