Just outside Strokestown, Co Roscommon, is where you will find the Gibbons family and their family-run beef and sheep farm.
Brothers Alan and David are both farming on 180 acres at home with their parents Frank and Geraldine.
The farm tells a story of generations, like many others in Ireland, and was purchased by Alan and David’s grandfather Jimmy in 1951, before Frank and Geraldine took it over and began adding to it in the mid-80s.
In more recent times, Alan and David have also added to the farm, reducing the need for rented ground.
The Gibbons family run a pedigree Angus, Hereford and Shorthorn herd alongside a pedigree Charollais sheep flock and a calf to store/beef enterprise, which means no two days are ever the same for this Roscommon family.
Growing flock
Their herd operates under the Carrowboy Hereford and Angus prefix and Slievebawn Shorthorn and Charollais sheep.
Frank started breeding pedigree Charollais sheep in 1990 with the flock prefix B54 Slievebawn Charollais and is today one of the oldest remaining flocks in the country.
The flock grew from strength to strength year on year, as Frank and Geraldine competed at summer shows, collecting prizes around the country, which inevitably led to their sons developing their own passion for livestock and summer shows.
Slievebawn Snowy, junior female champion at the first national Shorthorn show in 2021, which went on to be female champion at the Irish Shorthorn premier sale 2022. / S Kinahan
When we asked Alan how it all started for his generation, he explained: “You could say that I am breeding cattle since I was five years of age.
"I remember one morning going to Castlerea to buy a suck calf for a cow that had calved with a massive bag of milk and my grandfather Jimmy bought me an extra calf to suck the cow and that’s where it all started really.”
The herd has continued to grow with the establishment of the family's Angus herd in 2015, Shorthorn herd in 2018 and Hereford herd in 2021, with summer shows being an integral part of what the Gibbons family do.
Shop window
They view summer shows as an “ideal shop window” for the stock that they are breeding and recognise that shows are an important part of being recognised for the hard work and dedication that is involved.
Alan said: “For as long as I can remember, we have been showing. Mam and dad always showed sheep and we were away most Sundays.
"It was mainly sheep up until 2015 and, since then, we have shown both sheep and cattle, but this year concentrated on the cattle showing. “There isn’t one inch of Ireland that we could travel to that we wouldn’t know somebody and that’s solely down to breeding and showing stock from an early age and that is something that is distinctly unique to our industry."
Frank Gibbons with his Charollais hogget ewe shown in 2019 that won 18 supreme championships in one show season.
Alan bought his first pedigree Angus, Burrengrove Genus, to establish his own herd in 2015 from a neighbour. His first purchase was a cow that was scanned in-calf and she already had a heifer calf at foot.
Genus’ first calf, sired by a son of Coney Island Legend, sold at the elite Angus sale in 2016 for €4,000. It was later that year that Alan made his second and possibly one of the most influential purchases when he secured Kilteevan Damsel at the dispersal sale of the late Willie Stroker.
Damsel was purchased with her calf Nicky at foot, which went on to sell to Dovea Genetics at Strokestown Show in 2017.
Both of these super breeding females still remain in the herd at 12 and 16 years old and are still producing high-quality progeny, with the Gibbons family breeding show champions year in, year out, with Alan commenting “to say this was a dream start would be an understatement”.
Frank, Alan and David Gibbons with their group of three all Ireland champions in 2019 at Cillín Hill, Co Kilkenny.
Docility and ease of calving are just some of the reasons why Alan chose the route of breeding Angus.
“We used to run Angus bulls with our commercial herd in years gone by and because I work off farm as well, they are just a dream to work with.
“Polled genetics are becoming more popular as it reduces labour on the farm and, as well as that, polled is probably the way to go from a welfare point of view down the road. I started my Hereford herd with two polled heifers, so we’ll see how that goes.”
Breeding
The Roscommon men focus on trying to breed quality when it comes to their breeding programme, with reasonable calving figures of between 2% and 3% with their progeny suited to both the dairy and the beef farmer.
