For centuries butter had been exported from Ireland in bulk form to England and then blended with butters of English and other origins.

Following the establishment of the Irish Dairy Board in 1961, the new general manager, a young, athletic and already renowned Irish rugby international named Tony O’Reilly, initiated a plan to unify the Irish dairy industry behind a single butter brand.

The brand Kerrygold was created, and Irish butter, packed in the now famous gold foil, was launched in 1962 in the UK. Initially test marketed in the North West of England, Kerrygold soon established itself as a premium brand nationally.

Kerrygold is a brand of the Irish Dairy Board Cooperative Society which is a second tier coop, in that its members are also cooperatives and are, in turn, owned by Irish farmers.  The Board’s function is to generate the maximum return for those farmers.

Kerrygold has evolved from being a single product brand in Britain to an internationally recognised multi product dairy brand, marketed today in over 60 countries around the world.

Sir Anthony O’Reilly’s brand value legacy of “the very best from Ireland” endures and the tradition of quality, naturalness and freshness remain our key strengths.