Rosie

On a slightly sad note, our family lost one of our most beautiful,loyal little characters. Rose our Sheep & Cattle dog passed away on December 28th aged 13 years. She always had a smile and a wag of her tail for us. Belle our Sheepdog pup never left Rose's side when she was ill. We will all miss you Rosie! You were a fantastic companion!

Droimeann (Droim Fhionn) mentioned in History, Folklore, Songs and Poetry

The Droimeann (Droim Fhionn)is a breed which has been associated with ancient Celtic history as far back as 1000 years ago where it existed commonly all over Ireland. Evidence for this breeds existence is supported through famous poetry and songs from this era of Celtic/Irish history. The 920AD poem ‘Bo Bithbliacht Meic Lonan’ and such ancient songs as ‘AnDroimFhionn Donn Dilis’ and ‘Ailliu na Gamhna’ all contained descriptions of DroimFhionn cattle. This breed would surely have played a large role in Irish society throughout this time period where the economic structure of the country was heavily reliant on its livestock resources. 
The breed is well attested in ancient Irish lore and also the Brehon laws, songs and poetry. Early paintings of Irish cattle and even early photographs of fairs also attest to their existence and cement their place in the history of this Magical Island.

Two of the most well known songs referring to the breed are A Dhroimeann donn dílis and Bó na Leath Adhairce (One-Horned Cow)- Click on the links below to listen to these beautiful songs.

Droimeann donn dílis

Bo Na Leath Adhairce

A Dhroimeann Donn Dílis

A dhroimeann donn dílis, a shíoda na mbó,
cá ngabhann tú san oíche is cá mbíonn tú sa ló?
Bíonn mise ar na coillte is mo bhuachaill i m’ chomhair
agus d’fhág sé siúd mise ag sileadh na ndeor.
Níl fearann, níl tíos agam, níl fíonta ná ceol,
níl flatha i m’ choimhdeacht, níl saoithe ná sló
ach ag síoról an uisce go minic sa ló
agus beathuisce agus fíon ag mo naimhde ar bord.
Dá bhfaighinnse cead aighnis, nó radharc ar an gcoróin
Sasanaigh a leidhbfinn mar a leidhbfinn seanabhróg
tré chnocaibh is tré ailtibh, is tré ghleanta dubha ceo
agus siú mar a shaorfainn mo dhroimeann donn óg.

Bó na Leath Adhairce (One-Horned Cow)

Híos cois na toinne 'sea beathaíodh mo chaora
Ag Diarmuid Ó Duilleán ó Bharra na hAoine
Mac dearthár athar dom a chuir le faill í
Easpa tobac a bhí ar an gcladhaire.

Bó, bó, bó na leath adhairce
Bó, bó, sí an tseana chaor adharcach
Bó, bó, bó na leath adhairce
Bó dhroimfhionn dhearg is ní fheadar cá bhfaighinn í.

B'fhearr liom ná scilling go bhfeicfinn mo chaora
'Teacht go dtí an doras ar maidin nó istoíche
Thálfadh sí bainne orm, bheathódh sí uan dom
Chuirfeadh sí jacketeen deas ar mo ghualainn.

Chonacsa beirithe í, chonac á roinnt í
Chuireas-sa dúil inti ach blaise ní bhfaighinn di
Ó nár dheas í, ó nár mheidhreach
Ó nár dheas í an tseana chaor adharcach.

Dá mbéinnse i rachmas, i ngradam is in oidhreacht
Thabharfainnse gini ar chúpla sladhas di
Ó nár dheas í, ó nár mheidhreach
Ó nár dheas í an tseana chaor adharcach.

D'íosfainn lán píce di, d'íosfainn lán oighin di
D'íosfainn straice den tseana chaor adharcach
Ó nár dheas í, ó nár mheidhreach
Ó nár dheas í an tseana chaor adharcach.

Killrowan Farm in the media in recent months

We have had an exciting few months. Back in May we were delighted to have Seán Mac a tSíthigh,Video Journalist for RTE/TG4 come to the farm and do a lovely piece on Droimeann cattle for TG4 news as Gaeilge (in Irish). He Spoke with my father and I about the breed and our cows. They seem to love the limelight!! The piece is below:

Seán was great to work with and we were delighted to have him on the farm

Then, 3 weeks ago, we had the privilege to have Ella McSweeney, a well known Irish radio and TV broadcaster and presenter for Ear to the Ground come to  the farm to do a radio interview about me, the farm and our cattle. Ella was a delight to spend time with and wonderful company. Her body of work speaks for itself. 

