For Heritage Week 2024 Moate Library hosted an exhibition on local business Snowcream and its history in Moate, compiled by Kathleen Cleary.
In the mid-1950s, Micheál Malone local farmer and his friend Pat Clavin from Streamstown recognised that the day of untreated milk being sold directly to consumers was coming to an end and pasturisation was the latest word in milk quality. Moate was Michael’s local town and on one of his visits to M.Flynn & sons shop he brought up the idea with Joe Flynn of starting up a milk processing plant in Moate. Joe said he would investigate this and bring it up at the meeting of the Moate Development Committee that was comprised of local businessmen. The idea got a positive response, and the wheels were set in motion. At the time Paddy McDonnell from Horseleap was involved in selling stainless steel equipment to dairies throughout Ireland. He conveyed to Johnny Aylward of Snowcream Waterford about the rumour of a new processing plant being talked about in Moate. The “Waterford people” contacted the Moate people” and a meeting was arranged, and it was decided that they would go ahead with Snowcream Midlands Ltd., Directors were Eamonn Griffin, Kurt Kraus, William Coogan, Joe Flynn, William Shipsey and William Kervick.
A site was purchased at Dublin Road, Moate for £600 from late Jack Duignam. The dairy was designed under the direction of Johnny Aylward and Eddie Walsh. Local builder George Smyth was given the contract for the building of the new dairy.
Eddie Walsh was the manager for the dairy opening in March 1958, Harry Boland was his assistant and went on to become the Manager with Liam Cornally as his assistant in 1960.
Snow cream started with three delivery trucks driven by Anthony Mullen, Jimmy Ledwith and Larry McLoughlin. These Lorries covered the Roscommon, Tullamore, and Athlone areas. There was no garage on site for the first two years and the fleet was serviced by Moate Motors.
Snowcream was never going to succeed without a core of dedicated suppliers.
To fulfill their contract for the supply of liquid milk 356 days a year, farmers altered the calving period to one in spring and one in autumn. This ensured there was always a percentage of freshly calved cows milking at any given time. This meant there was higher quality milk and made sure the farmer filled his daily contract to the dairy all year round.
When a new supplier came on board, liquid quotas were given to them based on what daily amount the supplier thought he could guarantee to the dairy and what the dairy thought it might sell daily. This could then be increased or decreased in line with supply and demand.
A premium price was paid for all milk supplied within contract but any surplus gallonage was paid at normal creamery price
In the early days of Snowcream expansion was quite rapid due to the eagerness of farmers to increase their production. With extra milk flowing in, there was always the need to find new markets and customers. In 1959 management at the dairy called together all suppliers. They asked farmers to canvas local shops owners in each farmer’s area to stock and sell Snowcream milk. By this bringing of suppliers together a spark was created and out of this meeting emerged the Snowcream Milk Producers Association.
This organization was led by Joe Sheridan who did enormous work in introducing producers to Snowcream and advocating on their behalf. Joe Stones, who was the original secretary, should also be acknowledged for all his work throughout the years.
With the growing demand for pasteurised milk, Snowcream expanded and acquired Bracklyn Dairies Mullingar.
Ireland joined The European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, with the aid of agricultural grants many dairy farmers were able to expand thus the industry grew rapidly throughout the country. This brought about intense competition within the liquid milk industry, which would eventually lead to the closure of the Moate plant. With growth, changes also occurred in the processing industry. At farm level, milking cows went from hand milking to bucket plant operations. The design and layout of milking parlours and cowsheds was changing.
Milk was delivered in churns typically left at the farmers gate for collection. These churns were numbered with the farmers milk number. When the milk arrived at the plant in Moate the pasteurising operator would take samples from each supplier’s milk and send to the lab for quality testing. Once results from the laboratory proved negative for any problems, it was then poured into a weighing vessel and each individual amount calculated and recorded. The milk was then sent to be pasteurised and bottled. This was a very responsible job. The milk was then transferred into the pasteurising plant for treatment before being pumped into a receiving vessel situated above the bottling machine. Gravity brought the milk from this tank to the bottling machine, which filled and capped pint and half pint bottles of milk. From there the bottles were transferred by crate to a cold storage room to await delivery to shops and houses.
Missing churn lids were a serious matter among the farmers. It was a regular occurrence for farmers to go on the hunt for their correct churn lids upon collection of the empty churns. Woe be tide the dairy worker who faced a farmers wrath. In the early eighties bulk milk tank collection was introduced and churns were gradually phased out, with this also went the testing, the weigh pan and scales etc., not to mention of the above mentioned ‘lid’ issues.
Snowcream was processing over 4million gallons of milk by mid-1980’s. With its central location, state of the art premises, loyal staff led by Liam Cornally, a Lab ran by Angela Walsh and Geraldine Coogan and most importantly the dedicated loyal farmers who had supplied the dairy with high quality milk from the outset in 1958, it was of no surprise that Kerry Co-op decided to buy Snowcream. This was to be the “Dawn” of a new era for the dairy industry in Moate.
This news was positively met amongst staff and suppliers alike as Kerry were regarded as a very successful company.
