HALL OF FAME AWARDS 2025

HALL OF FAME AWARDS 2025

Mr Philip Lynch, Glyde Suffolks, receives the 2025 Hall of Fame Award

The executive of the FBD National Hall of Fame Awards is delighted to present the National Hall of Fame Award 2025 for Suffolk Sheep Society South of Ireland Branch to Mr. Philip Lynch – Glyde Suffolks.

Pedigree breeding has always been a major part of his life. His late Father, Denis Lynch, the Moatfarrell Maestro, was a stockman and judge of repute and renowned for breeding pedigree Herefords and Suffolk sheep. With him at the helm, Philip was part of the “Moatfarrell machine”, which achieved tremendous success, especially in the 80s and 90s. His Father established the Moatfarrell Flock in 1949 and exactly 40 years later, with ewes from this flock, Nuala and Philip established the Glyde Flock. He closely followed what he learned from him about quality, style, power, correctness, ease of fleshing and good conformation. He always said that you spend more time behind an animal than in front of it and this is central to the type of sheep they have always bred.

They have been fortunate to have achieved much success in both the show ring and sales rings. Stock from the Glyde Flock have been sold into pedigree and commercial flocks throughout Ireland but also to Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Spain and Portugal. Philip have had the honour of judging on many occasions in both Northern and Southern Ireland with the biggest occasion to date being that of judging the Premier Suffolk sale in Northern Ireland in July 2024.

Pedigree breeding is an obsession, and obsessions take a lot of time and sacrifices. Breeding sheep has always been a family affair with his sons and daughters all helping out. Through this they have learned many valuable lessons about life. They have learned that the day you lose that you are trying as hard as the day you win. Such is the lot of a pedigree breeder.

With his Family they have travelled up and down, over and back across this country, showing their stock and promoting the Suffolk Breed. They have met many great people and made countless friends.
Philip is deeply honoured to be the recipient of the Suffolk Sheep Society South of Ireland Hall of Fame award for 2025.

ULSTER OPEN SHOW & SALE

ULSTER OPEN SHOW & SALE

Results & Prices

A huge thanks to our Judge, Mr. Lesley Liggett ably assisted by his daughter Aimee. Carony Suffolks

Unfortunately, Mr. Paddy Carolan, Muff Suffolks was not able to attend due to illness. (Speedy recovery Paddy)

Sponsors were Univet and Homeland. Many thanks to Mark O’Rourke and Hugh Mc Garrigle.

Auctioneer- Robert Gourle

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Supreme Champion & Winner Ram Lamb Class – John Doherty, Malinhead, Ram Lamb being presented with the Tommy Feeney Memorial Cup

Show results.

Ewe lamb class.

1st- John Molloy Suffolks. Lot 3

2nd -Jeffrey Thornton. Lot 2

3rd – Jeffrey Thornton. Lot 1

Ewe Lamb Class, Winner, John Molloy

Shearling class.

1st-Richard Wilson. Lot 22. Sold 920

2nd- Andrew Wilson. Lot 12. Sold 600

3rd- John Molloy Suffolks. Lot 21. Sold 880

Shearling Ram Class Winner : Richard Wilson

Ram Lamb class.

1st- John Doherty. Lot 42. (Receiving the Tommy Feeney memorial Cup) Sold 1380

2nd- Natasha Doherty Lot 35. Sold 800

3rd – John Doherty. Lot 43. Sold 900

4th- Leah Holmes. Lot 37. Sold 800

Ram Lamb Pairs-

1st- Alan Kilpatrick. Lot 14 and 49. Sold 780 & 520

2nd – Leah Holmes. Lot 36 and 66. Sold 680

3rd- Andrew Lucas. Lot 32 and 64. Sold 820 & 500

4th- Richard Wilson. Lot 23 and 56. Sold 700 & 680

Ram Lamb, Pairs – Winner Alan Kilpatrick

Reserve Champion- Natasha Doherty. Lot 35

Reserve Champion, Neil & Natasha Doherty, 2nd Ram Lamb Class

Supreme Champion- John Doherty. Lot 42

Other prices to note.

