In one month’s time, a group of young sheep farmers on Achill Island, Co Mayo, will mark a highlight on the island’s sheep farming year.

The 10th Keel Sheep Show will take place on Sunday 11 October at noon, with both ‘show type’ and ‘hardy type’ classes open to competitors.

A highlight of the show, aside from prize money of up to €500 per class, is the opportunity to showcase hardy hill sheep just off the mountain.

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“The day gives a great buzz to the group of young farmers that revived this show in 2016, there is definitely pride of parish,” show chair Johnathan Fadian of Crumpaun told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“While it is a time to have fun, the competition between friends and neighbours does get serious just for the day that’s in it.

“Where the show scene might have been seen as a thing of the past, particularly for hill sheep, our group of young hill farmers have managed to revive the Keel Sheep Show to a place where it is growing year-on-year.”

Amid interest from buyers from Donegal to Kerry, organisers have this year provided pens for showing sheep on the market.

Hardier

“What makes the Achill strain of the Blackface so sought after is the smaller, hardier and barer ewe.

“They have less wool then the Connemara which makes them less likely to get caught in briars or bushes,” Fadian added..

“The grazing they get on the island leaves them physically very fit and with a mothering ability that sees every ewe coming down off the mountain with a lamb at foot after little managing apart from clipping, dipping and an odd dose. They require very little maintenance.”

Local farm adviser John Lee, who is a judge at this year’s show, pointed to a number of unique elements about Keel’s sheep show.

“The first would be the terrain the sheep are reared on. It ranges from cliffsides to machair along the coast,” Lee explained. “Another would be the concentration of true Blackface genetics on the island.

“The sheep in Achill have the older, hardier Blackface genetics that you might not see in the 10 or so other counties with their own type of the Blackface ewe.

“These positive qualities are tied to the landscape.

“The sheep in Achill must be that bit hardier to survive and thrive with minimal human management in an area of higher rainfall and that gets more storms.

“What’s also unique is the approach taken by this group of people mainly in their late 20s.

“They are a group that face the same challenges that came together to share equipment and facilities.

“Whenever there is dipping, shearing of lambs to be sold, it is a group effort.”