It’s been 100 years since the McEnroe family commenced farming at Liss in Oldcastle, Co Meath, when the late John McEnroe purchased the farm. To mark the occasion, the family is hosting a centenary celebration weekend on 8-10 August 2025.
It wasn’t until 1953 when the Angus bug struck at Liss, when John’s son Bartle McEnroe purchased his first Angus heifer from his uncle Bernard McEnroe of Lakeview, Co Cavan. This heifer, Diana of Lakeview, would be the start of a lifelong love of Aberdeen Angus cattle for the McEnroe family.
In 1982, Bartle’s son John took over the reins at Liss, while his other son Leo started his own herd at Lisduff in 1993. Today, the Liss herd comprises of 100 pedigree Angus cows, while the Lisduff herd runs 160 breeding females.
Breeding objectives
Over the years, the two herds have focused on breeding moderate-framed, hard-working Angus cattle. John explains: “The emphasis has always been on, and will continue to be on, breed character, conformation and functionality. These fundamental breeding requirements underpin our breeding strategy, which ultimately aims to meet the economic requirements of our customers in an ever-changing market.”
On-farm data recording is a tool both herds use to measure progress and identify the best-performing animals, with both herds taking part in the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) whole herd performance-recording programme.
“Recording accurate data is important to us, we want to ensure the bulls we sell do what they are meant to do, that’s why it’s important the best-performing animals are identified, across all traits.
“As the dairy herd is our main market, it is vital we identify the easiest calving, shortest gestation genetics, and avoid hard-calving, hard-fleshing animals,” they added.
Cow families
Both the Liss and Lisduff herds are home to some prestigious Angus cow families. World-renowned families at Liss include the Miylos and the Myrlos, while at Lisduff the Duchess and Davina cow families have proven themselves time and time again. Some famous bulls have been used in both herds over the years, including the great Carton Roe David.
Commenting on David, John said: “He bred an abundance of quality, which filtered down through all of his progeny.” Another successful bull used at Liss was Gigginstown Rolls Royce, which John recalls “left beautiful females with terrific maternal characteristics”.
In recent years, Leo has invested heavily in bulls from some of the top herds in the UK, including Rawburn Earthquake and Retties Lerendezvous.
Red genetics
The Lisduff herd has also built up a herd of red Angus cattle, producing some prolific bulls, including the popular AI sire Lisduff Red Pepper. Today, the Lisduff herd comprises of 50 red Angus breeding females, which Leo hopes will supply the growing market for red Angus across Europe.
Numerous Liss and Lisduff bulls have entered AI over the years, including the well-known Liss Brendan in Dovea. As well as this, both herds have achieved some massive prices for both males and females at public auctions. In 2004, Lisduff Dandy sold for a whopping €16,000 at the Tully Test Performance station, while in 2022 Liss Bruno Y120 sold to Dovea Genetics for €10,500 at the Irish Aberdeen Angus Extravaganza.
Both herds have also claimed multiple national and All-Ireland titles, most recently with Liss Minree Z285 winning the supreme champion at the 2024 National Livestock Show in Tullamore.
Centenary weekend
On Friday 8 August, people will get the opportunity to visit both the Liss and Lisduff herds as part of their centenary celebration weekend. It is expected there will be visitors from all over Europe attending the three-day celebration.
On Saturday 9 August, an on-farm sale of 50 breeding females and 10 bulls from the Liss and Lisduff herds will take place. Commenting on the sale, Leo said: “Buyers can expect to get cattle that are correct, straight and true to type. We feel the Angus we have to offer carry the true characteristics of the breed, heads, fleshing ability and softness.”
“We believe it is vital to retain these breed characteristics,” added John. “Unfortunately, many of the new more modern type Angus have lost this type, are high of the tail head, weak across the shoulder, and do not exhibit the true characteristics of the breed. We have tried to stay away from this type of cattle.”
The sale will include maiden and in-calf heifers, as well as bulls of all ages. A number of red Angus heifers are also included and all cattle will be tested IBR and bluetongue free to facilitate European buyers.
Live video auction
The sale will take the format of a live video auction in Liss A82HV20 at 3.30pm, with a viewing of the cattle commencing in Lisduff A82PF25 at 9.30am that morning. For anyone unable to attend the viewing, there will be an alternative open day on Sunday 3 August, by appointment only. The sale will be conducted on-farm by Denis Barrett and online bidding will be available through Ballyjamesduff Mart and MartEye. The centenary event will conclude on Sunday 10 August, with a trip to the FBD National Livestock Show in Tullamore.
Click here to access the sale catalogue.