The Connollys Redmills All Ireland Suffolk Championships took place at Teagasc, Athenry on Saturday June 21st 2025
Supreme Champion of Show, Shearling Ewe from Clyda Flock
As the sun delivered its glow over a packed June show ring, it was the tremendous Clyda gimmer from Susan O’Keeffe who judge, Lesley Liggett tapped as his Supreme Champion. A ram lamb from the Mullinvale flock of Darragh McMenamin took the Reserve Champion rosette.
The Supreme Champion continues her family tradition of success, being from the famous L30 line in the Clyda flock. She is sired by Ballinatone BT Buddy and out of a Castleisle Kilteskin Prince dam who is also maternal sister to Clyda President. This line breeds success having won 4 Female of the Year titles and Supreme Championships at the National Championships for the Clyda flock and 2 Supreme Championships at the Society’s Premier Show & Sale.
Darragh McMenamin’s ram lamb Mullinvale Dazzler came out on top in the open ram lamb class and ultimately was awarded Reserve Overall Champion. This powerful lamb is by the £40,000 Frongoy Flamboyant with his dam being a Glenroe ewe by Limestone Red Rum.
Reserve Champion of Show, Mullinvale Dazzler
Judging kicked off under a blazing sunshine with a large entry of just under 150 sheep entered into 9 classes in total. A large crowd was present as judge Lesley Liggett, Carony, commenced his task.
First up was the Shearling Ram and upwards class which was won by James O’Connell, Knockogan, with Finnvale Bugatti. A son of Salopian Pure Gold, he was purchased at Blessington 2023 for 2,000gns. P.J. McMonagle, Aughnakeeragh, took second place with his stock ram Ballynacannon Cut Above, sired by the 16,000gns Rempstone Rassie.
The Aged ewe class was dominated by the Clyda flock of Susan O’Keeffe, taking first and second places. In 1st place was a homebred ewe by the 10,000gns Blackbrae AB President and a powerful Cairness ewe. This ewe went on to be Reserve Female Champion. Her maternal sister was placed 2nd in the same class. This particular ewe is by Castleisle Kilteskin Prince and has had a stellar show career herself. She has won Female of the Year and Supreme Champion in 2022 and 2023. She is also dam of the £5,000 ram lamb sold at Ballymena 2024.
The Shearling ewe class saw a huge entry and was won by the outstanding Clyda gimmer who went on to become the Supreme Champion and Female of the Year. Taking second place honours in this class was Charlie Bourke, Connview. This ewe is by Claycrop Classy Boy and an Oakbridge ewe by Solwaybank King William.
The New Breeders class saw a large entry and is open to breeders who have been members of the Society for 3 years or less. Dominating this class was Charlie Bourke taking first and second place with lambs by Limestone Double Diamond and his Oakbridge ewe. Mayo Healthcare were kind sponsors of this class.
The Novice ram lamb class was won by Barney Carroll, Cregmore. This lamb is by Limestone Bugatti and a Kirriemuir ewe. A much admired lamb, he went through to the Open ram lamb class and took second place, ultimately claiming Reserve Male Champion behind Mullinvale Dazzler. Shane Brady’s Milldam flock took second place in this class with a strong ram by Finnvale Bazooka and a Milldam ewe.
Novice Champion and Reserve Male Champion – Cregmore Flock
In the Novice ewe lamb class, Charlie Bourke took 1st place with a stylish lamb by Limestone Double Diamond with her dam being an Oakbridge ewe by Solwaybank King William. Second place in this class was taken by the same flock with a sister of the 1st prize winner.
Novice Ewe Lamb Champion, Connview Flock
The Trimmed ewe lamb class was won by John A Doherty, Malinhead. This strong lamb is by Crewelands Dancing Brave and a Limestone Red Rum dam. She is a sister to Malinhead Canonball and the ewe lamb that was Reserve Champion at the 2023 Championships. In second place was Philip Lynch’s ewe lamb by Shannagh Bossman and a Ballinatone BT Buddy ewe.
Champion Trimmed Ewe Lamb, Malinhead Flock
The Untrimmed ewe lamb class was won by Charlie Bourke’s ewe lamb from the Novice class. In second place was Malinhead, with a ewe lamb by Duncan’s Cantona and a ewe by Crewelands Dancing Brave. Her dam is a sister to the 1st prize trimmed ewe lamb.
There were two Young Handlers classes this year with both keenly contested. First up was the Under 13 class which was won by Bobby Thompson from the Ballinatone stable. James Molloy from the flock of the same name was in second place. Thomas Duffy of Kells was awarded 3rd place.
In the Under 16 class, it was Paddy McMonagle of Beltanyview who came out on top. In second place was Ben Whyte of Keenoge Suffolks with Daniel Grady of Demense Suffolks awarded 3rd place.
U13 Young HandlersU16 Young Handlers
The South of Ireland Suffolk Society would like to commend Teagasc on their hosting of a fantastic Sheep 2025 event. We would like to extend special thanks to our sponsor Connolly’s Redmills for their continued support of our Society. We wish to thank all who helped toward making the event the success it was and wish all members the best of luck in the remainder of the show and sales season.
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.
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.
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.
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.
