Over 20,000 people are expected to descend on Mountbellew Mart in Co Galway over the weekend, as this year’s All-Ireland and All-Nations Sheep Shearing Championships kicked off.
Competitors from New Zealand, Australia, France, Scotland, Wales and further afield arrived to take part in the largest dedicated sheep event in Ireland in 2024.
The two-day programme is packed with events that would appeal to all ages, including dog shows, cookery demonstrations and ‘sheep fashion and beauty shows’, all intended to promote the West of Ireland and Irish wool to a worldwide audience.
The championships are being held in Mountbellew for the first time this year, in an attempt to give the local mart, which has been struggling financially, a much-needed boost.
Locals are hopeful that the events of this weekend will have a positive impact on the historic venue.
The decline in the value of wool, which has been plummeting in recent years, has been troubling sheep farmers for quite a while.
“Shearing is necessary work,” said Tom O’Halloran, a sheep farmer from Corr na Móna in north Conamara.
“You have to shear your sheep every year without fail,” said Mr O’Halloran.
He said that wool from mountain sheep is worth very little these days but that there is still a demand for the brighter, white wool from sheep that are raised in flatland areas.
It is a big blow to mountain sheep farmers, he said, and they are losing a lot of money as a result.
Mr O’Halloran said that the craft of sheep-shearing has changed a lot over the years.
He said previously a person would have to shear each sheep by hand with a pair of clippers.
However, the electric razors have taken over.
Mr O’Halloran fears sheep farming may be in danger, especially in more rural and mountainous areas.
The younger generation are showing very little interest in the lifestyle and are being discouraged by the rising costs and the decline in the value of wool, he said.
“The majority of sheep farmers are older now,” he says. “Shearing is a valuable skill that you have to pass on through generations,” Mr Halloran.
According to Tomás Ó Fátharta, a farmer who lives in Eyrecourt, Co Galway, the cost of shearing sheep has skyrocketed in recent years.
“The farmer might have to shear a whole herd, and it will cost €3 per sheep to shear them,” he said.
“The farmer might only get a few cents for the wool, once they try to sell it on. This has to be done every single summer, no matter what,” Mr Ó Fátharta said.
This weekend’s competition, that is known as ‘The Olympics of sheep shearing’, is sponsored by the company Kepak.
The event will come to a close tomorrow evening.
