Gurteen College celebrates 75 years

Plans for new teaching block

Gurteen College in Ballingarry has begun a year of celebration to mark the 75th Anniversary of its foundation.

Events kicked of with the first big celebration on September 3 when students from the early years of the college – including former Agriculture Minister Ivan Yates – attended to reminisce on the distinguished history of the institution and look forward to the many exciting years ahead in producing graduates to meet the challenges of modern agriculture.

The event was kindly sponsored by FBD, and lunch on the day was funded by the meat processing group, ABP.

It is 75 years since 1947 when we welcomed the very first group of students to the college. Actually, the history of the institution predates 1947 as for a few years a group of Methodist leaders and farmers from across Ireland had identified the need to take action and do something that would help preserve and enhance rural communities. Their big idea was to establish a college that would demonstrate best agricultural practice and provide the opportunity for young people to see that it was possible to create sustainable careers and live their lives in their rural communities.

The college founders communicated via letter and worked closely with the Methodist Council of Ireland to set up the Gurteen College as a Charitable trust. In 1946 Gurteen house and farm was purchased, funded entirely through donations – the foresight of those farmers and of Wesley McKinney, the first Principal of Gurteen. This provided inspiration and an example for all that followed.

The ethos they established is still at the core of Gurteen’s activities. Our mission statement, “working and learning together to create a better life in rural Ireland” summarises this perfectly.

From the beginning residential accommodation was offered enabling students from anywhere in Ireland to attend the college. Also, from the beginning there was, and continues to be, an emphasis on practical agricultural skills in at least equal measure to the theory being taught in class.

Two other forward thinking principles which were enshrined from the beginnings of Gurteen, were that the college was co-educational, offering training courses for women as well as men and also that it was multi-denominational, open to people from all traditions and backgrounds. As the college has grown unrecognisably in the years since, these key principles remain unchanged and Gurteen continues to aim to provide education and training of the highest standard

PREMIER AGRICULTURE COLLEGE

Over the next seven and half decades, Gurteen has developed a reputation as one of Ireland’s premier agricultural colleges. Indeed in the last four years Gurteen has enrolled students from all 26 counties, and our alumni are active across the industry.

Many former students are successfully farming in their local communities across Ireland, providing employment, running profitable and sustainable business. But much more than that – they are supporting their local community, they have taken roles in politics, they are active in farming groups, they hold significant jobs across the allied industries.

A Gurteen education has always been valued and continues today to provide our students with the confidence knowledge and skills required to be successful. Of course, Gurteen has not delivered all that success in isolation. We work in close partnership with Teagasc, the ETBs and TUS provides access to amazing support and vital funding.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

The future of Gurteen is bright:

– the number of students studying the Teagasc level 5 and 6 agriculture course continues to grow, and as graduates they are always in great demand farmers recognise the combination of skill, knowledge and attitude demonstrated by Gurteen alumni.

This course is the beating heart of Gurteen

– we have strong a very productive relationship the local ETB, and have successfully delivered a number of courses helping Bord na Mona staff retrain and upskill

– 2022 will also see the first group of level eight Honours Degree students commence their studies at Gurteen. We are delighted to have signed a formal agreement with the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) and are confident that the Agricultural Science and Sustainability course will be the first of many new degree courses we deliver with TUS.

-Gurteen recognises that the world is changing and the demands on farmers and landowners will also change. Sustainability in all its elements will be at the forefront of our future activities. Gurteen is one of the Teagasc ‘Signpost’ farms – but we are also hosting a range of research activity. Colleagues from TUS are conducting wildlife surveys recording what is currently present at Gurteen, and colleagues from Teagasc are using the latest equipment to access carbon flows in our pasture fields.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Gurteen governors and staff are ambitious to ensure we build upon the first 75 years of success. Our reputation for great teaching, our exemplary workshops, our brilliant yard, or 1000 acre estate, our 250 cow dairy unit, 80 cow suckler unit, 450 ewe sheep flock and 115 acres of tillage provide amazing teaching resources.

But more than that we are also custodians of significant areas of less productive land, with, native woodland, forestry, a lough and a significant are of bog, areas that have immense educational value. The existing facilities combine to offer a unique top class learning environment. What’s missing are some high quality classroom and teaching spaces, but we are working closely with an architect to create a campus masterplan and we have some exciting designs for a brand new teaching block.

To leave a lasting legacy of our 75th anniversary of our Diamond Anniversary, Gurteen is going to create a grove of 75 native trees, named the Diamond Grove. We are creating a new woodland site, and an area that can be used by staff and students for outdoor seating, quite reflection or an outdoor classroom. The 75 native trees represent a tree for each year of Gurteen’s proud history. The diamond grove also provides a tangible link to college’s commitment to environmental sustainability.