The Co-Operative movement was the major influence leading to the establishment of Bandon Co-Op, however, there were other influences, the Gaelic League, with Douglas Hyde. At the time, this was a very influential organisation.

The Watergate Street site was leased from the Murphy family at £10 per annum with an initial shareholding of £44. Mr. John Buckley put a tender of £135 for the construction of the creamery building. There was installation of a steam separator at £370 and this allowed the co-op to begin its business November 2^nd, 1903. The first milk was delivered in November. By December 1903, there were 52 members who held the amount of 534 shares and, as a result, they increased their milk intake that reached 1100 gallons daily in May 1904.

The founding of the Bandon Co-operative Agricultural & Dairy Society in 1903 was the first to occur in West Cork. The first recorded meeting was held on 5th June 1903. A committee of 14 members were elected at this meeting and a further 2 members were elected at the next meeting one week later. A local medical doctor Dr. Denis Hennessy was elected the President / Chairman of the Committee.

The site at Watergate Street was leased from the Murphy family at a rent of £10 per annum and the tender from Mr. John Buckley of £135 for the construction of the building was accepted, the installation of a Steam Separator cost £370, this enabled the co-op to start separation after a very short time. Mr. Thomas B. Lewis was appointed the very first manager.

Only separation of milk took place in the early years of operation with all the skim milk returned to the farmers and the cream sold to the Cork Co-operatives Creameries Federation, which operated in Cork city. It was only when difficulties arose with delayed payments from the above that a decision was taken to install a butter manufacturing plant in 1907. Miss Cronin was appointed Butter maker.

In 1914, a 56lb box of butter was donated to the Irish Creameries War contribution.

The infleunza epidemic occurred and Dr Hennessy asked to be excused and Mr P.W. Cahill, the treasurer, was elected as the second chairman. When Mr P.W. Cahill took chair, the co-op experienced a ‘boom’ period with an addition to the 5% dividend, suppliers and shareholders got a bonus of 4d per £100 of milk that was supplied. It was estimated that there was 160,000 gallons of milk supplied.

Politics and business were kept apart as on July 16^th, 1921, a refrigerator was purchased and alongside that, a building to accommodate it.

In February 1922, due to the increase in milk supplies and the favourable milk price, the committee needed a second separator and larger pumps. This was a high point for Bandon Co-Op.

In early 1924 when a fire broke out in the office, they decided to extend the building by 16 feet with an accepted tender of £90 from Mr Michael O’Reilly. A tender of £45 was accepted from Southern Engineering Co. and they installed a new cream pasteuriser.

Bandon Co-Op decided to re-affiliate with the IAOS. There was a transfer of shares and two men in particular Mr E. Walsh and Mr Jerome A. O’Sullivan played a major role in the co-op in the following years ahead. In October, Mr McAuliffe, from the recently established Dairy Disposal Company (DDCo) advised the possibilities of some of the local ‘proprietary creameries’ becoming available for purchase by co-operative creameries such as Bandon.

Enniskeane representatives threatened to withdraw their shareholding unless the Bandon committee decided to proceed with the Enniskeane branch. It emerged there was a further £6-£10 payable to the land commission on the Enniskeane site and it was only when Mr Daunt agreed to accept £22 rather than £25 that the matter was then finalised. When the project was put to tender, the committee accepted Mr Walsh’s tender of £680 for the building.

The construction of the creamery in Bandon continued. In July 1931, Mr James O’Mahony, performed the official opening of the creamery on the 17^th of July 1931. It was also the first to be powered by electricity completed by Shannon Scheme. The co-op was now capable of handling 6,000g and producing one ton of butter daily.

A very difficult period occurred for the Society during 1932 to 1935. Having extended the creamery around 1932, the funds of the Society were drained, this allied to the World recession of the 30’s and the effects of the ‘economic war’ led to a cash crisis. Many representations were made by the Society to the Department of Agriculture and to Dr. Ryan, the Minister of Agriculture at the time to help the plight of the co-op but to no avail. Efforts to arrange extra accommodation from our bankers also proved very difficult as the terms required were not acceptable to the committee; however a package was eventually agreed and proved very successful.

The period during World War II proved a real test for the Society, mainly due to unavailability of Fuel, Feed & Fertilizer and other farm inputs.

The economic war had an impact on the co-op as suppliers were asking for an increase in milk cheques.

