Live cattle exports were crucially important to the Irish economy in the 1940s and 1950s.

Indeed, the State’s economic fortunes were closely tied to the revenues generated by the shipping of livestock on the hoof, which accounted for one-third of all export earnings.

Central to the operation of this live-shipping business was the Dublin Cattle Market.

The Dublin Cattle Market regulated the supply of cattle, sheep and pigs to the city’s abattoirs and butchers

This unique institution, located off Prussia St on the city’s northside, was established by Dublin Corporation in 1863 to replace the old market in nearby Smithfield.

The Dublin Cattle Market regulated the supply of cattle, sheep and pigs to the city’s abattoirs and butchers, and also helped service the growing live trade to Britain.

The Dublin Cattle Market was located between Prussia Street and the North Circular Road, and was the country's premier livestock sale up to the 1960s.

The facility had penning for 5,000 cattle and up to 10,000 sheep, with the enclosures serviced by walkways which allowed buyers to safely view the livestock.

Sales-masters

The selling was handled by sales-masters, who were essentially livestock auctioneers.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 cattle and close to 7,000 sheep, were sold at the Prussia Street site each Wednesday

At its peak in the 1950s, the market claimed to be the largest city-based weekly livestock sale in Europe.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 cattle and close to 7,000 sheep, were sold at the Prussia Street site each Wednesday – while pigs were also traded in its yards.

The Dublin Cattle Market operated at the apex of a livestock purchasing network which involved dealers and buyers throughout the country.

The Dublin market acted as the bellwether for Ireland’s cattle export trade

It was essentially the shop window for Ireland’s live cattle exports.

Between 450,000 and 650,000 cattle were exported ‘on the hoof’ from Ireland each year during the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s, with a significant proportion of the trade going through the Dublin market.

The Dublin market acted as the bellwether for Ireland’s cattle export trade, with the prices paid in Prussia Street setting the tone for the trade nationally for the following week.

Such was the importance of the market that reports were carried on RTÉ and national newspapers.

The market attracted buyers from Dublin’s abattoirs and butchers, but the primary customers were British livestock traders acting for slaughter houses and farmers in the midlands and north of England and Scotland.

British historian John Martin estimated that around one-third of all cattle finished and slaughtered in Britain during the 1950s were bred on Irish farms

Ireland was an important supplier of both fat cattle and store cattle to English and Scottish farms.

British historian John Martin estimated that around one-third of all cattle finished and slaughtered in Britain during the 1950s were bred on Irish farms.

Many of these cattle were traded through Prussia Street.

Indeed, Dubliners’ memories of the market invariably revolve around cattle being driven down the North Circular Road for export from the North Wall docks.

British buyers

The British store cattle buyers primarily took bullocks and light heifers. Some went directly to farms in the north of England or the midlands, while others were resold at centres such as Banbury, Rugby and York.

There was also an important trade through the Dublin Cattle Market for fat bullocks and heifers.

These were exported for immediate slaughter to abattoirs in Birkenhead, Liverpool and other centres.

Ireland effectively had a monopoly on the supply of live cattle to Britain

There were a number of reasons why the British opted for Irish stock.

Ireland effectively had a monopoly on the supply of live cattle to Britain since imports from the Continent were heavily restricted due to fears of foot-and-mouth disease.

Crucially, cattle from Ireland qualified for British farm subsidies, which were known as deficiency payments. Another important factor was the long-established business links and connections between the British buyers and both the sales-masters in the Dublin market, and Irish exporters.

For many British cattle buyers, the trip to Dublin was a weekly or fortnightly occurrence.

They generally arrived by boat on Tuesday evening and stayed overnight in local lodgings or in the City Arms Hotel which was close to the market.

After their business was concluded in the market on Wednesday morning, the cattle purchased were assigned to a shipping agent and the British buyers took the boat back that evening.

The English and Scottish buyers were widely respected as excellent judges of cattle

However, as the 1960s progressed, some customers joined the ‘jet set’ and flew to Dublin.

The English and Scottish buyers were widely respected as excellent judges of cattle.

Jimmy Cosgrave, whose family were farmers in Meath as well as sales masters in the Dublin Cattle Market, remembers the British as always looking for “a particular type of beast”. They might only buy one animal that suited their specifications from a pen of 10 or more.

Continental buyers were also active in the market; although they never purchased the same numbers as the British. The European market generally took a different type of animal.

They wanted leaner and cheaper animals, and took more cows than fat cattle.

Two of the more active men in the Continental trade, Heinrick Palm and Frans Buitelaar, established bases in Ireland.

Palm also shipped cattle from South America to Europe during this period, and was a significant buyer of Irish carcase beef for the German market

Palm was a German national who owned a 500-acre farm, Lunestown House, near Mullingar. He was a major shipper of cattle from Ireland to the continent from the 1950s to the early 1970s.

