Lough Egish

Lough Egish (Irish: Loch Éigis, meaning 'lake of the learned man') is a rural area in County Monaghan, Ireland,[1] which takes its name from the local lake, Lough Egish.

In 1901, after the Cooperative movement was formed in Ireland by Sir Horace Plunkett,[2] a group comprising ten local farmers set about forming the County Monaghan-based Lough Egish dairy co-operative which was, until the 1980s, independently known as Lough Egish Co-operative and Dairy Society.

Lough Egish later merged with the County Cavan-based Killeshandra Co-op Creameries in an effort to consolidate the movement's ambitions of becoming the largest milk processing unit in the north midlands region by rationalising the capacity for milk production to form a new company called Lakeland Dairies.

The other major milk processing co-operative in the region Bailieboro Co Op was a later addition to the Lakelands Dairies, making the group one of the largest and most successful milk processing companies in Ireland.

Lough Egish and surrounding areas host a number of national and international brands including Agro Merchants,  Cooltrim Oil Co Ltd, Gaffey Motors, Glanbia, Lakeland Dairies, Lavelle Hardware, Malones, Platinum Tanks, Rangeland Foods and SFS Steel Formed Sections.