Angus breeding was always in the Flanagan name, with Michael’s father John, a native of Crossmolina in Co Mayo, running the prizewinning Moylaw Angus herd. In 1985, Michael, along with his son Oliver, went about setting up an Angus herd in their own right and thus the Moydrum Angus prefix was born.
Angus breeding was always in the Flanagan name, with Michael’s father John, a native of Crossmolina in Co Mayo, running the prizewinning Moylaw Angus herd.
In 1985, Michael, along with his son Oliver, went about setting up an Angus herd in their own right and thus the Moydrum Angus prefix was born.
However, this herd would be based at Moydrum Castle outside the town of Athlone in Co Westmeath, as having formed a highly successful warehousing and logistics business there a few years earlier, this is where Michael, his wife Pat, Oliver and Michelle would call home.
“We established Moydrum herd in 1985 with the purchase of an Angus heifer, Laheens Betty, to continue the Angus breeding tradition carried out by my father,” said Michael.
“This heifer was purchased at the Carrick-on-Shannon sales costing 600gns at 10 months old. She bred very well for us, with one daughter by Perryville Roscoe going on to win 36 championships.
“We later purchased Moneyehall Prim from Harry Foster. She also proved very lucky, breeding Moydrum Pavorotti, who sold for £6,000,” Michael added.
These two females formed the basis of Michael and Oliver’s cow throughout the years and most animals on the farm can be traced back to these original two purchases.
When asked about what exactly it is Michael looks for when breeding pedigree Angus, he has clear ideas of his ideal animal.
“We take great care when choosing our pedigree stock, focusing on the traits which made the breed famous. Legs, fleshing, wide tops, deep hindquarters and, of course, a great head.
“My father used to say ‘if the head is right, at least 90% will be the same’, and I have to agree.
“We’re using a mix of AI and stock bull at the moment. AI bulls we’re using are our old favourite Bohey Jasper and Friarstown Ideal Pete a bit too. We’ve also used a nice bit of natural service throughout the years.
“Cardona Black Star we imported from Scotland and he has some nice daughters in the herd, as well as Turlough Emmet, who was champion male at the elite sale in 2009. The bull we have been using recently is Ballyshannon Eric, who himself was all-Ireland champion. He is proven now and works well on our cows.”
Indeed, he does work well on the Flanagan cows, siring the three cattle for Moydrum which went on to claim an overall championship at the society’s last three premier sales.
They claimed the male championship at the premier in Tullamore in March 2015 with Moydrum Liverpool, while at that sale this year, Moydrum Madonna claimed the female championship.
However, the highlight was the overall female championship at the society’s elite sale last December, with Moydrum LuLu, who later went on to sell for the day’s top price of €6,500.
“It’s quite a run alright,” Michael added.
The breed
Michael has been a great ambassador for the breed throughout his time involved acting as PRO for the society over the last 10 years, a founding member of the Angus producer group, as well as being involved in the startup of the youth development programme for the society.
“The breed stands in a very positive position, with the Angus and Hereford the current flavour of the month with the housewife, giving the smaller steaks. This again is greatly helped by the work undertaken by the producer group which now has in excess of 10,000 members.
“It’s getting great publicity from the likes of the secondary schools competition, which in turn is getting people to talk about Angus.
“Of course the premiums help, but farmers still need to buy right and sell right.
“The breed seems to be in a position where it can only go from strength to strength really. With an increase in dairying throughout Ireland, farmers will aim for easy calving, so the Angus and Hereford will be a lot of breeders’ choice.
“Breeders can’t take their eye off the ball though and need to concentrate on keeping the very good female lines we have in Irish breeding. We need to identify the best lines and flush them to the right bulls to be sure we have substantial quality bulls coming through over the coming years.”
While the herd has dabbled in a range of other breeds since its foundation with great success, such as Shorthorns and Belted Galloways, the Angus continue to take pride of place at the Flanagans’ scenic home farm in Athlone.
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