Stephen John O’Shea had a slightly different introduction to hill farming compared to many of his peers.

His father Stephen was working as a carpenter in Dublin when he inherited a hill farm at his home place of Lauragh near Kenmare in 1989.

“We lived in a housing estate in Tallaght. I left a secondary school with more pupils in first year than was in the whole school in Kenmare. The football was the biggest thing that got us settled really. I was a novelty. A Jackeen,” recalls Stephen John.

The sheep and suckler farm consists of some enclosed ground but is mainly commonage. While all farmers with a claim to commonages are receiving area-based payments, not all farmers keep stock on them. There is a simple solution to this, according to Stephen John.

“I think there should be a use it or lose it with the commonage. It’s a huge problem and it’s not right. Why should farmers bother going to the hill and spending their time there keeping them in good farming condition so others can benefit from it? Realistically I could draw my basic farm payment without having a sheep. There is a minimum stocking rate to get your ANC payment but not the BPS.”

Economic reality in the hills

European payments and off-farm income is what many of the hill communities depend on. Stephen John explains the reality of the situation.

“I was lucky I got in at the right time and got the young farmer and national reserve. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t get it, it’s as simple as that. That’s the income. No matter what you sell around here, you will never cover your cost. You are doing your best in a hill system to produce a lamb to the ewe. The bulk of wether lambs sold off the hill are sold for €50 and less.”

When the Basic Payment System (BPS) was introduced, hill farmers were told their lower payments would be compensated for by better environmental schemes and increased disadvantaged area payments. Neither option really materialised. This remains a bone of contention for hill farmers. Stephen John gives one example of how environmental schemes don’t take hill farming into consideration.

“A lot of the people coming up with the plans genuinely don’t understand the practicalities of the hills. We were in REPS and certain streams had to be wired off to keep cattle out. We looked at GLAS and got the maps but we had to wire off all the streams. This ground is on the side of the hill, there’s fields divided by numerous streams. Three cows could cause a problem but having 200 sheep in the same field and walking across it is no problem. It’s bizarre and the sole reason we didn’t go into GLAS.”

Adapting to conditions

The O’Sheas have adapted some of their farming practices over the years to suit themselves and the conditions in which they farm.

“The suckler herd was spring calving until about 12 years ago. You have a long winter here, they don’t get put out until May.

“There’s certain times of year grass can get out of control on rougher ground and if the cattle aren’t here the sheep won’t be able to control,” says Stephen John.

Rather than fight with the prevailing conditions to harvest winter fodder, the O’Sheas took a different approach.

“We gave up making silage here 15 years ago. We buy straw and ration instead. You have to plan ahead, you can’t think everything is going to be great every year.”

He explains their reasoning.

“We were tying up our best bit of ground for the bones of three months and with the weather around here, you could be waiting for weeks for an opportunity to cut it. Then because it’s left growing so long, you’re ending up with poor-quality feeding.”

The long walk

Gathering sheep isn’t straightforward given the terrain of the Caha Mountains. The commonages the O’Sheas graze their sheep on run from the N71 on the Cork and Kerry border to within a few miles of the Healy Pass.

“It’s a good eight hours to bring them back in,” says Stephen John. “So you’re not going to do anything with them that day. They’re weak after the walk and it’s near dark when you get them back. I clocked it on an app on the phone – we walked about 19km to gather them up.”

Throughout Ireland, the age profile of those farming the hills is a massive issue. On the Kerry side of the Beara Peninsula it’s no different.

“There used to be 12 to 14 men gathering before, now it’s down to myself, my father and my uncle,” says Stephen John. “When they are not able to go, who am I going to go with?”

Tough times

When asked to describe the locality, Stephen John says: “The two shops and post office in Lauragh closed in the space of a few weeks at the end of October. Now the nearest shops are five miles away in Ardgroom or 15 miles north to Kenmare. They tried to close the school in Lauragh a few years ago and it will probably close in the next few years. Tuosist GAA team is struggling to keep a team for years. The underage have joined up with Kilgarvan or Templenoe for over 10 years. They are both over 20 miles from here.”