Cullinan, Stephen (1918-1951)--DB5215

Biographical Notes

Date of birth and date of death

18.02.1918-11.01.1951

Maiden name, place of origin

Ballinfoyle, Castlegar, County Galway

Marital status, religious denomination, children

Engaged to be married at time of death; Catholic

Social background, family connections

Son of a farmer

Education, occupation and public functions

Education

University College Dublin: Masters in Agricultural Science (Soil Science) 1945; University College Galway: Bachelor in Agricultural Science 1941; Patrician Brothers' School, Galway, 1931-1937

Occupation

Irish Farmers' Journal: First editor 1948-1950; United Potash (Ireland) Ltd: National agricultural adviser 1949-1951; Minch Norton and Company Ltd, maltsters: Technical adviser 1946-1949; Athy Vocational School Kildare: Rural science teacher 1941-1946

Functions in agricultural institutions

Macra na Feirme: Honorary secretary and treasurer 1947-1949, member of the first central executive 1944-1949, first joint honorary secretary 1944-1947; Irish Farmers' Journal: Member of the editorial advisory committee 1950-1951; Athy Farmers' Club: Founder member, first honorary secretary 1944-; Muintir na Tíre: Member of the Athy guild

Functions in other institutions

Political activities

Short Biography

Stephen Cullinan was an agriculturalist, an agricultural organiser and an agricultural journalist. His life's ambition was to improve the position of the Irish farmer. To this end, in 1944 he founded the National Young Farmers' Association, which in 1946 became Macra na Feirme (meaning Stalwarts of the Land). It had two objectives: to train young farmers so as to secure their future on the land and to provide a social network for young people in rural Ireland. Cullinan operated Macra na Feirme initially from his apartment in Athy, County Kildare, before in 1947 Athy town hall became its headquarters. As of 2022 Macra na Feirme had 10,000 members aged between 17 and 35. Cullinan's second major undertaking was to establish the Young Farmers' Journal, of which he served as editor, in 1948. It became the Irish Farmers' Journal in 1950. As of 2022 the print edition of the Irish Farmers' Journal had a weekly readership of almost 380,000. The annual Stephen Cullinan Scholarship, which is organised by Macra na Feirme, brings two young Irish farmers who are interested in pursuing a fulltime career in agriculture to New Zealand to work and gain experience in that country's farming methods.

Author: Mícheál O Fathartaigh

References

Own publications

Sources

Keywords

IrlandeCounty Kildare