Garrett William Tyrrell, one of the country's most prominent dairy farmers and a noted breeder of Jersey cattle, died recently after a short illness.
Originally from Co Kildare, Garrett's father moved to Kildalkey, Trim, Co Meath, in 1917 and carried on conventional dry stock farming for many years. The land was wet and, especially by present-day standards, of low productivity. In addition, the house was in poor condition, buildings were minimal and without a roadway, and access was across a muddy field.
Garrett, the eldest child, then aged six, attended the local Carnisle National School and subsequently became the first pupil of that school to go on to secondary education. At Mountjoy School he did well both academically and at sport. A fast friendship was forged between Garrett and the sports master, the late Tim West, which culminated years later when Tim's son Brian married Garrett's daughter Lynda.
The similarities between Garrett and Tim have often been remarked on. Both were tenacious, of uncompromising honesty, relentless in the pursuit of quality, generous and with a keen sense of humour. But neither was given to calling a spade an agricultural implement!
Garrett returned to the farm in the 1920s and to very difficult circumstances, compounded by the economic war and pressure from the bank which forced the sale of 100 acres to meet repayments. Assuming control in the 1940s, Garrett, after much thought, concluded that dry stock would never generate an acceptable income. He had married Kit Manderson from Co Antrim in 1941; she immediately became his adviser, partner and greatest supporter in a wonderful marriage which was to last for 58 years. Together they decided on dairying and, influenced by the higher price available for Jersey milk, opted for the Jersey breed.
Characteristically, they decided to go for the best stock and imported 27 heifers from Jersey but at the cost of selling off most of their cattle. This decision brought Garrett into contact with the leading UK and Irish Jersey breeders. It also brought him into contact with the Department of Agriculture. In both areas he established not only business relationships but firm friendships which he and those concerned were happy to cultivate and maintain to the end.
Looking today at the land of Woodtown Abbott, one sees little evidence of the wet, boggy, unproductive soil which Garrett took over. It was a daunting prospect but determination to overcome obstacles and succeed were built into his make-up. He was fortunate that James Dillon, then Minister of Agriculture, had introduced a scheme that was to transform vast unproductive areas - the Land Rehabilitation Project. Like many others, Garrett made full use of this landmark scheme and Woodtown Abbot became the splendid farm we know today.
Garrett's hard work reaped its reward and his Jersey herd reached and maintained the pinnacle of success. Numerous show-ring rosettes and trophies, especially at the RDS, of which he was an ardent supporter and where he won, inter alia, the Grand Championship for five consecutive years (1973-77), were matched by extraordinary productivity. He used Danish Jersey bulls and semen to great effect and cows producing well in excess of 1,000 gallons at more than 4 per cent protein and around 6 per cent butter fat were plentiful at Kildalkey. They still are.
His achievements were widely recognised and he became in turn president of the Irish Jersey Cattle Society, president of the Jersey Cattle Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland and ultimately chairman of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau. In the latter capacity especially, he not only advanced the interests of the Jersey breed but in the course of his almost world-wide travels, became a highly esteemed and effective ambassador for his country.
A man of deep religious conviction, Garrett rendered sterling service to his local church and in a wider context to the Church of Ireland. He was a compassionate man and his numerous works of charity were performed in the most unobtrusive manner. Highly persuasive, he drew the comment from an exasperated friend: "Garrett, don't try to make me think that what you think is what I think." Another put it more subtly: "Garrett has a wonderful ability to let you have his way!"
Besides farming, Garrett had many other interests including sport, history, and archaeology. A fascinating conversationalist, his comprehensive memories of changing farming fortunes - he never shirked from relating the difficult circumstances his father and he lived through - were of absorbing interest to his many friends.
The esteem Garrett was held in was evidenced by the attendance at his funeral. People from all over Ireland, joined by European and American friends, gathered to pay tribute to a remarkable man and to extend sympathy to Kit, Mary, Lynda, Patricia, Richard and Daphne and their extended families. Trim Cathedral was crowded for a service of great meaning and beauty and Garrett's ecumenical thinking was reflected in the presence of the local Catholic priests together with the clergy of the Church of Ireland.
Fittingly, Garrett left us for the freshest of fields and the newest of pastures on the anniversary of his great political hero, C.S. Parnell. He was in his 90th year. A.M.