They fear that easy calving bulls at just 1% won't always leave enough quality in the calves from the dairy herd and believe that quality calves are going to be the only viable option from the dairy herd.
Carrowboy VIB ET, double all-Ireland champion and double calf show winner and reserve junior champion at Aldi all-Ireland calf championship 2022 . An ET calf bred by Kilteevan Damsel and Maine Dragon, a full brother to Nicky who was purchased by Dovea Genetics. This calf's breeding is pre-1996, a flush that worked out very well with traditional bloodlines. / A Moore Media
Trying to breed something that is in fashion is always a priority, but the Gibbons like to stay true to the quality within the breeds and feel that breeding for quality is more important than breeding for stars.
“We don’t pay too much attention to stars, simply because most of the old genetics, especially in the Angus breed, has fallen a cropper to the star system.
"When we are purchasing, we would always try to buy something that is easy on the eye more so than looking at what’s written on a catalogue. If you have quality on the ground, you can always build stars around that.
“Stars have our hands tied with sire selection, so it’s something that we have to try to balance, but quality cattle on the ground will always sell.”
There is a lot goes on behind the scenes that people never see
The Gibbons family use a lot of Dovea Genetics bulls, as they feel the stock bulls are similar to the type they aim to breed.
“We would love to breed quality Angus cattle that show breed character and that are true to the breed type,” said Alan. They import polled semen from the UK to use on their Hereford females.
They also do embryo work, which has proven to be a massive success, with two of their all-Ireland champion Angus this year being embryo transfers (ET) from the herd's foundation females.
“We have done a bit of embryo work here on the farm. We’re very lucky that we have Beirne Farm Services in Elphin beside us who gives a super service when flushing our cows and we are also very lucky to have cows like Kilteevan Damsel who are still very fertile after 16 years.”
Sale toppers
We asked Alan what it was like to breed a sale topper.
“It’s one of the greatest feelings we’ve ever had, but it takes a serious amount of time and effort to get to that point.
"From selecting sires to match with your females, carrying them all the way through to training and grooming for their big day in the sales ring, there is a lot goes on behind the scenes that people never see.”
It is clear that the team are very happy with their breeding programme and they explained their intention to remain with the breeds they have currently, with the possibility of maybe adding a Charolais down the road for flushing.
Pointing out some of their biggest achievements to date, winning the 2019 Aldi all-Ireland bull calf class with Carrowboy Rí was a highlight for the herd, but they also commented on the 2022 show season as a whole being one of the best yet.
We had an unbelievable summer
“This year was just unreal. Winning six all-Ireland Angus titles and going on to win senior male champion and reserve overall champion with Carrowboy Uisce Beatha on our doorstep in Strokestown was something dreams are made of.
"We had an unbelievable summer and just as recently as a couple of weeks ago, we won the female championship at the Irish Shorthorn premier show and sale, which was a first for us.”
Stand-out memories
When we caught up with the Gibbons crew, we thought it would be very fitting to ask them to pick a showing memory that stands out for them.
Frank: “Winning the overall supreme champion with a ram lamb at the premier Charollais sheep sale in 2007 was a great day for us and also 2019 when we won 18 supreme championships with a show Charollais hogget ewe.”
Alan: “Strokestown Show this year breeding the junior female champion and senior male champion and to do it at our home show was a dream come true.”
David: “The Carrick-on-Shannon winter fair in 2019 was a stand-out for me when we won champion Angus, champion junior Simmental and reserve junior Charolais champion also.”
Challenges
We also asked if the team find it difficult to balance work, family, farming and shows, to which Alan responded: “Yes, showing and breeding pedigree cattle is very time-consuming, but it’s a disease fuelled by winning. It’s a balancing act, but rewarding when it works out.”
“Costs have sky-rocketed and it’s something that needs to be reflected in the bull prices. Farmers can’t expect pedigree breeders to supply top-quality bulls at prices slightly above killing price, it can’t work.”
Enterprise: pedigree breeding with a calf/store beef enterprise. Acres: 180.Cow numbers: 18 to 20 including recipients. Breeds: Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn and Charollais sheep.
