On a Sheep Farm in Ireland

In March 2019, daughter Jill and I went on a ten-day tour of Ireland – three days in Dublin on our own and seven days on a guided tour of the Emerald Isle with CIE Tours International. Click HERE to read a short introduction to our memorable adventure.

In this story, which is part of a series, I have written about our fascinating stop-off at a sheep farm on the road to Derry, where we learned about the art of sheepherding.   

Streedagh, Republic of Ireland (Monday, March 18, 2019) Today was another awesome day of sightseeing, jam-packed with interesting and exciting attractions from Galway to Derry. 

This morning, Jill and I were in the pilgrimage village of Knock. There we strolled through the grounds of  Ireland’s National Marian Shrine, the site of an Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1879. We saw beautiful gardens, lovely religious artwork, and a well-restored parish church. The Shrine, which was inviting and peaceful, was a special place to visit. Click HERE to read more.

From Knock, we traveled 90 minutes north to Streedagh, called a neighborhood by some and praised as a “beautiful strip of land” by others. Located along the western coast of County Sligo, Streedagh is famous for a limestone-slab wedge tomb that dates to around 2,500 BC (late Stone Age) and three ships of the Spanish Armada that sank off its coast in 1588. It is also well-known for its nature and wildlife, castles, surfing and golf, and fresh seafood. All fun things to see and do, to be certain, but none of these were on our itinerary today. Instead, we visited a farm.
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It was not just any farm, mind you, but rather a working farm that trained sheepdogs – Border Collies – to herd mountain sheep. 

I had seen thousands of sheep grazing in pastures that dotted the highways and roads we traveled on our clockwise tour of Ireland – always, though, fleeting glances from afar through a pane of window glass, as in this photo I took several days ago. Now I would have the opportunity to see sheep “up close and personal” and experience a slice of farm life in Ireland. This was the stop that I most anticipated, and I grew excited as we neared our destination!  

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The sky was overcast in varied shades of gray when we arrived at Atlantic Sheepdogs Farm, so Jill and I grabbed our umbrellas as we stepped off the bus, “just in case.” And it was a good thing we did, as it sprinkled off and on over our hour-long stay. 

The farm is located in the “Wild West” of Ireland on the seacoast of the North Atlantic Ocean, nestled between a sandy beach (barely visible in the photo above) and Benbulben, a large, flat-topped rock formation known locally as “Table Mountain” (at the horizon in the photo below). Bryan, our tour guide and driver, told us that the beach was charming – a statement I accepted at face value because it did not appear so that day!

The art of sheepherding, with 32,000 sheep farms and eight million
sheep at peak times, has helped shape Ireland’s landscape. In fact,
sheep have helped shape mountains like Benbulben – their grazing
kept the land intact while sculpting its greenery.
~ Wild West Irish Tours

Atlantic Sheepdogs Farm is owned by Martin Feeney, a fourth-generation sheep farmer and well-known sheepdog handler who won his first national competition and international young handlers’ competition at age 11.

Martin greeted us as we stepped off the bus, and over the next hour he gave an informative and engaging account of sheep farming and sheep herding.

Although Martin kept about 1,000 sheep, I saw only a handful in the meadow behind him and thought, Where are the others? As if he had read my mind, Martin told us that his sheep grazed across the vast expanse of grassland that stretched from near the ocean up into the surrounding mountains. “Not all this land is mine,” he said. “I own a strip of grassland here and there, but much of what you see, and more, is owned by other farmers.” 

A fellow traveler observed aloud that the parcels did not appear to be separated by fences, and then asked, “How do you know which sheep are yours and which are owned by the other farmers?”
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“The answer,” replied Martin with a wink, “is simple. We color-code our sheep. They are 'branded' with paint, and the color and position on the sheep's side or back designates one owner from another.” 

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full.

The earliest printed version of this well-known English nursery rhyme dated to the mid-18th century. Back then, “three bags full” was probably worth a lot, but not so today according to Martin, who told us that there was little money to be made from fleece.
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“A typical sheep produces up to 13 kilograms of wool per year,” he said. “It may sound like a lot,” he continued, “but with a wholesale price of about 20 cents per kilogram, the wool from one sheep brings in about six Euro. It’s just not economical to sell. Still,” he stressed, “a sheep’s coat, which grows quickly and continuously, must be sheared several times each year so that it does not impede movement or cause the sheep to overheat in warm weather.”

“So, where’s the money in sheep farming?” someone asked.
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“For us, it is in breeding, but for most sheep farmers, the money is in the meat. Ninety-nine percent of sheep are raised for meat.” Later, as I relaxed in our hotel after dinner, I read that Ireland was the largest exporter of sheep meat to Europe even though it was only sixth in sheep production, and that its sheep meat industry was valued at almost $300 million Euro. That was a lot of mutton, indeed.   

Before he demonstrated the art of sheepherding, Martin paused to share another fact about sheep farming: Black wool, which was produced from a genetic process of recessive genes, was thin and easily fell apart. “As a result,” Martin noted, “black wool has no value in the wool-making process, and farmers cull black sheep from the herd so that their genes are not passed to other sheep through breeding.” 

Ahhh…I have just learned the origin of the phrase “he is the black sheep of the family”! 

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Martin, I was certain, had told his story about sheep farming to hundreds of tour groups over the years - yet his story telling sounded fresh and compelling. And when he finished, I had a much better understanding of another element of Ireland’s cultural heritage.   

The almond eyes are the focus of an intelligent expression – an
intense gaze, the Border’s famous “herding eye” is a breed hallmark.
On the move, Borders are among the canine kingdom’s most agile,
balanced, and durable citizens. Having a job to perform, like herding,
is key to Border happiness.
~ American Kennel Club

Martin gave three short trills on a shepherd’s whistle (“A come-in whistle,” he remarked with a smile), and lickety-split, a five-year old Border Collie named Bob raced from somewhere outside my field of vision to Martin’s side. “This breed,” he explained by way of introduction, “was originally developed in the hilly border country between England and Scotland – thus the name. Their job was to gather and control sheep.” 

Martin had trained Bob from a pup, and in a short time Bob learned several simple yet important commands – left, right, walk, stay, and look. The latter was sometimes referred to as “giving the eye,” an intense stare with which the Border Collie intimidated and controlled a flock of sheep. 

These commands might be given verbally – not by words though, rather by “hoots” – but more often with a distinctive tone, or series of tones, from a sheep dog whistle. 

Over the next 20 minutes or so, Martin displayed Bob’s skills with the help of a small flock of sheep. In the first part of this “show,” Bob executed each of the five commands. For example, with a short verbal command, Bob moved to his left to herd the sheep to his right. And with a sharp whistle (was it one trill or two?!), Bob ran behind the sheep and weaved back and forth to walk the flock forward. With these singular demonstrations, Martin established Bob’s intelligence, skills, and command over a flock of sheep. 

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Now it was time for “the really big show” – a full presentation of how a sheepdog moved a herd around the fields and mountains on a typical Irish farm. There was a large meadow in front of us, and through a series of whistled commands from Martin, Bob walked the sheep down the sloping grassland and back up again, moved the flock from left to right and right to left, and held the sheep in position with his stare. I was mesmerized as I watched this exhibition of Bob’s mastery over the sheep! 

All too soon, it was time to leave. I jotted down my key take-aways as we drove north along the coast towards the town of Donegal and reflected on this memorable experience: The setting was charming and pastoral, our host was friendly and informative, the star performer was talented and entertaining, and I had new-found knowledge of sheep farming in Ireland. Yes, I thought, our stop-off at Atlantic Sheepdogs Farm had exceeded my expectations!