Joseph Scahill, a young sheep shearer from Co Mayo, has achieved a major feat in winning the 2026 Golden Shears intermediate shearing title in Masterton, New Zealand.
Scahill has etched his name in shearing history books and becomes only the second Irish shearer to win a prestigious Golden Shears final in its 64 years of competitions. The other winner was David Kingston, Co Cork who won the Golden Shears junior final in 1998.
The Mayo man who is just 21 years of age was a worthy winner shearing eight sheep in just 10 minutes 35.74 seconds. It was Scahill’s speed and shearing skill which carried him over the line in first place and finishing with a score of 42.357 points, 0.401 points ahead of New Zealander Tamati Dennison in second place.
Junior final
Irish shearers and wool handlers excelled over the four days of competitions and held their own among the world’s elite shearers. On Thursday Sean Dunne, Wicklow also achieved a worthy accolade, finishing second in the Golden Shears junior final.
The junior final was a hotly contested event with Dunne pushing Welsh winner Steffan George all the way, finishing just 0.144 points behind.
The young Wicklow man shore his five sheep in just eight minutes 38.211 seconds.
Senior competitions
The senior team representing Ireland consisting of machine shearers Denis O’Sullivan, Kerry and Patrick Corrigan, Kildare, blade shearers Martin and James Hopkins, Mayo and wool handlers Hazel Crowe (Westmeath) and Joanne Devanney (Sligo) competed admirably in several competitions.
Denis O’Sullivan can claim the honour of being the sixth best shearer in the world. The Kerry man displayed great skill in the semi-finals to book his place in the final six line-up.
He sheared 20 sheep, including 10 second-shear sheep, six crossbred long wool sheep and four Perendale, in a time of 18 minutes and 54 seconds averaging less than a minute per sheep.
Sean Dunne, second from left, finished second in the Golden Shears junior final.
/Irish Sheep Shearers Association
Denis and Patrick also finished third in the Golden Shears teams B final with the Cook Islands claiming first and France second place in that competition.
Mayo brothers Martin and James Hopkins narrowly missed out on a place in the final six line up of the Golden Shears world blade shearing competition. Both men enjoyed a good competition and teamed up to great effect finishing sixth in the Golden Shears blades teams shearing final.
Earlier in the week, Irish shearers Adam Killeen, Paddy Dunne and Patrick Corrigan all also qualified for the senior semi-finals heats from a field of 65 competitors.
The Irish wool handling team of Hazel Crowe, Kildare and Joanne Devanney, Sligo also represented Ireland proudly in the wool handling championships. With wool handled slightly differently in New Zealand, it was no surprise that New Zealand wool handlers dominated these competitions across all grades.
New Zealand dominance
The Golden Shears winners’ line up was dominated by New Zealand shearers who got over their disappointment of returning home from Scotland in 2023 empty handed.
The country became the first nation to win all three teams titles at the event with shearer Rowland Smith claiming the top prize of the Golden Shears individual world machine shearing title. It was the shearer’s second time to win the coveted prize. In defending his world title, South African shearer Bonile Rabela prevented New Zealand from completing a clean sweep of senior competitions.
While New Zealand teams are revelling in their wins, Irish interests can look forward to a bright future following the exploits and proud representation of shearers over the last week.
Joseph Scahill, a young sheep shearer from Co Mayo, has achieved a major feat in winning the 2026 Golden Shears intermediate shearing title in Masterton, New Zealand.
Scahill has etched his name in shearing history books and becomes only the second Irish shearer to win a prestigious Golden Shears final in its 64 years of competitions. The other winner was David Kingston, Co Cork who won the Golden Shears junior final in 1998.
The Mayo man who is just 21 years of age was a worthy winner shearing eight sheep in just 10 minutes 35.74 seconds. It was Scahill’s speed and shearing skill which carried him over the line in first place and finishing with a score of 42.357 points, 0.401 points ahead of New Zealander Tamati Dennison in second place.
Junior final
Irish shearers and wool handlers excelled over the four days of competitions and held their own among the world’s elite shearers. On Thursday Sean Dunne, Wicklow also achieved a worthy accolade, finishing second in the Golden Shears junior final.
The junior final was a hotly contested event with Dunne pushing Welsh winner Steffan George all the way, finishing just 0.144 points behind.
The young Wicklow man shore his five sheep in just eight minutes 38.211 seconds.
Senior competitions
The senior team representing Ireland consisting of machine shearers Denis O’Sullivan, Kerry and Patrick Corrigan, Kildare, blade shearers Martin and James Hopkins, Mayo and wool handlers Hazel Crowe (Westmeath) and Joanne Devanney (Sligo) competed admirably in several competitions.
Denis O’Sullivan can claim the honour of being the sixth best shearer in the world. The Kerry man displayed great skill in the semi-finals to book his place in the final six line-up.
He sheared 20 sheep, including 10 second-shear sheep, six crossbred long wool sheep and four Perendale, in a time of 18 minutes and 54 seconds averaging less than a minute per sheep.
Sean Dunne, second from left, finished second in the Golden Shears junior final.
/Irish Sheep Shearers Association
Denis and Patrick also finished third in the Golden Shears teams B final with the Cook Islands claiming first and France second place in that competition.
Mayo brothers Martin and James Hopkins narrowly missed out on a place in the final six line up of the Golden Shears world blade shearing competition. Both men enjoyed a good competition and teamed up to great effect finishing sixth in the Golden Shears blades teams shearing final.
Earlier in the week, Irish shearers Adam Killeen, Paddy Dunne and Patrick Corrigan all also qualified for the senior semi-finals heats from a field of 65 competitors.
The Irish wool handling team of Hazel Crowe, Kildare and Joanne Devanney, Sligo also represented Ireland proudly in the wool handling championships. With wool handled slightly differently in New Zealand, it was no surprise that New Zealand wool handlers dominated these competitions across all grades.
New Zealand dominance
The Golden Shears winners’ line up was dominated by New Zealand shearers who got over their disappointment of returning home from Scotland in 2023 empty handed.
The country became the first nation to win all three teams titles at the event with shearer Rowland Smith claiming the top prize of the Golden Shears individual world machine shearing title. It was the shearer’s second time to win the coveted prize. In defending his world title, South African shearer Bonile Rabela prevented New Zealand from completing a clean sweep of senior competitions.
While New Zealand teams are revelling in their wins, Irish interests can look forward to a bright future following the exploits and proud representation of shearers over the last week.
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