Michael Hanley retired as chief executive of Lakeland Dairies in 2022, having spent his whole career in the industry. In the last two decades, he reached the top echelons of the Cavan-based co-op. It involved direct dealings with Ornua and a seat on the board of the marketing organisation first headed up by Tony O’Reilly in the early 1960s.  Hanley told The Currency that throughout his career, the figure of O’Reilly, who died on Saturday, had remained widely recognised long after he had moved on to other businesses. “The initiative of Kerrygold was ahead of its time,” Hanley said. “There…