Aileen Sheehan is ‘thrilled to get the recognition’ for her sustainability-focused dairy operation in Co Cork
Cork dairy farmer Aileen Sheehan (34), who also won the dairy category award and the Skillnet Biodiversity Award, is the first female winner in the 27-year history of the FBD-sponsored competition.
Ms Sheehan, a qualified teacher, runs a dairy farm with her husband Philip O’Leary (35) in Whitechurch, Co Cork, with a strong focus on sustainability.
The couple began their farming journey in December 2021 after leasing a dairy unit, buying a herd and starting to supply milk.
Ms Sheehan said she could only have dreamt of winning the award when she started out, adding: “It’s absolutely fantastic. I’m thrilled to get the recognition from the industry and from all the people who supported us all the way along. It’s just unbelievable.”
Accepting the award at a ceremony in Naas, Co Kildare, she spoke of the importance of women being visible in the agriculture sector.
Ms Sheehan said she came from a “background of really strong women who have been involved in agriculture”.
We’ve three great staff on the farm who help out with milking and other jobs at the weekend
“From my grandmother, my mother, my mother-in-law, who I would have a very close relationship with. I just see all the work they always do in the background and the men are often out in front,” she said.
“And I just think none of these farms are as successful as they can be without the women behind them, and often they’re hidden away in the background, too shy to speak. Their position in the industry is really, really important.”
Aileen Sheehan, a dairy farmer and teacher from Cork, has been named the 2025 FBD Young Farmer of the Year. Photo: Daragh McSweeney/Provision
Today’s News in 90 Seconds, Thursday, September 11
Ms Sheehan and Mr O’Leary, who live in Courtback, a small village 15 minutes from their farm, have an eight-month-old daughter, Katie.
It’s “very busy” for the couple, with Ms Sheehan also working as a full-time PE and maths teacher in Blarney and her husband serving in the Army, but they have help from their part-time staff – Aoife, Sarah and Tadgh.
“We’ve three great staff on the farm who help out with milking and other jobs at the weekend,” she said.
“They’re past pupils in my school. I identified different people in my school that maybe were taking a year out, or have an interest in agriculture, or had a space for a job. We’re milking 140 cows, with 28 in-calf heifers and 24 calves.
Aileen Sheehan with the trophy she won
“It’s a very simple system, a very much grass-based system – we try and reduce the amount of feed that comes in through the gate. We try and grow as much grass as we possibly can.
“We’ve cross-bred cows – low-maintenance, which means feed is less than your bigger standard black and white animals.
“It’s all about reducing what’s coming through the gate to try and help the environment and try and run a sustainable business. We try and produce the best quality milk we can from the grass that we grow.”
The couple’s farm received a Dairygold Milk Quality and Sustainability Award last year.
“That’s based just on the quality of our milk for the 2024 season, and different environmental measures as well,” Ms Sheehan said.
“But the quality of our milk leaving the farm, how clean that milk is, is what you’re judged on, and you’re judged on every single collection. So at no stage can your milk be of bad quality.
“The award was a massive bonus for us because we definitely didn’t think, after three years, we would be anywhere near any awards.
“We’re just basically trying to build a sustainable business.”