Nuala was born and raised in Bantry, west Cork. Growing up, she had a great desire to travel. She did a commercial course and she and a childhood friend called Norma left Bantry and flew to Sydney, Australia. She was 20.

A chance encounter on the flight with Holy Ghost Missionaries, who were on their way to Papua New Guinea, resulted in both girls moving to the Highlands of that country.

They spent two years in Banz, working for a coffee company. Nuala ended up running the place for three months.

Chance encounters

On her return to Ireland, Norma had a chance meeting with John Mooney, the man behind the Irish Farmers Journal, who was also involved with the Irish Charolais Society.

He offered Norma the job of recording secretary with the society, which she accepted. Sometime later, Norma left the job to marry her childhood sweetheart. This happened as Nuala was returning to Ireland. The timing was perfect and Nuala stepped into the role, fully intending to remain there just long enough to earn enough money to return to Papua New Guinea.

But another love story took over – this time it was between Nuala and the Irish Charolais Society and the weeks rolled into months and the months into years and so it has gone on for over 40 years.

Development of the

Charolais breed in Ireland

Charolais cattle were first introduced to Ireland in 1964. The Irish Charolais Society was set up in 1965 with six members. The first pedigree calf, a heifer, was born in 1966. Back then, Irish Charolais was known as the exotic breed, mainly owned by influential Irish businessmen.

Nuala joined the Charolais Society in August 1974. The exclusive club, as it was then known, had 77 members and the number of registered pedigree Charolais calves born in Ireland that year was 235.

With Nuala at the helm, membership and registration numbers grew year on year. Nuala attacked the job with missionary zeal and brought the Charolais breed to every corner of the country. Far from its elite beginnings, the Charolais Society is now strongest among small livestock farmers, particularly in the west of Ireland.

Membership of the Society stands at 2,409, the biggest membership of any beef breed society in Ireland. Pedigree registration numbers last year stood at 8,709. Charolais cattle can be seen all over the country and the Charolais bull is the number one sire used in Irish beef herds for the last 10 years. The Irish Society is the third largest Charolais Society in the world after France and the USA.

National &

international impact

Over the years, Nuala has worked with 17 different presidents and voluntary councils of the society. Her strategic input into society decisions and her marketing ability ensured that the Society has always led from the front.

Her commitment to the breed and farmer members was rewarded internationally when she received the Ordre du Charolais Francais in 1994 and the Hall of Fame Award in 2006.

Nuala represents the Society at the Pedigree Cattle Breeders Council of Ireland meetings and on all ICBF committee and industry meetings. With the advent of centralised genetic evaluation and the development of new technologies such as DNA and genotyping, Nuala has played a major role in helping breeders grasp the merits of these changes.

Nuala is one of a four-person international committee on Charolais genotyping and represents the Society at all international Charolais meetings.

She has always enjoyed the full confidence of the Charolais Council and is held in the highest esteem by breeders up and down the country. Many regard her as a friend and confident, knowing that she is always there to offer some sensible advice.

She remains the only female general secretary of a national Charolais Society in the world and, on that criteria alone, is a wonderful role model for women in agriculture and a worthy recipient of the 2015 Women & Agriculture Lifetime Achievement Award.

RESULTS

  • • Lifetime achievement award: Nuala Hourihane
  • • On-farm innovation winner: Margaret Farrelly.
  • • On-farm innovation runner-up: Joanne Buckley
  • • Agri-business innovation winner: Sabine Rosler
  • • Agri-business innovation runner-up: Rebecca Allen