Mr Treacy was involved in a deal for the improvement of water supply, and it was approved in January 1938 with Southern Engineering Co. for a new Cold store.

There was a decline in national milk supply discussed at AGM in the post-war period. The Minister of Agriculture advocated an increase in milk supply as a solution to the decline of milk supplies. In the Post- War Era there was general confidence at the Co-Op due to its ability and innovative spirit that emerged during the Emergency.

In March 1945, the Manager got a call from the DDco offering the branch creamery at Maulbrack for sale and a deal for £1,100 prompt cash was agreed. The Bandon representatives were pleased as they had approval to go as far was £1,150.

There was concern about butter stocks for production season. Before the end of the year, the tender of £875 from McCarthy’s Sawmills for the construction of a new office, was accepted.

The establishment of the first Irish Artificial Insemination (AI) Centre in Mallow in 1946. There was discussion at a Bandon Committee meeting, and they visited Mitchelstown creameries and farms. The committee soon after wrote to the department of agriculture advocating for an AI centre in Bandon.

In July 1949, Mr William Wall took a position as Assistant manager. Towards the end of 1949, the committee decided to install electricity in Crossbarry and Ballinadee.

At the AGM it was stated that the current butter subsidy means providing cheaper butter to consumers rather than a subsidy to farmers. There was a £25000 increase in sales.

There was a speedy expansion of the AI service.

At a special committee meeting in November 1953, the members agreed to mark the golden jubilee of the formation of the society.

The uptake of the AI service was rapid. By June 1954, Bandon Co-Op employed a second inseminator.

In February 1954, the committee decided to erect a new cold store with a capacity of 6,000 boxes at an estimated cost of £4000.

The AI project moved forward in March 1955. Mr Treacy was also elected as the first honorary secretary after his retirement from Bandon Co-Op.

The Bovine Tubercuolosis Eradication (BTE) scheme was underway. There was consciousness of the risk to calves and pigs from contaminated skim milk, so the society had to consider the pasteurisation of skim. At a subsequent meeting, the committee decided to pasteurise the cream and the skim milk separately and accepted a tender of more than £4000 for the pasteurisation equipment for Crossbarry and Bandon. Pasteurisation plants was agreed for the four remaining branches later in 1957.

The increase in the use of tractors and trailers in milk delivery required more yard space such as branches in Crossbarry and management had to negotiate for an extension of the yard in Bandon. The ground rent was increased.

At the committee meeting, Mr Treacy resigned after 38 years’ service in Bandon and 47 years in all in the co-op movement. The assistant manager, Mr Michael Fitzgibbon got Mr Treacy’s position. It marked a new era in the life of Bandon Co-Op.

In the 1970’s, the Co-Op decided to upgrade the office accommodation by adding an extension to the cold store building.

Milk production was growing, and the manager got approval to purchase 100 bulk tanks to have tanks in stock for suppliers.

The Committee agreed the purchase of an articulated truck for milk transport in October and a 10,000g milk storage tank.

The Co-Op purchased its first articulated milk tanker.

The transport fleet compromised of two right tankers, four articulated tankers, two articulated flat trucks with tanks and a fertiliser delivery truck.

The Co-Op celebrated its 75^th anniversary.

The trading division: In 1979 the co-op stored 2,000 tons of barley in the first year of using an aeration storage system.

There was expansion in the grain storage, when a building purchased at the Brinny factory for £14,000 was re-erected. It facilitated an intake of 8,000 tons in 1984. In the 1985 harvest the Co-op handled rapeseed, in addition to cereals, so the total intake amounted to 10,000 tons.

The project envisaged the production of butter in minipacks, and in September 1985, a minipack machine with a capacity of 400 units per minute was installed at the Watergate premises.

In November 1989, the approval of a budget of £200,000 for the upgrading of dairy facilities at Watergate.

The trading division expanded when a factory in Kinsale was purchased in March 1989, for £100,000. When the upgrading was complete for £90,000 the Kinsale store became part of an enlarged trading division. The official opening happened in May 1990. There was then a further extension of the retail centre in Enniskeane.

In a joint venture, Barryroe Co-op and Bandon Co-op purchased Stand Dairy Ltd, which was a liquid milk plant in West Cork that was offered for sale at a cost of £3.625m. Lisavaird Co-op accepted the invitation to take part in the ownership.

Bandon Valley Foods Ltd. Was incorporated in September for the growing activities of the Co-op in grain, animal feeds, onions, and farm supplies.