The Irish Limousin Cattle Society are pleased to announce the appointment of Ronan Murphy as their CEO.

A highly experienced business leader, Ronan has worked in many industries in senior roles and brings new skill sets as well as a vast amount of knowledge and experience of animal breeding and production to the role.

Ronan is currently working as a consultant and prior to this was the CEO of Horse Sport Ireland where he led the restructuring of the organisation based on the Dept. of Agriculture Commissioned Indecon recommendations, developing the strategic plan and financial sustainability for the National Federation and establishing a new cohesive business approach across the Irish sport horse industry. During his tenure he also oversaw the implementation of new high-performance structures which resulted in the historic qualification of all three Irish equestrian teams for the Summer Olympic Games.

He previously held the position of CEO in Weatherbys Ireland where he served on the board of four of Weatherbys’ companies with direct responsibility for Weatherbys Thoroughbred stud book business in Ireland, Britain along with the growth and development of the Weatherbys animal genomic testing laboratories in Naas.

Prior to that he worked in Hermitage Genetics, a Kilkenny-based company specialising in performance genetics where he played a pivotal role in the growth and development of the Hermitage business globally and has overseen some of the most innovative developments in genetic technologies and their influence on improving pig production at farm level.
Ronan is a Wicklow man and graduated from UCD with a Master’s Degree in Animal Science.

President of the Society Trevor Masterson commenting on the announcement:
“Ronan brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role having successfully developed animal breeding businesses in both the porcine and equine industries.
The role of a Cattle Breed Society is changing, the whole ecosystem we exist in is transforming. The Societies that adapt to the changing needs will be the ones to grow and flourish. Our Breed Society has become a big business and has over 2,500 members.

We need to be proactive and deliver services to our breeders and our main customer groups, the suckler and dairy farmers who purchase our bulls and heifers.

The Limousin breed is now the Number one Beef sire, Number one suckler Dam, Number one cross on all the main breeds and Continental breed of choice in the dairy herd. The dairy sector is a growing market for Limousin bulls in recent years and our recently launched LimoShortGestation program is the first step in the process to deliver bulls that meet the needs of this market.

Of late we have seen the huge success of Limousin genetics in Britain. A Limousin heifer, Wilodge Poshspice, sold for a world record price of 250,000gns at a sale in Carlisle recently.
She was bought in partnership by two renowned herds, Messrs Jenkinson, Whinfellpark herd in Penrith and Boden and Davies, Sportsmans herd in Stockport.
This November 2019 born embryo heifer, was bred out of Millbrook Gingerspice, who won Supreme Champion at the Balmoral Show three times in a row.

According to Trevor “the recent Limousin premier sale in Elphin saw a clearance of 72% with 14 bulls going to Britain and Northern Ireland with a number of others following the same journey that were sold in advance of the sale.

Like many businesses we must think global not local. While our breed, like all breeds, face challenges there are also massive opportunities. Technology is impacting all sectors and as a society we must embrace and leverage these opportunities.
The Limousin Council and I are looking forward to working with Ronan.”

Ronan Murphy said:
“It’s a privilege to be appointed as CEO at this exciting and strategically important time for the Limousin breed in Ireland. The Limousin breed has made a massive contribution to the profitability of Ireland’s suckler and beef production enterprises since its introduction in the 1970’s and is the continental beef sire of choice for the growing Irish dairy industry. We will continue to build on these excellent foundations, to adapt to market requirements and to demonstrate and promote the versatility and genetic advantages of the Limousin breed.
I am looking forward to working closely with the President, Council, Members and the team at the ILCS to deliver our strategic and innovation plans, and to ensure the continued success and development of the commercially important Limousin breed to the benefit of all stakeholders in the quality beef production industry in Ireland.”

Ronan will take up his new position in the middle of April.