Kepak’s chief of its meat division, Kevin Cahill, is off to pastures new.

The 1996 All-Ireland winner with Meath has been at the Clonee-based processor since God was a child but this week the Irish Farmers Journal revealed that Cahill is to take the top job at OSI Europe. OSI is one of the largest suppliers to McDonald’s worldwide.

Cahill knows the burger business well, with Kepak supplying patties to Burger King Europe after the fast food chain ditched ABP following the horsemeat saga in 2013. The former full-back does business like he played the game: he is a formidable and shrewd operator who is able to row and rumble with the best of them. However, while in Kepak, he has always been considered fair to farmers and customers.

Many had felt that Cahill was being readied to take over from the Kepak Group’s managing director John Horgan but he clearly feels his future is elsewhere.