Celebrating 60 years in business in 2018, Kingdom Co-Operative Livestock Mart Ltd is one of the longest-established marts in the country. Mondays and Tuesdays are the two big days in the week when it plays host to a general cattle sale and a calves / weanlings sale respectively.
Kingdom Co-Op Mart in Tralee has been providing a first-class livestock auctioneering service since it first opened its doors in 1958. In that time, it has become one of the busiest and most popular marts in Ireland, selling livestock for farmers from Kerry and Cork, and attracting buyers from all parts of the country.
Founded by a group of local farmers who sought a more organised way of selling stock, Kingdom Co-Op Mart was originally located in the centre of Tralee. It later relocated to Carrigeendaniel, which is situated on the northern side of the Kerry county town, directly across the road from the Mercy Secondary School, Mounthawk. This location is ideal for buyers and sellers alike as it’s easy to access and has loads of parking space.
The Mart has 460 shareholders who are drawn from the local farming community and a 20-strong committee which comprises chairman Brian Walsh, secretary John Kearney, Brendan Blackwell, Thomas Carroll, Ronan Savage, Kenneth Jones, John O’Sullivan, Aidan Dillon, Douglas Fitzell, Liam Brassil, Dan Shanahan, Barney Dowling, Gerard Collins, Ted McCarthy, John Rohan, Ted Horgan, John Kearney (not to be mistaken with the secretary!), Michael Casey, Michael B Stack and Henry McEnery.
There are still links with the original committee which consisted of Patrick Murphy, Thomas Collins, John Blackwell, John Kirby, Stephen Fuller, Fionan Harty, Maurice Harty and Ned Fuller. The latter two are widely credited with getting Kingdom Co-Op Mart off the ground.
“Kingdom Co-Op Mart is an institution in Tralee at this stage,” the Mart’s Manager Philip Healy proudly states.
“It has been around for 60 years and continues to go from strength to strength. We receive tremendous support from the farming community who attend our sales every week in large numbers. Depending on how busy we are, we can employ up to 10 staff and we also bring a lot of business to the town. The Mart contributes handsomely to the local economy and provides a social outlet for farmers who look forward to meeting up every week.”
Committed to providing buyers and sellers with a fair platform, Kingdom Co-Op Mart is part of the ICOS (Irish Co-operative Organisation Society) whose core business is to provide vision, leadership and value to the co-operative movement in Ireland. ICOS member co-operatives and their associated companies collectively have over 150,000 individual members, employ 12,000 people in Ireland (a further 24,000 abroad) and have a combined turnover of almost €15 billion.
Philip, who succeeded Denis Griffin as Mart Manager over a decade ago, oversees the day-to-day running of Kingdom Co-Op along with Sarah Roche and Margaret Savage, who are based in the office. The Mart employs between four-and-eight ring men who are highly experienced when it comes to handling stock.
With so many dairy and suckler farmers in the region, the Mart plays host to a high-quality range of suck calves from all breeds, while some of the finest suckler weanlings can also be sought there. There is a huge selection of store cattle and cows for further feeding, while finished stock are also a common sight. The cattle in the region are renowned for their quality and ability to thrive after purchase, hence the reason why Kingdom Co-Op attracts buyers from all over of the country.
Selling between 10,000 and 15,000 cattle per annum, Kingdom Co-Op comes alive every Monday at 1.30pm for its general cattle sale and again each Tuesday at 7.30pm for its calves / weanlings sale. Heifers, bullocks, cows, bulls and sucklers are all sold at the general sale. The Mart also plays host to occasional dairy clearance sales and an annual fat stock show and sale that attracts the top beef stock in the locality. This year’s show, which took place on Monday, December 4, had a prize fund of €2,500. In addition, Kingdom Co-Op has been home to a popular Sunday Market for the past 20 years.
Willie Troy, whose voice is also familiar to farmers who frequent Cashel and Kanturk Marts, is Kingdom Co-Op’s regular auctioneer. The Tralee mart prides itself on being one of the most modern, safest, cleanest and friendliest anywhere in Ireland. It uses Newline Auction Management Software, which provides all the information buyers and sellers need to know from the weight of the animal to its movement, test dates and whether it’s from a quality assured farm.
“Beef prices are at their lowest level in a long time and this is being reflected in the sales ring. But in spite of this, there is a full clearance of stock every week,” Philip says.
“We are always striving for improvement and trying to give our customers what they want. On behalf of our shareholders, committee and staff, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers and hauliers for their loyalty and support.”
A large part of Kingdom Co-Op’s annual turnover comes from income generated from leasing warehousing space on its large premises. Kerry Tractors, who are main Massey Ferguson dealers, and a NCT Centre are just two of the businesses that can be found there.
Kingdom Co-Operative Livestock Mart Ltd
Carrigeendaniel,
Tralee,
Co. Kerry.
Telephone: 066 7121738
Fax: 066 7128487
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 6 No 2, March/April 2018
Kingdom Co-Operative, Livestock Mart