Lot 17, Tommy Cavanagh Sold 1180

Lot 21, John Molloy Sold 880

Lot 29, Jeffrey Thornton Sold 820

Lot 30, Jeffrey Thornton Sold 740

Lot 31, Andrew Lucas Sold 1000

Lot 34, Seamus Mc Connon Sold 720

Lot 37, Leah Holmes Sold 800

Lot 38, Pj Mc Monagle Sold 820

Lot 43, John Doherty Sold 900

Lot 52, Tommy Cavanagh Sold 900

Lot 60, Oliver and Karen O Hara Sold 700

Lot 57, Seamus Browne. Sold 640. The last Ram lamb from the Errigal Suffolks before the dispersal sale.

Many Thanks to everyone involved, to our Sponsors, to the buyers and the underbidders.

NATIONAL CAMPIONSHIPS 2024

NATIONAL CAMPIONSHIPS 2024

SUFFOLKS REIGN SUPREME

Supreme Champion – Aged Ewe, Arthur O’Keeffe with Judge, Dennis Taylor & Handler, Patrick O’Keeffe

The South of Ireland Suffolk Sheep Society held their annual National Championships at Dundalk Show on Sunday 9th June. All classes were very well supported with a mix of established and new breeders presenting an excellent standard of stock. There was great interest in proceedings with a strong ringside crowd watching on including many breeders from Northern Ireland. The Society would like to thank Connolly Red Mills for their sponsorship of the show this year.

The show judge was Mr. Dennis Taylor of the renowned Ballynacannon Flock, based in Co. Antrim who tapped out a tremendous ewe from Arthur O’Keeffe’s Annakisha flock as Overall Champion. A 2022 born ewe, she also took 1st prize in the Aged Ewe class and is sired by Ballinatone BT Buddy and out of a homebred ewe by Strathbogie AK Magic. After taking the Suffolk Championship, this ewe then went forward and claimed the Interbreed Championship.

Taking Reserve Overall Champion was the 1st prize shearling ewe from Philip Lynch’s Glyde flock. A stylish ewe, she is by Ballinatone BT Buddy and a Castleisle ewe by Lakeview Armani.

Reserve Champion – Philip Lynch, Shearling Ewe

A young ram lamb by Ballinatone BT Buddy and a homebred ewe by Castleisle Kilteskin Prince, from the flock of Arthur O’Keeffe claimed the Male Championship. This lamb was 1st in the Open ram lamb class and it was the 2nd prizewinner from the same class that took Reserve Male Champion. From the Malinhead flock of John Doherty, Co. Donegal, this ram lamb is sired by Crewelands Dancing Brave and out of a ewe by Limestone Red Rum.

Male Champion – Arthur O’Keeffe, Ram Lamb

Taking first place in the Shearling Ram and upwards class was JA & AJ Lucas, Finnvale with their stock ram Claycrop MacAllister, a private purchase by the 48,000gns Limestone Marksman.

For the first time this year, there was a New Members class and this was a huge success with a large entry. Taking top honors here was Sean O’Gorman, Roselodge with a ram lamb by Limestone Commando. The lamb’s dam was purchased as Female Champion at the Premier Show & Sale at Blessington 2022. This ram lamb then went on to claim 1st prize in the Novice Ram lamb class.

A strong ewe lamb from Shane Brady’s Milldam flock took 1st prize in the Novice Ewe Lamb class. She is by Bessiebell Big Brother and a Shannagh ewe.

Arthur O’Keeffe’s ewe lamb claimed 1st prize in the Trimmed ewe lamb class. This lamb is sired by the 10,000gns Blackbrae AB President with her dam being the ewe who was Supreme Champion on the day.

The untrimmed ewe lamb class was won by the Malinhead flock of John Doherty. This lamb is by Crewelands Dancing Brave and is a full sister to the Reserve Male Champion on the day.

In the Young Handlers class it was great to see so much enthusiasm and congratulations to Ben Lynch for winning 1st prize. In second place was Ben Whyte with Tara Bailey taking 3rd prize.

