It would not be possible to run the Grass 2026 event without the generous support of the host farmers – the Sheehan and Hughes families. The event is taking place on the Sheehan farm, while Thomas Hughes is providing the car parking and pedestrian access.
On the Sheehan farm it’s very much a family affair, with all hands on deck during the busy times of year. The farm is run by Eamon and Lois Sheehan, along with help from their three children and Eamon’s father, also named Eamon.
Few times of year are as busy as spring and over the last few months the family calved down over 220 dairy cows with the great assistance of employees, brothers Maik and Fabio.
Maik has been working with the Sheehans for the last four years, while his brother Fabio came on to help out this spring.
The difficult weather conditions experienced in 2026 have made farm life busier than normal, but as we approach the end of April, brighter days are ahead.
Few days are as exciting in the farming calendar as the day the silage is cut, so there is great joy in the Sheehan house about the prospect of so many machines operating in their fields for Grass 2026.
Background
For years, the Sheehans were suckler and beef farmers, running over 120 suckler cows at their peak.
However, that all changed in 2013 when Eamon took the plunge into dairying, swapping 60 of his suckler cows to buy 60 dairy cows instead.
In the years that followed, dairy cow numbers steadily increased, with a corresponding decline in beef production – with 200 cows milked on the farm since 2019.
While many would still consider those who got into dairying over the last 15 years as new entrants, it would be more accurate to describe the Sheehans as early adopters, particularly when it comes to technology – and this is reflected in the use of automation, particularly in terms of milking facilities, heat detection and herd health.
As one would expect, hosting Grass 2026 means serious disruption to the normal grazing plan on the 70ha farm.
The event site, which takes up over 40 acres, was unavailable for grazing all spring, whereas normally, Eamon would graze this land at least once, if not twice, before closing for silage.
The other obvious issue is the cutting date of silage, with 29 April being particularly early for harvesting silage and a lot earlier than Eamon would normally harvest his first cut. So these are the sacrifices involved in holding such a prestigious event on the farm.
The Sheehan farm was chosen not just for the quality of the land, or its central location, but also for the excellent layout of the fields and paddocks, central roadways and picturesque scenery of the Kilkenny countryside.
Eamon Sheehan junior and Eamon Sheehan senior with their dairy herd.
Eamon is the second generation of Sheehans to farm at Bawnlusk and the care and attention that they give to their stock is only matched by the care and attention they give to the land.
They have made significant investments in hedgerows and trees to provide biodiversity for flora and fauna and it’s fair to say that the Sheehan farm is one of the nicest dairy farms in the country.
The herd of cows are all Holstein Friesian with an EBI of €158. Last year, the herd delivered 503kg MS/cow to Tirlán and were fed 1.1t of meal per cow on average, showcasing the high performance of the herd.
With the breeding season set to commence on 5 May, by the time the harvesters, balers and wagons roll in, preparation for next year’s calving will already have begun.
It would not be possible to run the Grass 2026 event without the generous support of the host farmers – the Sheehan and Hughes families. The event is taking place on the Sheehan farm, while Thomas Hughes is providing the car parking and pedestrian access.
On the Sheehan farm it’s very much a family affair, with all hands on deck during the busy times of year. The farm is run by Eamon and Lois Sheehan, along with help from their three children and Eamon’s father, also named Eamon.
Few times of year are as busy as spring and over the last few months the family calved down over 220 dairy cows with the great assistance of employees, brothers Maik and Fabio.
Maik has been working with the Sheehans for the last four years, while his brother Fabio came on to help out this spring.
The difficult weather conditions experienced in 2026 have made farm life busier than normal, but as we approach the end of April, brighter days are ahead.
Few days are as exciting in the farming calendar as the day the silage is cut, so there is great joy in the Sheehan house about the prospect of so many machines operating in their fields for Grass 2026.
Background
For years, the Sheehans were suckler and beef farmers, running over 120 suckler cows at their peak.
However, that all changed in 2013 when Eamon took the plunge into dairying, swapping 60 of his suckler cows to buy 60 dairy cows instead.
In the years that followed, dairy cow numbers steadily increased, with a corresponding decline in beef production – with 200 cows milked on the farm since 2019.
While many would still consider those who got into dairying over the last 15 years as new entrants, it would be more accurate to describe the Sheehans as early adopters, particularly when it comes to technology – and this is reflected in the use of automation, particularly in terms of milking facilities, heat detection and herd health.
As one would expect, hosting Grass 2026 means serious disruption to the normal grazing plan on the 70ha farm.
The event site, which takes up over 40 acres, was unavailable for grazing all spring, whereas normally, Eamon would graze this land at least once, if not twice, before closing for silage.
The other obvious issue is the cutting date of silage, with 29 April being particularly early for harvesting silage and a lot earlier than Eamon would normally harvest his first cut. So these are the sacrifices involved in holding such a prestigious event on the farm.
The Sheehan farm was chosen not just for the quality of the land, or its central location, but also for the excellent layout of the fields and paddocks, central roadways and picturesque scenery of the Kilkenny countryside.
Eamon Sheehan junior and Eamon Sheehan senior with their dairy herd.
Eamon is the second generation of Sheehans to farm at Bawnlusk and the care and attention that they give to their stock is only matched by the care and attention they give to the land.
They have made significant investments in hedgerows and trees to provide biodiversity for flora and fauna and it’s fair to say that the Sheehan farm is one of the nicest dairy farms in the country.
The herd of cows are all Holstein Friesian with an EBI of €158. Last year, the herd delivered 503kg MS/cow to Tirlán and were fed 1.1t of meal per cow on average, showcasing the high performance of the herd.
With the breeding season set to commence on 5 May, by the time the harvesters, balers and wagons roll in, preparation for next year’s calving will already have begun.
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