The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) is a co-operative organisation in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. With its roots in the

Irish Agricultural Organisation Society The Irish Agricultural Organisation Society (IAOS) was an agricultural association in Ireland which advocated, and helped to organise, agricultural cooperativism, including mutual credit facilities. From its establishment by Sir Horace Plunkett ...

, ICOS promotes commercial co-operative businesses and enterprise, across multiple sections of the Irish economy. The Irish Agricultural Organisation Society (IAOS) was founded by

Sir Horace Plunkett Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (24 October 1854 – 26 March 1932), was an Anglo-Irish agricultural reformer, pioneer of agricultural cooperatives, Unionist MP, supporter of Home Rule, Irish Senator and author. Plunkett, a younger brother of Jo ...

in 1894 to provide an overarching organisational structure for the numerous small agricultural cooperatives in

at the time. By the mid-twentieth century, co-operativism had greatly expanded in Ireland, and had come to embrace many businesses and groups outside agriculture. The IAOS was re-organised and renamed as the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society to reflect these changes in the Irish economy. Today, ICOS member co-ops and their associated companies have more than 150,000 individual members, 12,000 employees in Ireland, a further 24,000 abroad, and a combined annual turnover of €12 billion. Some of the largest businesses in Ireland, such as Aryzta, Tirlán and

Kerry Group Kerry Group plc is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges. Given the company's origins in the co-operative movement, farmer-suppliers of the company retain a significant in ...

, are members of ICOS.Irish Co-operative Organisation Society website, http://www.icos.ie/history/a-proud-tradition/ (Accessed 28 September 2014) ICOS has evolved to serve the co-operative sector in seven core categories: *Multipurpose dairy co-ops *Livestock sector co-ops *Store, trade and wholesale co-ops *Service-related co-ops *Community-oriented, culture and leisure co-ops *Food, fishing and beverage co-ops *Advisory and education-related co-ops The organisation has offices in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Cork and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

References

{{Authority control Cooperatives in Ireland Cooperatives in the Republic of Ireland Economy of the Republic of Ireland Agricultural cooperatives Agricultural organisations based in Ireland Seanad nominating bodies