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until the early 1970s. At that stage, the government decided to break up the Dairy
Disposal Company and transfer ownership of the creameries to a number of farmer co-operatives. In 1974, most of what remained of the Condensed Milk Company was sold to one of these, Golden Vale, subsequently a subsidiary of the
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government established a new semi-state body, the Dairy
Disposal Company, to regularise and rationalise the industry. The new body took over the Condensed Milk Company, by far the largest producer in the country, as well as other smaller concerns. The company continued to operate under State control
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November 1923, the directors decided they could not continue and announced that the company was going into liquidation. Frederick Cleeve had stepped down as managing director several years earlier and was replaced by Sir Thomas Cleeve's son, Francis. The company was bought as a going concern by a
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In 1889, the business was incorporated as a private limited company. Within ten years 60,000 tins of condensed milk were being produced daily at its
Limerick headquarters, with 10,000 cows providing the raw material. As the business expanded, Thomas Cleeve was joined by his four younger brothers who
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Through his contacts with Irish farmers, Cleeve saw the potential to process milk and manufacture dairy products for home consumption and export. Together with Edmond
Russell,a local businessman, and William Beauchamp, a solicitor, Cleeve acquired Lansdowne, a site on the northern bank of the
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brought the company's headquarters at
Lansdowne to a standstill. Even though normal business resumed at the factory, the stoppage was a turning point in the Cleeves' fortunes. Over the course of the next three years, the company faced an unprecedented array of challenges which threatened the
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Kerry Group ceased all production and the 10-acre site was acquired by
Limerick 2030 which has appointed a design team to redevelop the site as Cleeves Riverside Quarter. Its tall chimney remains as one of Limerick's most distinctive landmarks.
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in 1914, and employee numbers rose to 3,000. The
Condensed Milk Company became a major supplier to British forces fighting in Europe. It was alleged after the war that company profits reached £1m during this period.
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By the end of the nineteenth century the
Condensed Milk Company had 2,000 employees on its payroll and counted 3,000 farmers as suppliers of its raw material. Its exports reached practically every corner of the
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led to considerable damage being inflicted on many of the company's factories and creameries. Some of this damage was caused by Crown forces, despite the
Cleeves being staunch
169:. The company's brands included "The Cup", "The Calf", "The Goat", "The Shamrock", and "Cleeve's Full Cream Milk". A separate factory in Limerick manufactured Cleeve's Toffee.
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in 1908, his brother, Frederick, became managing director, with William Beauchamp assuming the position of chairman. Business grew significantly following the outbreak of
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who saw the Condensed Milk Company as a symbol of British rule. The third challenge faced by the company lay in the radicalisation of sections of its workforce.
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The final remnant of the original family business, Cleeve's Toffee, continued until 1985 when the company which had purchased the brand was liquidated.
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set up three branches in Limerick. Within a year the union had successfully recruited the Cleeve workforce as members. In 1919, the short-lived
132:-based supplier of agricultural machinery owned by his uncle. Over the next 20 years Cleeve rose to become managing director of this company.
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Following the resumption of peace in Europe, the price of milk fell dramatically affecting company profits. On top of that, the
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moved from Canada to help manage the company. They set up or acquired a chain of smaller creameries and factories throughout
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was an Irish manufacturer of dairy products and, in its heyday, the largest of its kind in the
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Limerick’s Life web site (Rediscovering Limerick, episode 4: Cleeve's Condensed Milk Factory)
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Made in Limerick Vol.1, History of industries, trade and commerce
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The Irish co-operative movement, its history and development
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336:, "£1m. creamery take-over in Clare", 28 June 1974
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161:to facilitate sales into the British market.
110:The Condensed Milk Company of Ireland Limited
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450:Food and drink companies established in 1883
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376:(Institute of Public Administration, 1977,
430:Defunct manufacturing companies of Ireland
396:Faithful Servant: A Memoir of Brian Cleeve
294:, "Prospectuses", 27 November 1897, (p.10)
191:Irish Transport and General Workers' Union
157:. Branches were established in London and
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16:Former Irish dairy products manufacturer
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360:, "Cleeve's for sale", 11 April 1985
435:Dairy products companies of Ireland
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22:Condensed Milk Company of Ireland
172:Following the death of chairman
320:Lee, David and Jacobs, Debbie,
425:1883 establishments in Ireland
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324:, Limerick Civic Trust, 2003
244:Lansdowne factory, June 2005
185:Industrial and civil strife
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440:History of County Limerick
72: Limerick, Ireland
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389:Carrickallen Creamery
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226:Andrew O'Shaughnessy
387:Dr. Frank Brennan,
203:War of Independence
99:Number of employees
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211:Irish Nationalists
404:978-1-84753-064-6
174:Sir Thomas Cleeve
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83:Sir Thomas Cleeve
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69:Headquarters
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394:Jim Bruce,
255:Kerry Group
178:World War I
63:Kerry Group
419:Categories
280:References
250:Free State
78:Key people
54:Taken over
207:Unionists
159:Liverpool
85:, founder
59:Successor
268:See also
130:Limerick
90:Products
27:Industry
236:Decline
155:Munster
120:Origins
43:Defunct
35:Founded
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391:(2001)
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51:Fate
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