Jane Mayne
The Irish Hereford Breed Society in conjunction with Next Gen Herefords, North Leinster Hereford Branch and Genetic Gems held a very successful Hereford event last weekend in GVM Tullamore.
IHBS Secretary Louise Callan enthuses that, “This event was a great way to cap off what has already been an incredibly positive year for Irish Herefords. There has been steady trade for Hereford bulls and females right throughout the year with prices remaining high throughout. The top price at the Premier Hereford Autumn Sale last month was €5500 for Coralstown Hurricane – higher than the same sale last year.”
“There is a small window now for the society before Spring sales start again – the real kick off being the Spring Show & Sale in GVM Tullamore next March 25th 2023. The society is delighted to see summer shows back this year and look forward to meeting breeders at more shows during Summer 2023,” she says.
Ms Callan adds that: “There will be a beef expo held next September in Cillin Hill Mart, Kilkenny. This is an initiative being organised by the Pedigree Cattle Breeders Council and all cattle breeds will be involved. There will be more information publicly available in the coming months.”
Last weekend’s showcase kicked off on Friday, 18th November with the Next Gen Herefords Youth Competition, which saw 42 young handlers competing against each other.
“The event incorporated a Young Handlers Competition whereby each young handler showed an animal. The competition was judged by Mr. Sean McEnroe from Liss Angus, Meath. There was also an IMF scanning demo during the evening and an informative talk and demo from local veterinary surgeon; Janet Lewis. To cap the evening off, there was a parade of Hereford cross calves that are being reared by Hereford breeders across the country in aid of local charities.”
Competition winners
Junior:
1st: Aveen Curtin
2nd: Aine Heffernan
3rd: John Cregan
Intermediate:
1st: Saoirse Kenny
2nd: Clodagh McCaffrey
3rd: Liam O’Reilly
Senior:
1st: Mark Hyland
2nd: Neil Twomey
3rd: Brian Duignan
The following day, Saturday 19th November, saw the hosting of The National Hereford Calf Show.
“This show was hugely supported with 100 calves catalogued and nearly 90 exhibiting on the day. There was good competition across all classes which made for an interesting show for breeders and a tough job for the judges; Mr. Steve Edwards from the UK judged the Pedigree Hereford classes and Mr. Nigel Heatrick from Glaslough Herefords, Monaghan judged the DBI & Commercial class.”
“There was hot contest for the Overall Female and the Overall Male Championship, but in the end North Leinster took home both titles. Phil & Catherine Smyth from Meath won the Moocall Senior Female Championship and the Overall Female Championship with Ardmulchan Clover 938. Michael Molloy from Offaly won the Dectomax Junior Hereford Male Champion & the Overall Male Champion with Moyclare Vidal 2,” she confirms.
The day was closed off with the Genetic Gems sale which saw new records broken as Gouldingpoll 1 Ravette, by Matthew Goulding, sold for €22000 to Cork breeder Kieran Mariga of Lighthouse Herefords.
Excellent news for the IHBS is that representatives attended the 16th European Hereford Conference in France last month. The event was a great success, and the IHBS bid to host the next European Hereford Conference in August 2026 – and were successful with their bid.
The event will be held the week of Tullamore Show in 2026 and will involve a day at the show, farm tours, guest speakers from the industry and much more.
The Irish delegation to France: Willie Branagan, Louise Callan, Joe O’Connor and Pascal Bastien.
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