Since its foundation, councils of the Irish Grassland Association (IGA) have worked alongside the most progressive individuals of the farming, research and business communities for the betterment of Irish grassland farming. This relationship has been significant in bringing Irish grassland technology to the forefront as an international science.

In 2009 the IGA instigated the Lifetime Merit Award to recognise the contribution of many great individuals to the growth of our association and the grassland industry. The inaugural recipient of this award was Paddy O’Keeffe in 2009 followed by Dr. Sean Flanagan in 2010, Dr Padraig O’Kiely in 2011, Norman Bateman in 2012, Dr. Seamus Hanrahan 2013, Matt Dempsey 2014, John Shirley 2015 and Noel Culleton 2016, Andrew Cromie 2017, Matt Ryan in 2018 and the last award was presented to Pat Dillon in 2019.

The award was presented to individuals, chosen by council, who had contributed significantly to progressive work within grassland technology / grassland farming. This award is a public endorsement on behalf of our association and its members, to the great and important contribution made by its recipients to our industry and lives.

For more information on the recipients of each award you can click on tiles below.