AS SYDARE Eggs celebrates 50 years in business this year, founder Nancy Maguire (88) is proud to see the family business continue to flourish in the capable hands of the next generation.

Originally from Co. Mayo, Nancy met her husband, John Maguire, from the Fermanagh townland of Sydare, on the outskirts of Ballinamallard whilst they were both living in the United States of America.

“They met in the States, in New York, because they both were living there at the time. They’d moved over there very young, met there, and then moved back home and settled on the family farm in 1957,” explained their son, Joe Maguire, who currently runs the egg business.

Settling into rural life in Fermanagh, the couple farmed at Sydare, where they had a dairy herd and a flock of hens. It was at this time that Nancy began to see a local market for eggs.

“My mum was the one who started it off [the egg business],” said Joe, noting that she first started the business in 1970 with 2,000 birds.

“They started to then market locally, to local shops, hotels and bakeries, on a small scale.

“That went on until I took over the business in 1997, when we put up another unit, and have increased to 16,000 birds, both commercial and free-range,” he explained.

Some 50 years on, Sydare Eggs now spans three generations of the Maguire family, with Joe currently running the business with his partner, Brigid, and son, Ciaran Maguire, who is in charge of distribution.

“What we enjoy most about it is we produce fresh eggs delivered to shops on a daily basis. We have eggs in the shop on the same day as they’re produced – that’s what we pride ourselves on,” commented Joe, noting that he gets a buzz from producing a fresh product which is then marketed in the local area.

“We take pride in the fact that we’re local. We also do farm gate sales, where people would come to the yard to [buy] eggs,” he added.

Talking about the future of Sydare Eggs, Joe said: “I suppose Ciaran, the next generation, will keep the business going. That’s the plan.”

When asked what it means to his mother to see the business still going strong 50 years on, Joe said: “Mum’s very proud with the way it’s went, the fact that she initiated the whole thing herself.

“She still lives on the farm, and she sees the farm gate sales where she gets to meet friends, which is nice for her too,” he told this newspaper.