The mid 1990s to 2001 was a time of disease-engendered chaos and trauma in the Irish livestock sector.

Beef was the worst affected, as the devastation and misery caused by BSE was followed in March 2001 by a hugely disruptive single outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Co Louth.

It is difficult now to comprehend the state of near panic that swept through the farming, political and economic arms of the State.

The nightly visions of burning pyres of wooden railway sleepers heaped with carcases across Britain was a worrying portrayal of what could happen here

FMD is one of the most contagious viruses in existence and has huge effects on the economic viability of livestock farming.

The nightly visions of burning pyres of wooden railway sleepers heaped with carcases across Britain was a worrying portrayal of what could happen here.

The economic consequences of a major FMD outbreak in Ireland were all too clear. When what turned out to be the only outbreak in the Republic occurred among sheep in the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth, the country froze.

It was fortunate that the two Departments of Agriculture were headed by highly capable and principled individuals – Joe Walsh and Brid Rogers

The stories about the complex journeys of live sheep from major livestock markets in Britain to farms and even meat plants in Northern Ireland and the Republic added to the alarm.

The nightmare of renewed market bans and price collapses across the beef, dairy and sheep sectors stimulated immediate action – north and south of the border.

At the time, nobody was surprised that there should be total co-operation between the services in Dublin and Belfast. It was fortunate that the two Departments of Agriculture were headed by highly capable and principled individuals – Joe Walsh and Brid Rogers. They worked as a team, quickly acting on the best available advice.

After a complete army-executed cull of all livestock in Cooley and a nationwide lockdown of livestock movements, as well as the cancellation of numerous social and tourism events, no more cases occurred and the panic subsided.

A total of 53,000 animals, the vast bulk of them sheep, had been slaughtered in the Republic and almost 42,000 animals in the North

In the North, there were only four cases, despite the chaos that reigned just across the Irish Sea. On September 19 2001, the world animal health organisation restored Ireland’s status as FMD-free. A total of 53,000 animals, the vast bulk of them sheep, had been slaughtered in the Republic and almost 42,000 animals in the North – again, the overwhelming majority were sheep. The source, as in all the recent cases of foot and mouth, was eventually traced to imported beef from South America.