Kerry Co-op then went public in 1986 and became Kerry Group which is still known today as one of Irelands finest companies.
Eddie Walsh 1958-1960
Eddie was appointed first ever manager of Snowcream in 1958 until 1960. He was head hunted by Johnny Aylward, a director of Snowcream Wexford. Eddie was previously employed by “Kens Crips” which resulted in his nickname “Chips” He got the show on the road in Moate, organising staff and suppliers and also developed the market for the milk products.
Harry Boland 1960-1962
Harry Boland, a native of Waterford began in 1958 as assistant manager to Eddie Walsh and became manager in 1960. During those first two years he completed his Dairy Science Diploma in the Cheshire School of Agriculture in England.
Harry was a talented Musician and before leaving Waterford for Moate, he played trombone with a small band which would later become the Royal Showband.
Harry helped get Snowcream on its feet and was instrumental in turning it into a very successful company.
Alfie Dodd 1962-1972
Alfie Dodd was appointed manager from 1962-1972 and was head hunted from his position as Manager of Roscommon & Tulsk Mart with an aim to help turn Snowcream into a more profitable dairy. Alfie was qualified in Dairy Science at UCC.
His main strategy was to increase turnover and he did this by expanding the boundaries of towns supplied to include Longford, Roscommon, Mullingar and Castlerea. This increased milk sales greatly.
His time as manager of Snowcream came to an end in 1972 as he felt he had progressed the business as far as he could. He needed a new challenge and so moved back to the West and became manager of Mid-West Co-Op.
Liam Cornally 1972-2001
Liam is a native of Ballymore, Westmeath. He had been accepted into an Garda Síochána in 1959 but while waiting for the call he was headhunted by Bill Coogan, as he was recommended by Carmelite College Moate as he had done well in school and was a good worker.
Liam started working in the office in Snowcream and went on to work in the processing floor. He then qualified from Cheshire with a Diploma in Dairy Science and armed with a broad knowledge of the dairy industry he took up the of the post of manager in Moate in 1972.Liam proved to be a very dedicated and capable manager for the thirty years of his Tenure. He had a hands-on approach in the running of the dairy and it was no surprise when Kerry PLC bought Snowcream they asked Liam to stay on as manager. At its peak the plant had over 140 people on the payroll. He built a loyal and committed workforce around him.
The bottle washer and associated glass filing line at Snowcream was at the heart of the operation for more than 25years. This was where the bottles were rinsed, washed and sterilized. This machine used a conveyor system that moved the bottles from one stage to the next. This was ultimately it’s downfall as when one system broke down, they all broke down. It was mostly a dedicated team of Moate women who operated the bottle washer. Glass was costly to transport because of its heavy nature and high losses occurred due to seeking out a decent bottle return efficiency.
Tetra Pak, the Swedish Company had developed a high -speed milk filling system in the sixties and seventies and was seeking to introduce their systems to Ireland. Snowcream in Moate was one of the first dairies in the country to install a carton filler and industry visitors flocked to Moate to view this wonder machine which Liam Cornally and Bert Burke were always proud to show off.
As quality was imperative to the success of Snowcream, milk had to be continually tested to ensure a good quality product was delivered to the customers. As part of the building design a laboratory had been placed in the centre of the dairy. The Moate branch was lucky to have had Miss Angela Walsh seconded from Wexford to Moate as she was instrumental in setting a very high standard of milk quality, both entering and leaving the plant. The high standard remained throughout the existence of Snowcream, later to be called Dawn Dairies, Moate. During her time in Moate, she was ably assisted by Geraldine Coogan. Geraldine remained with Snowcream until the Kerry Take – over.
A box of old documents and ledgers dating back to the sixties and seventies, the ledgers were enormous hardbound books in which every transaction was recorded in detail. Among the usual record of business overheads and expenses there was an entry found for 20 bags of “Oats”. An enquiry was made at the time as to what this entry was for, and this was for the last company horse. Milk was delivered in the town of Moate up until mid-seventies by horse drawn trailer and the story goes the horse knew the round better than the milkman.
Within less than ten years however, of this ledger entry, horses, oats and ledgers themselves were a thing of the past in the liquid milk business. Snowcream had entered the computer age. There was a story told a one time that “the boss” complained that no one in this office is doing any work anymore only looking into computers.
This was the way it turned out in the late eighties, most clerical work by 1987 or so was conducted “on screen” and computers had arrived to stay.
Pat worked for Snowcream in the Mullingar depot as a roundsman delivering & collecting milk when he was just 12 years old. It was hard work but he looks back on his time there with extreme fondness. It was lovely to take a walk down memory lane with Pat and his family and hear a first hand experience of his time in Snowcream.
Bridgette Byrne worked in Snowcream in the 60's and brought along Harry Boland who was the manager of Snowcream from 1960 -1962. He now resides in Dundalk.
It was lovely to have them visit and hear their stories from their time in Snowcream. They spent quite a time reminiscing and looking at photographs remembering friends.
This article was published on: 26th September, 2024
Filed under: Library blog, Library Exhibitions
Tags: dairies, Moate, Snowcream, Snowcream Midlands Ltd, Westmeath history