Palm also shipped cattle from South America to Europe during this period, and was a significant buyer of Irish carcase beef for the German market.

Buitelaar was a Belgian who shipped stock to the Continent and later to Britain. The family are still involved in the cattle trade and in shipping stock, and have a base in Castledermot, Co Kildare.

Irish exporters also used the Dublin Market, usually as a reservoir or as an overflow for cattle. Similarly, the market was an important source of cattle and sheep for the city’s butchers, and also for local meat factories such as International Meats in Grand Canal Street and Irish Meat Packers in Leixlip.

However, the Dublin Cattle Market’s primary focus was its live export business. Indeed, its close association to the cattle export trade, and to the exporters, had been central to its success in the century since its foundation.

Unfortunately, as Ireland shifted from shipping cattle on the hoof to exporting processed beef during the second half of the 1960s – and the Prussia Street facility came under increased pressure from the emerging marts network – the Dublin market’s position as the country’s premier livestock sales centre quickly faded.

Effectively, its days were numbered.

The mechanics of the market

The Dublin Cattle Market was at the apex of a complex supply network that spanned much of the country.

Dealers and buyers acting for the market’s sales-masters or other cattle traders bought cattle at fairs or off the land right across the south, midlands and west.

These cattle were then moved primarily by train east to Kildare, Meath and Dublin to be finished or sold immediately in Prussia Street.

These parks ranged in size but were generally 10-30ac blocks and were located in what are now established north Dublin suburbs such as Cabra, Finglas and Castleknock

Livestock going directly for sale in the market were generally rested and allowed to settle for a few days in small holdings called cattle parks which were dotted around the capital’s western fringes.

These parks ranged in size but were generally 10-30ac blocks and were located in what are now established north Dublin suburbs such as Cabra, Finglas and Castleknock.

From the cattle parks, the livestock were shifted by local drovers into lairages or yards around Prussia Street, before being finally moved into the market on the morning of the sale.

The livestock were held in a series of pens, with the cattle tied and tethered to a rail at one end of the pen and their back ends facing out into alleyways that ran between the rows of pens.

Early start

Like meat markets around the world, the Dublin Cattle Market had an early start.

The gates opened for livestock at 3am on the Wednesday morning, the sale started at 5am and everything was done and dusted by noon at the latest.

The vast majority of the cattle sold went either one of two ways.

Those bought by Dublin-based butchers or meat wholesalers went across the North Circular Road to the nearby Dublin City Abattoir, where they were slaughtered for local consumption.

Animals bought for export were driven across the north side of the city to the quays at North Wall to be shipped to Britain or the Continent.

Dublin’s drovers - the market’s urban cowboys

The sight of thousands of cattle being driven on foot through Dublin’s city centre would be unthinkable today.

However, it was a common occurrence in the 1940s and 1950s when the Dublin Cattle Market was in its pomp.

The skill of these men in handling cattle was accepted by all who worked in the market

The task of moving cattle and sheep from lairages into the market, and later to the abattoirs and the docks, was assigned to local drovers.

These drovers were generally Dubliners, primarily from the Phibsboro area, who were instantly recognisable by their long yellow cloth coats.

The skill of these men in handling cattle was accepted by all who worked in the market.

Speed, skill and strength

Sam and Christy McKeever from Cabra worked as drovers on the stand of Joe Barry’s family in the market.

The Kilcock farmer said the speed, skill and strength with which they could handle and stall the cattle was incredible.

Along with droving for the Barrys during the week, he also worked as a minder for the showband legend Dickie Rock at weekends

Interestingly, Christy McKeever had an eclectic mix of work.

Along with droving for the Barrys during the week, he also worked as a minder for the showband legend Dickie Rock at weekends.

Meath farmer and sales-master Jimmy Cosgrave recounted how drovers on bicycles could drive lines of cattle “half a mile” long down through the heart of Dublin to the boats at the North Wall with rarely a problem.

Some of the drovers used dogs. These were usually collies crossed with terriers, or ‘short hairs’ as they were known.

Occasionally, the dogs had bull rings in their nose to stop them nipping the sheep.

Many of the drovers started out in the job as children, helping to move cattle before or after school.

Although droving was a difficult job, it offered a way into the cattle business for some locals

While some drovers, such as the McKeevers, were employed directly by particular sales-masters, many others worked on a casual basis.

Although droving was a difficult job, it offered a way into the cattle business for some locals.

Paddy Gernon from Grangegorman started off driving cattle around the market as a young lad. He later worked in Belfast, before joining Smith Griffin in the Dublin Cattle Market. Eventually, Gernon became a major cattle shipper in his own right.