‘Buy your wife a new fur coat’ was advice from the IFA back in 1973

FORMER IFA President, TJ Maher, made front page headlines in the Connacht Tribune edition of January 12, 1973, when he addressed the Athenry Mart social of the previous week in the Great Southern Hotel.

The mart was celebrating its brand new extension with 350 people in attendance and TJ Maher was advising farmers not to neglect their wives.

The heading in the paper read: ‘Farmers, give your wives fur coats’, as he reminded the ‘men of the house’ of the role that their wives played in running the farm.

“I don’t think there is any other profession, except perhaps that of the small shopkeeper, in which the wife plays such an important role.

“She is directly involved and she should not be ignored if she wants a deep-freeze or any luxury of that kind – or if she wants a fur coat,” TJ Maher said.

According to the report in the Tribune the last part of his sentence was drowned out in the applause he received from the attendees at the social, about half of which were women, the report noted.

In the longer report on an inside page of that same edition, the IFA President was concentrating more on farming matters as he called for action to bring into production three million acres of scrub or flooded land in Ireland.

He also spoke of the importance of better grass utilisation and of increasing cattle numbers on Irish farmers to help lift incomes.

The IFA President also advised to try and hold onto as many as possible of their young female stock for breeding purposes.

At the social, details were given of the mart’s new extension which now would have penning facilities for 2,500 cattle and 12,000 sheep as well as lairage for 800 cattle.

The mart which opened in 1960 had a turnover of £500,000 that year but this had shot up to £5.25m in 1972. A new sales ring and six-acres ‘under roof’ were also reported.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.