Paddy "the Cope" Gallagher

Paddy "The Cope" Gallagher (Irish: Pádraig Ó Gallchóir; 25 December 1871 – 24 June 1966[1]) was the founder of The Cope (officially called the Templecrone Agricultural Co-operative Society). A businessman and campaigner for West Donegal, he was born in Cleendra, Templecrone, part of The Rosses in the west of County Donegal, Ireland.[2]

At an early age he began work as a hired boy working as a farm labourer, first in County Donegal and then as a potato picker (or potato gatherer) in Scotland. It was this hard work, with its long hours and poor pay, he was later to say, that inspired him to found a co-operative movement back home in County Donegal. His co-op was opposed by local vested interests and he had to buy his own boats to do his importing. He also helped to co-ordinate the local fishing and textile co-operatives, allowing such workers to swap their produce for goods in his local co-operative shops. He wrote an autobiography, published in 1939, called Patrick Gallagher: My Story.[3]

Gallagher was the grandfather of the politician Pat "the Cope" Gallagher. An image of Gallagher was featured on an Irish postage stamp issued in 2006.[4]