Just outside Strokestown, Co Roscommon, is where you will find the Gibbons family and their family-run beef and sheep farm.
Brothers Alan and David are both farming on 180 acres at home with their parents Frank and Geraldine.
The farm tells a story of generations, like many others in Ireland, and was purchased by Alan and David’s grandfather Jimmy in 1951, before Frank and Geraldine took it over and began adding to it in the mid-80s.
In more recent times, Alan and David have also added to the farm, reducing the need for rented ground.
The Gibbons family run a pedigree Angus, Hereford and Shorthorn herd alongside a pedigree Charollais sheep flock and a calf to store/beef enterprise, which means no two days are ever the same for this Roscommon family.
Growing flock
Their herd operates under the Carrowboy Hereford and Angus prefix and Slievebawn Shorthorn and Charollais sheep.
Frank started breeding pedigree Charollais sheep in 1990 with the flock prefix B54 Slievebawn Charollais and is today one of the oldest remaining flocks in the country.
The flock grew from strength to strength year on year, as Frank and Geraldine competed at summer shows, collecting prizes around the country, which inevitably led to their sons developing their own passion for livestock and summer shows.
Slievebawn Snowy, junior female champion at the first national Shorthorn show in 2021, which went on to be female champion at the Irish Shorthorn premier sale 2022. / S Kinahan
When we asked Alan how it all started for his generation, he explained: “You could say that I am breeding cattle since I was five years of age.
"I remember one morning going to Castlerea to buy a suck calf for a cow that had calved with a massive bag of milk and my grandfather Jimmy bought me an extra calf to suck the cow and that’s where it all started really.”
The herd has continued to grow with the establishment of the family's Angus herd in 2015, Shorthorn herd in 2018 and Hereford herd in 2021, with summer shows being an integral part of what the Gibbons family do.
Shop window
They view summer shows as an “ideal shop window” for the stock that they are breeding and recognise that shows are an important part of being recognised for the hard work and dedication that is involved.
Alan said: “For as long as I can remember, we have been showing. Mam and dad always showed sheep and we were away most Sundays.
"It was mainly sheep up until 2015 and, since then, we have shown both sheep and cattle, but this year concentrated on the cattle showing. “There isn’t one inch of Ireland that we could travel to that we wouldn’t know somebody and that’s solely down to breeding and showing stock from an early age and that is something that is distinctly unique to our industry."
Frank Gibbons with his Charollais hogget ewe shown in 2019 that won 18 supreme championships in one show season.
Alan bought his first pedigree Angus, Burrengrove Genus, to establish his own herd in 2015 from a neighbour. His first purchase was a cow that was scanned in-calf and she already had a heifer calf at foot.
Genus’ first calf, sired by a son of Coney Island Legend, sold at the elite Angus sale in 2016 for €4,000. It was later that year that Alan made his second and possibly one of the most influential purchases when he secured Kilteevan Damsel at the dispersal sale of the late Willie Stroker.
Damsel was purchased with her calf Nicky at foot, which went on to sell to Dovea Genetics at Strokestown Show in 2017.
Both of these super breeding females still remain in the herd at 12 and 16 years old and are still producing high-quality progeny, with the Gibbons family breeding show champions year in, year out, with Alan commenting “to say this was a dream start would be an understatement”.
Frank, Alan and David Gibbons with their group of three all Ireland champions in 2019 at Cillín Hill, Co Kilkenny.
Docility and ease of calving are just some of the reasons why Alan chose the route of breeding Angus.
“We used to run Angus bulls with our commercial herd in years gone by and because I work off farm as well, they are just a dream to work with.
“Polled genetics are becoming more popular as it reduces labour on the farm and, as well as that, polled is probably the way to go from a welfare point of view down the road. I started my Hereford herd with two polled heifers, so we’ll see how that goes.”
Breeding
The Roscommon men focus on trying to breed quality when it comes to their breeding programme, with reasonable calving figures of between 2% and 3% with their progeny suited to both the dairy and the beef farmer.
