Tirlán Co-op chair John Murphy survived a challenge to his seat on his local advisory committee on Wednesday evening.

The Craanford dairy farmer needed to retain his seat on the north Wexford-east Wicklow regional committee to continue as chair.

The rules of the co-op stipulate that only advisory committee members can be nominated to the board.

Had Murphy lost on Wednesday night, the 21-strong committee would have been required to replace him as their board member and the board itself would have had to vote in a new chair.

Majority

In the event, Murphy gained the support of a clear majority of the farmers present, holding off the challenge from Kevin Murphy, while Jim Higgins beat John O'Hagan in a parallel contest.

O'Hagan, like John Murphy, was the incumbent. Higgins, like Kevin Murphy, is a member of Just Farmers, which is campaigning for a 'ground-up' approach for Tirlán.

"The strength of a co-op lies in its membership. This election has been a really good exercise in local democracy and shows that, as chair, I am also answerable to my local farming community as a regional committee member," said John Murphy, speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal .

" I gained a lot of insight from an intensive campaign and I thank the farmers who turned up to vote in huge numbers and my fellow candidates Kevin Murphy and John O'Hagan.

"I congratulate Jim Higgins on his success and look forward to working with him at local level. The turnout of almost 90% of eligible voters is clear proof that farmers understand the importance of their co-op to their business," he concluded.

Tirlán is Ireland's largest dairy co-op, processing in excess of three billion litres of milk annually and is also the largest buyer of grain in the country.