Sheep 2015: Come and see the largest sheep breed exhibit

The sheep breed exhibit at Sheep 2015 will be among the largest and most diverse breeds to be exhibited in any one arena in Ireland. To date, there are seven sheep breed societies holding breed championships, while the National Sheep Breeders Association is holding commercial competitions.

There are also extensive breed displays from breed societies with entries confirmed from the Beltex Sheep Society, Blue de Maine, Connemara Hill Lamb, Easycare Sheep, Galway Sheep Breeders Association, Glendalligan Blackface, Hampshire Down, Irish Rouge de l’Ouest, Jacob Sheep, Lleyn Sheep Society, Mayo Mule and Greyface Group, Mayo Mountain, Mayo Connemara and Blackface Sheep Breeders, National Sheep Association Northern Ireland region, New Zealand Suffolk, North Country Cheviot, Shropshire Sheep, Trenearla Blackface, Tullow Sheep Breeders Association, Wicklow Cheviot Sheep, Yeats Country Blackface Sheep and Zwartbles Sheep Association. More societies and individual breeders are expected to confirm attendance in the coming days. For queries on sheep breed entries, contact Shane McHugh, Teagasc on 087-9512411.

The following is a quick overview of the breed championships taking place at Sheep 2015.

Belclare

The Belclare Sheep Society Championships, sponsored by Bimeda, have six classes. Judge TJ Gormally, Co Galway, is tasked with selecting winners in the category for two-year-olds and over for ewe and ram classes, a shearling ewe and shearling ram class and ewe and ram lamb classes.

Bluefaced Leicester Club

The South of Ireland Bluefaced Leicester Club is holding five classes at Sheep 2015: ewe and ram lamb classes, shearling ewe and ram classes and an aged ram class. The judge for the day is Eamonn McCormack, Cushendun, Co Antrim, while the championship is being sponsored by the Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Breeders Association.

Charollais All-Ireland

The Irish Charollais Sheep Society is holding its All-Ireland championships at Sheep 2015. The society has six classes, a senior ewe and ram, a hogget ewe and ram and a ewe and ram lamb class. The judge in the Greenvale Animal Feeds sponsored event is Robin Darker, Co Wicklow.

Local support for Mayo Mules

Local producers are coming out in force for the Mayo Mule Sheep Society championships. There are 29 ewe lambs entered into the ewe lamb class and 19 ewe hoggets entered into the shearling class. The judge for the day is Eamon McCormack. Patrons visiting the stand will be able to compare their selection to Eamonn’s, with a stockjudging competition also taking place. The first prize is a €300 voucher towards the purchase of replacements at the society’s first sale on 28 August.

Texel regional championships

The West Region Texel Club will be holding its annual championships at Sheep 2015. The region has 52 members from Galway, Roscommon, Longford and Westmeath. There are 11 classes and the entry of over 100 sheep will be judged by Austin Shaw of the Fairmount Flock, from Larne, Co Antrim. There will also be a display of Hiltex sheep, progeny of a Texel ram and Scottish Blackface ewes.

Vendéen All-Ireland show

The Irish Vendéen Sheep Society is holding its All-Ireland show for 2015 at the event with classes for senior ram, shearling ram, ram lamb, senior ewe, shearling ewe and ewe lamb. The society will have between 60 and 70 sheep competing and it will also have a breed display. Classes are sponsored by J Grennan and sons, with Brian Hanthorn, DARD, Northern Ireland, tasked with judging for the day.

Suffolk championships

Judge Stephen Govin, Mayo Abbey, Claremorris, Co Mayo, is charged with selecting the winners in the south of Ireland branch of the Suffolk Sheep Society National Championships. The championships, sponsored by Greenvale Animal Feed and Volac, have over 80 entries competing in 10 classes with breeders attending from all corners of Ireland for the top prizes.

National Sheep Breeders Association competitions

The National Sheep Breeders Association returns to Sheep 2015 with six commercial sheep breed competitions. There is a factory lamb class and a butcher lamb class sponsored by the Kepak Group. The recommended weight in the factory lamb class is lambs that will deliver a carcase weighing under 21kg.

There are also exciting classes for replacement ewe lambs and hoggets. Each category has a continental and non-continental class, with the ewe lamb classes sponsored by the National Sheep Breed Association and the ewe hogget classes sponsored by Animax. For example, continental classes generally include lowland breeds or their crosses such as Suffolk x Texel ewe lambs or hoggets, while non-continental classes include crosses with hill breeds, such as Mule and Greyface or females born from hill ewe breeds and lowland sires.

Competitions are open to all sheep producers with entries costing €4 per sheep and taken by the National Sheep Breeders Association on the morning of the event. Commercial sheep producers are encouraged to enter into competitions with an excellent prize fund of €300 on offer in each class. Entries will be accepted from individual producers and not in breed society groupings.

The association is also launching a sheep breed directory at Sheep 2015. The directory is a comprehensive listing of pedigree breeders cataloguing each breed society’s contact details and the contact details of their members. The directory will be available at the association’s stand, located in the sheep breed zone of Mellows Campus.

Further information on the competition can be obtained from Robin Darker, president of the association, on 086-3409433.

To aid in the movement of traffic and health and safety concerns with unloading equipment and animals, sheep must arrive and be penned by 9am on Saturday. Sheep breed exhibitors are advised to enter across from the Raheen Woods Hotel with car parking for exhibitors located close to the breed penning and show areas. All animals must be tagged to National Sheep Identification (NSIS) requirements. Exhibitors should note that dispatch documents must be completed in advance of entering Mellows Campus with documents collected at the entry point.

Cormac Sheep Equipment continues its support of the event and is providing between 500 and 600 sheep hurdles for penning.

Cathal Joyce and Bernie Mannion say that the company will be offering all penning used on the day for sale with keen rates negotiable for deals completed at the event.

Cormac Tagging is also offering a special on slaughter tags with 50 free tags for orders of 100 tags or more. The company will be exhibiting its new sheep shower race with a new jet-spray system, along with an extensive range of sheep handling equipment.