Having first opened its doors in the mid-1950s, Tullow Livestock Sales Ltd is the oldest privately owned mart in the country. Irish Tractor & Agri heard more from Mart manager Eric Driver.
They say success breeds success. That certainly seems to be the case with Tullow Livestock Sales Ltd, which is celebrating over 60 in business from when it first began its now renowned trade.
Nowadays the Mart is run by the sons of the men that founded it and business is as steady as ever on Barrack Street, with sheep sales on a Tuesdays and livestock sales on Fridays.
When Tullow Livestock Sales opened its doors in the mid 1950’s, it was a joint venture of a small number of local business personnel who saw the need for a Mart Service in the Co Carlow town.
Indeed Tullow is very much an agricultural town and the Mart fitted in well, to say the least. To this day, the Mart still plays a key role in the business town of Tullow and continues to provide a service to the local agricultural community.
Eric Driver is a relatively new addition as Mart Manager at Tullow Livestock Sales, but revealed that he has been coming to the mart and helping out since back in the days when he could first walk.
“We’re based in Barrack Street, Tullow, Co Carlow,” explained Eric.
“The company itself would be established over 60 years now in total, making us the oldest privately owned mart in the country.
“We have three full-time staff and nine part-time. My position is Manager and I’m in it now for the past two and-a-half years.”
2013 saw Eric succeed John Murphy, who had been Mart Manager at Tullow for 35 years before taking the decision to retire.
Since that time, Eric has adapted to his role well and has solid confidence in the Mart’s ability to give its customers what they want.
“The business here is primarily trading livestock. We do the livestock trading on a Friday and the sheep trading on a Tuesday,” he outlined.
“We’d have three Wednesday sales a year and then breeding season is from July through to October. We also have the Tullow Sheep Breeders Association here and they’ll be celebrating their 39th annual show soon.
“Where we are would be the heart of sheep country and we have a lot of connections with livestock farmers as well. We feel that our customers have a lot of confidence in us here.”
While many of Tullow Livestock Sales’ customers are local farmers, there are plenty that travel from all different regions of the country for the Mart’s sales on Tuesdays and Fridays. The main reason for this being the Mart’s glowing reputation and the relationship it has with regular customers.
Over the past couple of decades, Eric himself has seen first-hand how professional the management are in their approach and now that he’s part of the team, he, along with all the rest at Tullow Livestock Sales, is working hard to ensure that the first class service continues for the farmers coming through its doors twice weekly.
“As soon as I could walk I was coming here and was encouraged after a while to start penning sheep,” he said.
“Tullow Livestock Sales gave me my start and I’ve been very happy working here down through the years. When the position for Manager came up I jumped at it and was obviously delighted to get it, hopefully things will continue to go well and I’ll make more and more progress here.”
Back in the days when Eric first started coming to Tullow Livestock Sales, there were different men in charge.
The names O’Byrne, Brophy and Dawson are synonymous with the Mart’s establishment, growth and success some 60 years ago.
Today, those names are still at the helm of Tullow Livestock Sales, where what was originally a joint small venture has transformed into the oldest privately owned Mart in the country.
“All of the directors here would be sons of the men that originally founded this mart and that’s something unique, I think,” explained Eric.
“Pat Dawson, John Brophy, and brothers Eamon and Kyran O’Byrne are the directors here now and you could say that they are largely responsible for the Mart’s continued success.”
Right now, Eric describes business at Tullow Livestock Sales as being both “honest and steady” and feels that there is one positive that the agricultural sector can take from the downturn.
“The agri sector has been hit by restrictions and regulations by the downfall and farmers can’t get the same stocking loans that they used to be able to get,” said the Co Carlow man.
“We have seen a good few younger people come back into the industry, choosing agri instead of construction. I suppose that’s one positive from the downturn.”
So how much does a mart like Tullow Livestock Sales rely on repeat business from its customers?
“All of it is repeat business,” said Eric. “Every customer has to go home happy. No one is really gaining new farmers, so we rely hugely on repeat business.
“They know that we will work hardest for them and the atmosphere here is very pleasant for customers.
“In the agri industry, it’s can be a very lonely game by times, so it’s good to have that personal touch at your mart for them.”
Tullow Livestock Sales is renowned for having excellent cost-saving sales and regular events at its mart.
This past April they had a continental sale which included Weanlings, along with a special section for star rated heifers suitable for breeding.
Looking towards the second-half of 2016, Eric is hopeful that things will continue to stay steady and eventually improve at Tullow Livestock Sales.
“We just hope that the sheep industry improves and we’d like to think that it will get the support to do so,” he concluded.
Tullow Livestock Sales Ltd
Office: 059 9151142
Barrack Street, Tullow, Co Carlow
Mart: 059 9151296
Sales days only, Fairgreen, Tullow,
Co Carlow
Manager: Eric Driver – 087 7767402
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.tullowmart.ie
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 7, September 2016