They fear that easy calving bulls at just 1% won't always leave enough quality in the calves from the dairy herd and believe that quality calves are going to be the only viable option from the dairy herd.
Carrowboy VIB ET, double all-Ireland champion and double calf show winner and reserve junior champion at Aldi all-Ireland calf championship 2022 . An ET calf bred by Kilteevan Damsel and Maine Dragon, a full brother to Nicky who was purchased by Dovea Genetics. This calf's breeding is pre-1996, a flush that worked out very well with traditional bloodlines. / A Moore Media
Trying to breed something that is in fashion is always a priority, but the Gibbons like to stay true to the quality within the breeds and feel that breeding for quality is more important than breeding for stars.
“We don’t pay too much attention to stars, simply because most of the old genetics, especially in the Angus breed, has fallen a cropper to the star system.
"When we are purchasing, we would always try to buy something that is easy on the eye more so than looking at what’s written on a catalogue. If you have quality on the ground, you can always build stars around that.
“Stars have our hands tied with sire selection, so it’s something that we have to try to balance, but quality cattle on the ground will always sell.”
There is a lot goes on behind the scenes that people never see
The Gibbons family use a lot of Dovea Genetics bulls, as they feel the stock bulls are similar to the type they aim to breed.
“We would love to breed quality Angus cattle that show breed character and that are true to the breed type,” said Alan. They import polled semen from the UK to use on their Hereford females.
They also do embryo work, which has proven to be a massive success, with two of their all-Ireland champion Angus this year being embryo transfers (ET) from the herd's foundation females.
“We have done a bit of embryo work here on the farm. We’re very lucky that we have Beirne Farm Services in Elphin beside us who gives a super service when flushing our cows and we are also very lucky to have cows like Kilteevan Damsel who are still very fertile after 16 years.”
Sale toppers
We asked Alan what it was like to breed a sale topper.
“It’s one of the greatest feelings we’ve ever had, but it takes a serious amount of time and effort to get to that point.
"From selecting sires to match with your females, carrying them all the way through to training and grooming for their big day in the sales ring, there is a lot goes on behind the scenes that people never see.”
It is clear that the team are very happy with their breeding programme and they explained their intention to remain with the breeds they have currently, with the possibility of maybe adding a Charolais down the road for flushing.
Pointing out some of their biggest achievements to date, winning the 2019 Aldi all-Ireland bull calf class with Carrowboy Rí was a highlight for the herd, but they also commented on the 2022 show season as a whole being one of the best yet.
We had an unbelievable summer
“This year was just unreal. Winning six all-Ireland Angus titles and going on to win senior male champion and reserve overall champion with Carrowboy Uisce Beatha on our doorstep in Strokestown was something dreams are made of.
"We had an unbelievable summer and just as recently as a couple of weeks ago, we won the female championship at the Irish Shorthorn premier show and sale, which was a first for us.”
Stand-out memories
When we caught up with the Gibbons crew, we thought it would be very fitting to ask them to pick a showing memory that stands out for them.
Frank: “Winning the overall supreme champion with a ram lamb at the premier Charollais sheep sale in 2007 was a great day for us and also 2019 when we won 18 supreme championships with a show Charollais hogget ewe.”
Alan: “Strokestown Show this year breeding the junior female champion and senior male champion and to do it at our home show was a dream come true.”
David: “The Carrick-on-Shannon winter fair in 2019 was a stand-out for me when we won champion Angus, champion junior Simmental and reserve junior Charolais champion also.”
Challenges
We also asked if the team find it difficult to balance work, family, farming and shows, to which Alan responded: “Yes, showing and breeding pedigree cattle is very time-consuming, but it’s a disease fuelled by winning. It’s a balancing act, but rewarding when it works out.”
“Costs have sky-rocketed and it’s something that needs to be reflected in the bull prices. Farmers can’t expect pedigree breeders to supply top-quality bulls at prices slightly above killing price, it can’t work.”
Enterprise: pedigree breeding with a calf/store beef enterprise. Acres: 180.Cow numbers: 18 to 20 including recipients. Breeds: Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn and Charollais sheep. 
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