Young Handlers with Judge, Dennis Taylor: 1st Ben Lynch, 2nd Ben Whyte, 3rd Tara Bailey

The Society would like to congratulate the organizers of Dundalk Show on a very well run event.

OPEN DAY FOR NEW BREEDERS

OPEN DAY FOR NEW BREEDERS

Open Day held at Blessington Mart

The Society recently organised an open day at Blessington Mart for new breeders to learn about trimming Suffolks for shows. Among the attendees on the day were Sam Ritchie of Strabane Mills who delivered a talk on the importance of using the correct animal feed at the appropriate stage of development and Leo Forkin of Mayo Animal Healthcare who provided a very informative talk on various aspects of general animal husbandry.

We were delighted to welcome Ian Donald of Donbraid Livestock to demonstrate the skills required for successful sheep dressing.  Ian, one of the top sheep dressers in Ireland and the UK, captivated the audience with his expertise while also answering numerous questions from the floor about all aspects of sheep dressing.

The event also featured a stock judging competition on the day where there were two categories to be judged – Shearling Ewes and a Ewe Lamb class.

Mayo Animal Healthcare generously sponsored the U21 judging while Strabane Mills sponsored the over 21 category.

The results were as follows:

U21s      1st Evan Hopkins

               2nd Aaron Patton

               3rd Ben Lynch

Over 21s     1st Sean Heraty

                        2nd Aidan Carney

                       3rd Beverly McBride

With over 40 breeders in attendance on the day, feedback was overwhelmingly positive. It was a fantastic day of learning and an excellent opportunity to socialise with fellow breeders while enjoying some light refreshments.

The Society extends our gratitude to Ian Donald, and our sponsors, Leo Forkin and Sam Ritchie for their contributions to the success of the event. We would also like to thank Blessington Mart for the use of their premises. Finally we would like to thank Breeders Niall Cassidy, for his contributions to the event and John Gahan and Philip Lynch for providing the sheep for the trimming and stock judging.

Our next event will be an Open Day to be held on the farm of Sean O’Connor and his wife, Dr Carina Mederle (Islandmore Suffolks) on July 9th from 6.30 to 9pm.

HALL OF FAME AWARDS 2024

HALL OF FAME AWARDS 2024

Jim Gahan, Barrowlands Flock, receives National Hall of Fame Award

Mr Jim Gahan of the Barrowlands Flock was recently awarded the National Hall of Fame Award 2024 by the South of Ireland Suffolk Sheep Society for his lifetime contributions to the Suffolk breed.

The Barrowlands Flock was started in 1994.  I had always kept the Tullow-type or cheviot ewe, used Suffolk Rams and kept our own replacements.  It was one of the best decisions in my life to get into Suffolks and in the past 30 years I have enjoyed travelling throughout the 32 counties of Ireland and across to the UK to Suffolk Shows and Sales and Social Events. 

I was honoured to be asked to Judge the Flock Competition in N.I. on two occasions and I have also enjoyed judging numerous Suffolk classes in shows and sales both in the South and North of Ireland.

I served on Society Committee for many years spending this time working for the betterment of the Society. I enjoyed sourcing sheep for the Suffolk stand at the Ploughing, spending the three days there manning the stand and meeting people from all over Ireland.

I am lucky enough to have been successful with my Flock, winning Novice Ram Lamb in Maynooth, Reserve Champion at National Championships and  winning the Howard Peel Cup for the Best Stud Ram with my Stock Ram “Carragh Captivate” in 2018 was the icing on the cake.

 My flock is involved in a very successful Female Sale every November “Black Beauties Sale” and from this sale I have sold females to Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal and Romania.

There is a great social side to the Society and its important that members exhibit at local shows as this is the shop window for our breed. I believer that the Suffolk’s ability to reach target weights in a shorter time frame combined with good fleshing ability makes them the ideal sire for the commercial flock. Also, the Suffolk Cross ewe is in great demand for breeding and Suffolk lambs commands a premium price from the butcher.

I would like to thank the South of Ireland Suffolk Society for nominating me to receive the Hall of Fame Award and also my family who have helped and supported me through the years.

Jim Gahan – Barrowlands Flock