We farm: “70ac underneath the foot of the Blackstairs Mountain and we have 30ac of a hill in Tomduff, which is near Borris in Co Carlow. We have rights to graze the mountain as well. There is a number of farmers on our mountain.”

Sheep: “We keep around 200 ewes. We buy the Wicklow Cheviot ewes and cross them with a Suffolk ram. When you cross these two breeds you get a Borris ewe. We have sheep grazing on the Blackstairs Mountain and when we have them brought down for weighing in the summer, we put them in with the ram. “

Lambing: “We always lamb the ewes outside in the field over the house. We bring in the doubles and put the single ewes onto a field of grass. We believe in lambing the ewes outside so their body weight goes up when you take them from the lowland up to grass. It helps flush them for the rams so you get a better crop of lambs.

Store lambs: ”We sell our lambs as store lambs. We find it better than fattening lambs. The father is a good help, especially at lambing.”

Sheepdogs: “We have two good sheepdogs; without them, we would be lost. If you haven’t got a good sheepdog you’d be at nothing. We follow the sheepdog trials but pick our own breeds from lads that have good breeds of dogs and try train them up ourselves so they get used to our farm.”

Borris Ewe Breeders: “The sale was great, with good prices and a big crowd. It was a success having it on a Saturday, people came from all over the country for it. We have been coming in and out to the Borris Ewe Breeders Show and Sale our whole lives. We had a few ewe lambs here and got third prize. They were 46kg and made €155, so I am happy enough with the trade this year.”

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Fifty-six years of flocking to Borris