Dr. Seamus Hanrahan Cup Awarded to the LANKILL Flock
The Belclare Sheep Society hosted its 2024 premier sale at Cillin Hill, Kilkenny, on Tuesday,
August 6th. This day was marked by a special occasion, as the founder of the breed, Dr.
Seamus Hanrahan, was in attendance and was invited by the society to present the new trophy to the 2024 premier sale champion. The new trophy, aptly named the J. P. Hanrahan Cup after the founder of the breed, was awarded to Charles & Dylan Hughes of the LANKILL flock, Westport, Co. Mayo.
Judging any show is a difficult task, and thankfully this special occasion allowed the Belclare
Sheep Society to bring back one of its most prestigious former breeders and the most
decorated Belclare premier sale champion breeder, Declan Miley.
The first class to be judged by Declan was the Senior Ram class. The top honour was
bestowed upon the SLANEMORE HILL flock of Eunan & Mark Bannon, with their ram,
originally bred by the OLTORE flock of Tim Keady, OLTORE GRIFF. This exceptionally
highly star-rated ram, born in 2021, sold for €800. Adam Stephenson claimed second prize
with a ram formerly bred from the TUBBER flock of Liam & Eoin Dunne.
The second class of the day was the Hogget Ram class. With a great lineup of sheep,
following prolonged consideration, Judge Declan Miley tapped forward Tim Keady’s
OLTORE JOE for the red rosette, he sold for €780. The Co. Galway OLTORE flock of Tim
Keady also took home the second prize in the Hogget Ram class. With a great display of
Hogget rams on show, the top-priced Hogget of the day went to John Renehan of the
VIOLET HILL flock. Lot 9, VIOLET HILL JULES, sold for €1,450 and was purchased by
the SLANEMORE HILL flock of Eunan & Mark Bannon.
An exceptional lineup of ram lambs was on display for the judge to deliberate over in the
2024 premier sale ram lamb show. Selecting a winner from this large class of powerful rams
from flocks widespread across Ireland proved a challenging endeavour. After careful
consideration, the first prize was awarded to Lot 41, LANKILL KOI, from Charles & Dylan Hughes of the LANKILL flock, Westport, Co. Mayo. This immensely powerful ram took the glory on the day, adding to previous show accolades as he was the 1st prize ram lamb and overall Champion at the 2024 National Championships earlier in the year. With length,
height, and power, he also boasted remarkable €star values, ranking in the top 3% (€8.48) for replacement and the top 2% (€2.71) for terminal indexes. This ram lamb was further awarded overall champion of the sale by Judge Declan Miley and was presented with the new J. P. Hanrahan Cup. LANKILL KOI was later sold in the ring for €1,080 and was purchased by the CANYON flock of Adam Stephenson, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
Second prize and reserve overall champion were awarded to Paul Smyth from the
SILVERBROOK flock in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, with Lot 89, SILVERBROOK KANE. This
stylish and powerful ram showcased his quality in the show ring, giving the judge a difficult
decision to make. SILVERBROOK KANE, sired by the 2022 premier sale champion
TOGHERBEG HECTOR from Barry Cunningham’s flock, lived up to his billing in the sales
ring and sold for €1,450. This ram was purchased by the NEW HEIGHTS flock of Clive,
Geraldine, and David Vance, who were indeed impressed by the ram’s stature along with his
remarkable €star values, ranking in the top 1% for both replacement (€8.96) and terminal
(€3.02) indexes.
Paul and his son David Smyth from the SILVERBROOK flock had a hugely successful day
in both the show ring and the sales ring, selling 9 of their 10 entries, averaging over €900,
and selling to 7 different pedigree flocks. Among these entries was the highest-priced ram in
the 2024 premier sale, Lot 49: SILVERBROOK KAMI, who sold for €1,800. This ram, bred
from the 2022 premier sale champion and a VIOLET HILL ewe, showed remarkable figures
to match its outstanding carcass. This ram was purchased by pedigree breeder John McTigue of the BALLYNULTY flock, Tuam, Co. Galway.
Third prize was awarded to long-standing Belclare breeder Sonny Jennings for Lot 24,
CAHERGAL KLAS. This lamb was previously awarded the 2024 All-Ireland champion
status at the Mullingar Agricultural Show and displayed his exceptional length and style once
again in the premier show ring, mirroring it in the sales ring where he sold for €700.
Fourth prize went to the flock of Barry Cunningham, Co. Galway. His ram lamb, Lot 45,
TOGHERBEG KNOX, showed off his style in the show ring and edged out the fifth prize
winner, Lot 16, TUBBER KING from Liam & Eoin Dunne’s TUBBER flock. This powerful
ram sold for €620. Sixth prize went to Co. Galway’s John McTigue for Lot 29,
BALLYNULTY KRATOS.
With further Belclare Sheep Society sales coming up across the country, the Belclare Sheep
Society looks forward to all future purchasers:
Sheep Ireland: 24th August
Tullow Sale: 3rd September
NSB – Multibreed, Carrick-on-Shannon: 13th September
Roscommon Sale: 28th September
Belclare In-lamb Ewe Sale, Tullamore: 26th October