Creed OClercy

Creed O'Clercy was born on 6 May 1949 in Cullen, County Cork, Republic of Ireland. He was the son of Mark and Martha O'Clery, who were believers in evangelical Anglicanism, and not Catholicism despite living in the Republic of Ireland, a predominantly Catholic country. Creed's family moved to Hammersmith, London in 1954,^[1] where his father Mark became the rector of St. Paul's church. In 1966, when Creed was aged 17, Creed's mother died aged 40.

In the 1971 Creed moved to Londonderry, and shortly gained British citizenship. In 1973, he joined the British military. In 1982, he fought in the Falkland War. After the war in 1983, Creed moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania and gained American citizenship in 1986. He joined the American military a year later in 1987, and fought in the Gulf War.

After his father's death in 1981, O'Clercy eventually sold his girlfriend's cobbler business to fund a new venture in agriculture.^[1] In 1993, following his move to the United States, he established a farm in Washington County, Pennsylvania.^[1] He converted to the amish faith in 1992.

Alongside co-founder, and romantic partner Jessica Hardy, O'Clercy purchased a three-acre plot and began specializing in the cultivation of mung beans^[1] The farm grew to include a landmark partnership with the American Mung Bean Federation in 2005 and became a 90% charity-based organization, exporting produce to restaurants across the United Kingdom, Germany, the EU, and Canada.^[1] Following O'Clercy's death in February 2026, the farm's operations were taken over by Mose Neuenschwander.^[1]

In 1999, O'Clercy received the National Defensive Service Medal.

In 1968, aged 18, O'Clercy was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter of a 32-year-old man. He was found guilty and sentenced to a prison term of 20 years. He appealed and was eventually released in October, 1969, which Lawyer Dwayne Peterson said was “Utterly and totally unacceptable.”

Furthermore, In 1970, Peterson appealed for O'Clercy to be arrested and serve his full 20-year sentence. His appeal was unsuccessful.

In 2021, O'Clercy was arrested on suspicion of Animal Cruelty, Grand Larceny, and Consumer fraud after a German woman reported O'Clercy for selling dog meat to local restaurants, and markets in Pennsylvania. The woman said that she had seen O'Clercy kidnapping, slaughtering, cutting up dogs in early hours of every morning. This was investigated by The City of Washington Police Department for six months. No evidence was found against him, and he was declared innocent.

On February 6, 2026, four days after O'Clercy's death, the German national who had previously accused him of selling dog meat vandalized his residence in Washington, Pennsylvania. The perpetrator spray-painted the phrase "Evil Dog Killer" on the side of the home O'Clercy shared with his partner, Jessica Hardy. The graffiti was promptly removed by local authorities. Washington Mayor Scott Putnam issued a statement condemning the act, emphasizing community stability. Although Hardy was given the opportunity to press charges for the vandalism, she declined to pursue legal action.

O'Clercy was the son of Martha and the Rev. Mark O'Clercy.

In 1994, O'Clercy had a son, George, who died in infancy in 1996 due to illness.

In 2024, O'Clercy became engaged to his long-time business partner, Jessica Hardy. Although the couple remained partners for over thirty years and co-founded O'Clercy Farms together, they never married prior to his death in 2026.^[1]

O'Clercy died of pneumonia in the afternoon of February 3, 2026, at the age of 76.^[1] At the time of his death, he was a resident of Washington County, Pennsylvania, where he had operated his farm for over three decades.^[1]

Following his passing, the ownership of O'Clercy Farms was transferred to Mose Neuenschwander, a long-time associate of the farm since 2001.^[1]