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Roscommon is the sixth-largest county in terms of ewe numbers and numbers of flock owners. Its sheep numbers are bettered by Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kerry and Wicklow, with the first four counties considerably larger in area. The position reinforces Roscommon’s strong tradition of sheep farming, with the south Roscommon area having a particularly high sheep population and being home to a large percentage of the county’s 127,579-ewe flock.
This year’s All Ireland and All Nations Sheep Shearing and Wool handling Championships takes place on the June bank holiday weekend on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 June with the Kepak Group title sponsors. Chair of the organising committee Thomas Beades says that St Brigid’s GAA club in Kiltoom, Co Roscommon, is an ideal venue to host the competition, being located in the “heart of sheep country”.
“St Brigid’s GAA club has a great community spirit and club members and local farmers have been brilliant in giving their time to help organise the event. There are super sheep farmers in the area and these farmers and others further afield have been brilliant in agreeing to provide many of the 2,200 hoggets that are required for shearing”.
Shearing competitions
There are over 200 competitors taking part in 19 shearing competitions, with greater interest in wool handling leading to more classes being added in 2017. Table 1 details a full list of all competitions and starting times. Interest in shearing has grown in recent years, helped in no small part by a growing number of Irish shearers achieving very favourable results in international competitions.
Irish Sheep Shearing secretary Tom Dunne says: “Irish shearers did the country extremely proud at the World Sheep Shearing Championships in New Zealand last February. We had two shearers that made the top six in the world and in blade and machine shearing we made three out of four finals. On points, we ended up the second-best country in the world and of course we also had a number of other high points over the last year. We have an exceptional shearer, Ivan Scott, who set two world records in 2016; it’s unthinkable what he achieved.”
Scott will no doubt lock horns again with a number of top shearers from Ireland in the all-Ireland competition on the Saturday, with Jack Robinson from Claudy, Derry, having a number of exciting duels with Scott in recent years. Other Irish shearers looking to claim the accolade include Scott’s machine shearing team mate in New Zealand, Stanley Allingham, and Louth’s Mark McGeown. The All Nations competitions on the Sunday welcome some of the top shearers from Scotland, Wales and New Zealand, with competitors from many other countries confirmed.
Strong line-up
Aside from sheep shearing, Thomas Beades says there is a strong line-up of activities to keep patrons entertained.
“The organising committee is working hard to ensure we have a good balance of daytime activities but also lots of night-time entertainment. We have a good level of interest from exhibitors and there will also be sheep breed displays, sheepdog trials and attractions for all ages. We are kicking the festivities off on the Friday night with Nathan Carter, while Johnny Brady is playing in the marquee on Saturday night.”
Over 10,000 people are expected to pass through the gates over the weekend, with tickets for the shearing costing €10 for adults. More information at www.sheepshearingkiltoom.com.
Connacht Sheep Shearing Festival
The Connacht Sheep Shearing Festival 2017 takes place on Sunday 21 May in the village of Corofin, located a short distance outside Tuam in Co Galway. The Connacht sheep shearing championships is likely to see shearers keen to lay down a marker ahead of the All Ireland and International competition a couple of weeks later.
Other highlights on the day include the Belclare Breed Society National Championships with the breed marking 35 years since they were released to commercial farms from the An Foras Talúntais research institute which was located in Belclare. There will also be other breed exhibits and competitions, while the largest run in Connacht will start from Corofin at 11am on Sunday morning.
See more at connachtsheepshearingfestival2017.com.
Shearer Mark McGeown from Drumnacarra, Ravensdale, Louth, is attempting to set a new eight-hour ewe shearing record at the Co Louth Agricultural Show. The show, which is run by Dundalk Show Society, takes place on Sunday 11 June in Bellurgan Park, Carlingford Road, Dundalk.
The shearing attempt is also aiming to raise funds for Dundalk Cystic Fibrosis branch which is also the charity selected by the show as the 2017 recipient of their annual donation. Mark is currently sourcing and selecting sheep for the attempt where he is targeting to shear about 500 ewes. The attempt will take place over four two-hour periods. See www.countylouthagriculturalshow.com.
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