Remarks by the Taoiseach, Mr. Brian Cowen, T.D., on a visit to Glynn's Fruit and Vegetables Ltd., Lydican, Oranmore, Co. Galway, Tuesday, 27 July, 2010 at 3.30pm
A dhaoine uaisle.
Tá áthas orm a bheith i nGaillimh inniu agus is mór an pleisiúr teacht anseo chun 75 bliain de chomhlacht Uí Ghloinn ar an bhfód a cheiliúradh.
Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeachas a ghabháil le George agus le ch'uile dhuine atá fostaithe sa chomhlacht. Tá aithne fairsing ar an gcomhlacht ar fud an Iarthair. D'éirigh go geal libh le linn na blianta toisc gur d'fhreastail sibh ar riachtanais an chustaiméara agus torthaí agus glasraí úr den scoth le tairiscint agaibh. Ní nach ionadh go bhfuil an comhlact ag fás go fóill.
It's a pleasure to join you all on this happy occasion - and thanks very much to George Glynn for inviting me here today.
Glynns is, of course, very well known in the West. It has a great reputation as a supplier of quality prepared vegetable products and fresh fruit and vegetables - mainly to the catering trade, including hotels and restaurants. And its delivery trucks are a common sight on the road, delivering produce all over the county, including to the Aran Islands.
The company currently employs around 25 people and has worked hard to build strong and fruitful - no pun intended! - relationships with local suppliers. And long before people started talking about globalisation, it had developed strong partnerships with leading fruit producers and distributors worldwide.
Horticulture makes an important contribution to our economy. Last week, I launched a new report, "Food Harvest 2020", which makes a number of recommendations aimed at helping the sector deal with the competitive pressures it faces. I won't go into them here, except to say that the report refers to the health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption as part of a healthy lifestyle and that's something we should all take heed of.
Today, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of a thriving business. And we pay tribute to all the people behind it, starting with George's grandfather, George Glynn Sr., who founded it in 1935. Back then, the Connaught Tribune held up George Glynn's farm as a model of "what intelligence and industry can do." Times have changed - and Glynn's have changed with them - but intelligence - an example is their rapid adaptation to new technology - and industry remain the driving forces of the business.
This is a model of a company that is successful because it is 100% committed to responding to customer demands and to delivering the highest quality products to customers at competitive prices. We need more companies like this that can stay the course because they keep focused on the customer.
Glynns say about their products that "anything fresher is still growing". I'm delighted to see that 75 years on, this family business is itself still growing and I would like to take this opportunity to wish George and Mary Glynn and their company the very best and every success for the future.
ENDS.