It’s all eyes on Donegal for the Lynch Brothers All-Ireland and International Sheep Shearing Championships. This year the championships will be held in An Grianan Estate, Burt, Co Donegal, on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 May. The organisers are confident the 2,000- acre estate on the shores of Lough Swilly is an ideal location for the occasion.

It’s not the first time the Shearing has been held in this part of the country, as the event was held here back in 2009. Charlie Doherty, chairman of An Grianan Sheep Shearing Association, said that six years ago the event was a huge success, attracting more than 15,000 visitors over the two days.

He said parking is looked after, with plenty of options on the estate. The shearing and trade stands will be located in the farmyard. “There will be plenty of shelter and the majority of the area is paved, making it more comfortable for all,” explained Charlie. An Grianan estate is owned by Donegal Investment Group and is home to a working organic dairy enterprise.

Shearing championships

There is a jam-packed shearing schedule this year, with a combination of national and international competitions. On Saturday, the national championships take place with shearers from all over the country competing in junior, intermediate, senior and open classes. Open class is the top level of shearing nationally and it could be described as all-Ireland championship level.

Donegal man Ivan Scott will be defending his Irish sheep shearing title (open championship) once again, having won the title for the last nine years in a row. He will have local rivalry from Derry man Jack Robinson and Antrim man Ian Montgomery, while from the south Tom Kennedy and Roy Collier will be in with a shout.

On Sunday, things will heat up as the Six Nations Sheep Shearing championships takes place. The six countries included are England, France, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Each country is represented by three of its best shearers.

Each team shears 21 sheep – seven per member. The first seven sheep are shorn by one team member and, when he is finished, the next team member steps up promptly to shear another seven, like a relay race.

Once the final shearers are finished, they await the result from the judges. The winning team is not necessarily the one that finishes first, as contestants are judged on a number of different criteria, including precision of the shearing and faults such as doublecutting.

The biggest event of the weekend will be the All-Nations Championships. This will see top-class shearers from all over the world competing. It kicks off Sunday morning with a number of heats and rounds followed by a quarter-final, semi-final and final. Last year, it was won by New Zealander Johnny Kirkpatrick. He will not be in attendance this year so it is very much up for grabs.

Two international names to watch out for in this category are Welsh shearer Richard Jones and Hamish Mitchell from Scotland, although they will have it all on to deny Ivan Scott a win in his home county.

There will also be a Queen of the Shears competition on the Saturday, with last year’s winner Colette Deegan defending her title. Colette has an impressive record of eight all-Ireland titles. Other competitions include a junior shearing competition, Ireland versus Scotland and a Donegal-only competition. All winners will be presented with trophies from the recently appointed Grianan Queen Arlene Arbuckle.

Animal welfare is of huge importance to the shearing association and no one can enter competitions without taking a shearing course and qualifying with a Blue Seal.

Wool handling

There will be a wool handling championship on Saturday. Wool handling is very important for the proper presentation at sale. Currently, Jane Harkness Bones from Co Antrim holds the title of All-Ireland Wool Handler, but George Graham from Co Wexford is looking to regain the title after winning it five times in the past.

Fun for all the family

Not only will there be an entertaining two days of world-class shearing, but there will plenty of other activities to keep the whole family entertained. Country music singer Mike Denver kicks off the event on the Friday night, while on the Saturday night Jim Devine will play it out.

Children’s attractions include a petting farm, a funfair and a rally car simulator. For the adults, there will be a gourmet food quarter including demonstrations by the no-salt chef Brian McDermott, rural craft displays, traditional music and dancing, trade stands, pedigree breeds and a host of entertainment events.

Technical information

There will also be a number of technical presentations appealing to sheep producers and consumers. A butchery demonstration will outline the importance of producing carcases to consumer specification. The demo will also include an explanation of various carcase cuts, where specific cuts come from and the desired specifications to maximise returns.

This will lead nicely into a look at current market performance and forecasts for the remainder of the year. Other talks taking place on the day will look at the Donegal sheep industry and its contribution to the national sheep industry, along with a number of technical talks and demonstrations which will appeal to commercial farmers.

2,000 sheep sourced locally

The hoggets used in the competitions will be all be sourced locally and will be mainly lowland sheep. There are almost 300,000 sheep in Donegal, which represents 13% of the Republic of Ireland’s national flock. “Donegal is the biggest sheep county in Ireland. The majority of sheep will be sourced locally in the Inishowen peninsula and other parts of Donegal,” said Charlie.

Over 2,000 hoggets have to be crutched prior to the event by local professional shearers. During crutching, any hoggets that are not suitable for shearing in competition will be culled from the group. The hoggets have to be transported to the venue and returned to their flockowners after the event.

Location

The site is easily accessible from two large towns, being just 15 minutes from Derry and 20 minutes from Letterkenny. If travelling from the Letterkenny direction, take the main Letterkenny-Derry road (the N13) for approximately 20km and the estate is on the left-hand side. The event will be signposted.

Local effort

George Graham from the Irish Sheep Shearing Association said it was easy to choose this location for the competition. “The last time it was held here it was a great success with huge crowds and the weather was beautiful. The An Grianan Sheep Shearing Committee as well as the main sponsors Lynch Brothers are great to work with and will no doubt make this year’s competition a huge success once again,” said George.

Visit the official Sheep Shearing 2015 website

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