John Dolan reckons his hen has established a new Irish record by this week hatching her fifth clutch of chicks in a year. “She is two-and-a-half-years-old, but I can trace her genes back to the time my mother was given a group of hens by a neighbour in Banagher,” John said. “She hatched a clutch of seven chicks on 13 January, 11 chicks on 29 April, a serious clutch of 16 chicks on 17 July, nine chicks on 24 September and now another 11 chicks,” said John.

“I believe it’s a record.” He exhibited the hen with one of her clutches at the local Belmont Harvest & Vintage Festival. John is from Gortagown. Anyone interested in seeing his hen can contact him via his Facebook page.