Ella speaking with my Father and I 

The Link for the Radio Interview is below:

POD CAST from Interview with Ella McSweeney on Today with Sean O' Rourke on RTE Radio 1

 Young farmers today-Ella McSweeney met a young Kerry Farmer

Blog Overhaul!

Due to time constraints, I have previously been unable to give regular blog updates about us and what we are doing here at Killrowan farm.

This is going to change however, so please if you want to know more about our farm, the breeds we keep then stay tuned, as a massive overhaul of this blog will be taking place.

Here at Killrowan Farm, we feel that social media is a major tool  in farming as it  highlights the work that is involved in running a farm. With regards to our Irish rare breed of cattle the Droimeann we see it as an opportunity to highlight the importance of preserving this fantastic breed and getting it out to the public so they can see for themselves the characteristics of the breed and why we love them so much.

We would love to share our world with as many people as possible and truly believe that blogging is a fantastic way of doing this.

So as I said, please stay tuned and we will have plenty of updates on what we do here at Killrowan Farm.

Highland heifer and Droimeann cow here at Killrowan Farm

Sad news as our oldest Droimeann cow Leary passes away

Last Wednesday was a very sad day on the farm as it marked the passing of Leary our oldest Droimeann cow here at Killrowan Farm

Leary

Leary was a Droimeann which my father had purchased from Jerome O' Leary the owner and breeder of the world's oldest cow Big  Bertha. He bought Leary as a weanling heifer in 1997 and she remained in the herd up until her death on Wednesday 17/09/2014

Leary with a previous Droimeann bull calf she reared

Leary was a fantastic cow and at the age of 17 had reared 14 healthy calves. We are very lucky that her last calf is a heifer which we will keep as a breeding cow on the farm to continue This remarkable bloodline.

Learys Heifer Calf

This heifer calf has been named after the place-name 'Gerah' where Jerome O Leary kept his herd of cows including world record holder Big Bertha, and where Leary (Big Bertha's Grand-daughter) came from.

Gerah

Gerah will remain here at Killrowan farm were hopefully she will prove herself as a cow just like her mother Leary proved time and time again.

Gerah who will remain here at Killrowan Farm

Having a duvet day!!

First Arrivals of 2013

The first of our arrivals for 2013 have graced us with their presence. Our first arrival was a beautiful heifer calf born at the end of January. Her light colouring is due to a cheeky Charolais bull getting at the Droimeann cow instead of our Droimeann bull. But even so we are very pleased with our heifer calf. Droimeann cows make ideal suckler cows as they can be put with any bull and rarely ever have any difficulty calving. Droimeann cows are excellent mothers and have lots of milk, for his reason, crossing them with continentals is ideal as the growth potential of the offspring is excellent. When people think of rare breeds they often think of wild, primitive animals with poor growth rates in offspring. This is not the case at all. They produce excellent quality calves. When Droimeann bulls where difficult to come across my father would use a Charolais bull on his cows and the quality of the calves where fantastic. It would be great some day if people chose a Droimeann cow as their preferred suckler cow breed.

Our Droimeann x Charolais heifer calf

Droimeann bull calf

 Our next calf was a handsome bull calf (and yes this guy is from the Droimeann bull). He is a lovely Droimeann bull calf with lovely markings. He is very white in colour a the moment but he will get darker as he gets older. This calf is the first calf of our new Droimeann bull. We bought the bull at 6 months and he was let out with the cows as a yearling. The remainder of calves due from our Droimeann cows will be off our Droimeann bull, so we look forward to seeing the rest of them.

Our young Droimeann bull at grass last summer

And finally, young lambs are arriving, some a little earlier than anticipated, our sheep on the farm are a mixture of Scottish Blackface and Jacob crosses and they are then  crossed with a Suffolk ram. Our ewes are extremely protective of their lambs and have often petrified our sheepdog with their craziness. Alot of foxes are living on and around the farm but for years now, since my father introduced Jacob breeding into the flock (it was all Scottish Blackface ewes previously), we have never had any lambs carried by foxes. This just goes to show that being a little bonkers can pay off :) 

first lamb of 2013