The Champion stays local at the Belclare Premier sale in Kilkenny.
The prestigious Belclare Sheep Society hosted its premier sale at Cillin Hill, Kilkenny, on Tuesday, August 8th. Delight struck for the Kilkenny local Frank Campion of the Luskenagh Flock, as he was awarded supreme champion by the Judge Eddie O’Gorman. Large clearance and great prices were seen on the day with 20% of rams selling for €1000 / head or over.
The first class for judging by the experienced Eddie O’Gorman was the Senior Ram class. The top honour was bestowed upon the Ballydavis flock of David Cooke, with their ram, originally bred by the Coolgarragh Flock of Liam Delaney. Laurence Barrett of the Kilmeany Flock claimed the second prize.
The competitive hogget ram class followed suit, awarding the first prize to Tim Keady's renowned Oltore flock from Co. Galway. OLTORE HUGH, this powerful hogget just tipped the first prize over a stylish ram of Michael Gottstein’s that was bred by the Moatland Flock of Roy Butler, MOATLAND HANSEL. 3rd prize in this large hogget ram class went to Donegal to the flock of Henry & Lewis Kee, their ram GLENAFTON HOVEN showed his power in the show ring.
Tim Keady's first prize hogget ram, OLTORE Hugh, fetched €700, while the highest-priced hogget was OLTORE HURRICANE, which commanded an impressive €1800. This ram was acquired by esteemed pedigree breeder Frank Campion of the Luskenagh Flock, boasting remarkable €star values, ranking in the top 1% for both replacement and terminal indexes.
An exceptional line up of ram lambs were on display for the judge Eddie O’Gorman to deliberate over in the 2023 premier sale ram lamb show. Selecting a winner from this large class of powerful rams from flocks widespread across Ireland proved a challenging endeavor. After careful consideration, the first prize was awarded to Lot 54 LUSKENAGH JOHANN from Frank Campion’s flock. This long ram with exceptional wool proved too good and also took home supreme champion of the show. This stylish ram was sired by KILMEANY GANGER from the flock of Larry Barrett who topped the 2021 premier sale with a price €3,100 who also bred last year’s reserve champion COOLKELLURE HARRY MAGUIRE. The 2023 Belclare premier sale champion LUSKENAGH JOHANN sold for €1,100 and was purchased by pedigree breeders Liam & Eoin Dunne of the Tubber Belclare flock in Co Offaly.
Second prize was awarded to the renowned Belclare breeder Michael Gottstein of the Coolkellure flock, Lot 97 COOLKELLURE JEFFREY. This powerful, stylish ram was crowned reserve champion by Judge Eddie O’Gorman and sold for €600. 3rd prize was awarded to long standing Belclare breeder Liam Delaney, Lot 21 COOLGARRAGH JODY showed off his exceptional length and style in the show ring and mirrored it in the sales ring where he sold for €1,000. This son of KILMEANY GREAT had €star values of top 4% and top 8% for replacement and terminal indexes respectively and was purchased fellow belclare pedigree breeder John Kennedy of the DRANAGH FLOCK, Co Carlow.
4th prize went to the flock of John McTigue, Co Galway. His ram lamb Lot 90 BALLYNULTY JOE showed off his style and had the figures to back it up with a €star values of top 4% and top 2% for replacement and terminal indexes respectively. John showed an exceptional pen of rams on the day and sold all 9 entries in the sale with his top price of €1,700 for lot 42 BALLYNULTY JOEY purchased by Paul Smyth from the Silverbrook flock in Co Offaly. 5th prize was awarded to Barry Cunningham’s lot 38 TOGHERBERG JACKO, this powerful ram sold for €1,200 thanks to his style and €star values of top 2% and top 1% for replacement and terminal indexes respectively. This ram was bred by last year’s premier sale supreme champion, TOGHERBERG HECTOR who was purchased for €2,350. 6th prize went to co Sligo’s Christy, Margaret & Brian Gallagher, Lot 36 PULLAGH JUDE. This classy ram sold for €1,000 and had exceptional figures to match with the €star values of top 1% (€8.63) and top 1% (€2.76) for replacement and terminal indexes respectively.
The top price of the day went to Paul Smyth of the Silverbrook flock in Co Offaly. Lot 61 SIVERBROOK JUSTIN, this ram stole the show in the sales ring and captured the attention of numerous pedigree breeders, the hammer dropped at €2,400. This son of Barry Cunningham bred TOGHERBERG HECTOR proved to be worth every cent with the €star values of top 1% (€8.92) and top 1% (€3.26) for replacement and terminal indexes respectively. This ram was purchased by fellow Belclare breeder Roy Butler of the Moatland Flock Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
The female section concluded the 2023 Belclare premier sale, featuring a selection of top-quality females from across the country. The first prize was awarded to Lot 108, bred by Liam Delaney, which sold for €600 and found its new home in the pedigree flock of Adam Stephenson in Co. Wicklow. Tim Keady's Oltore flock, Lot 105, secured the second prize, selling for €400 to another pedigree breeder, Arthur O’Riordan. Once again, the third prize was awarded to Lot 104 from Liam Delaney, fetching €600 and joining Adam Stephenson's pedigree flock in Co. Wicklow.