The Irish Hereford Breed Society (IHBS) hosted its annual spring show and sale at GVM Kilmallock Mart on Friday, April 14.
The society said that the weather had picked up on the day and so did the trade, with every bull sold except one and the average price for the sale finishing at €3,200.
The event kicked off at 11:00a.m with the pre-sale show where Michael Barrett of Gurtaleen Herefords, Co. Cork took on the task of judging the bulls on offer.
There were five classes to judge and Cork the man tapped forward Clondrinapoll 1 1375th, owned by Gerard and Declan Donnelly, Co. Clare, as the Overall Champion on the day.
This August 2021-born bull was sired by Cill Cormaic Perseus and bred from a Solpoll 1 Lawman daughter.
He has four stars for the replacement index, and five stars for milk. Clondrinapoll 1 1375th went on to top the sale when he sold for €5,100.
The Donnelly’s second lot at the Kilmallock sale was Clondrinapoll 1 1371st, who sold for €4,100 after placing first in class during the show.
This October 2021-born bull was sired by Fabb 1 Northern Star and bred from a Balleen Gilbert dam.
Along with having a Dairy Beef Index (DBI) value of €97, he has four stars for both the replacement index and terminal index.
Clondrina’s genetics continued to shine throughout the sale; Barrett awarded Reserve Champion to Tommy and Maura Cregan’s Tullaha Finnian.
This June 2021-born bull was sired by Rossmore Nelson Mandela and bred from a Clondrina 1069th dam.
With four stars for the terminal index and carcass conformation, Finnian sold for €3,700.
The second-highest price at the Kilmallock sale was awarded to Glaslough Yorkie, by Nigel Heatrick, Co. Monaghan.
Yorkie was sired by Cill Cormaic Quinlan and subsequently bred from a Clondrina 1110th daughter. The fully horned four-star terminal bull with a DBI value of €104 was purchased for €5,000.
Nigel was happy to go home to Co. Monaghan with an empty trailer when he sold his second offering for €3,200. Glaslough Zeb was sired by Airhill Raffael and bred from a Ballyaville Ger dam.
The next top-price of the sale was €4,400 for Trillick Boxer 2, by J.J. Farrell, Co. Longford.
Boxer was sired by Pulham Ranger and bred from a Glaslough Rooney dam. Boxer has five stars for the terminal index, carcass weight and carcass conformation, along with an easy calving figure of 1.7%.
Moyclare Upbeat, by Michael Molloy, Co. Offaly, lived up to his name when he was sold to a Limerick farmer for €4,200.
Upbeat, sired by Caislean Jake and bred from a Ballinalick Ledger dam, has five stars for the terminal index and carcass weight, an easy calving figure of 1.7% and a DBI value of €110.
Moyclare Herefords have proven to be sought after thus far throughout the Hereford spring sales, with three bulls averaging €5,000.
Kye Paddy 958 matched Upbeat when he sold for €4,100. Bred by Padraig McGrath, Co. Roscommon, Paddy 958 was sired by Free Town Nevada and bred from a Free Town Hotspur dam.
Paddy also has five stars for the terminal index and carcass weight and a DBI value of €90.
Fortregal Billy, by Gerard and Sheila Lucey, also did his job during the sale when he sold for €3,800.
Billy was sired by Allowdale Rambo 475 and bred from Coisceam Imelda, a Lisnalurg Celtic daughter. This full horned bull has a page of stars with five stars for both the replacement index and terminal index, along with five stars for both carcass weight and milk.
Another bull selling for €3,800 during the sale was Bonleapoll 1 Don Juan, by Peter Cooke, Co. Tipperary.
Don Juan placed first in his class and was born in August 2021. He was sired by Gouldingpoll 1 Superstar Et and bred from Glaslough Sara 2, another Clondrina 1110th daughter.
Don Juan also has a page of stars with five stars for the replacement index, terminal index, conformation, four stars for carcass weight and milk and a DBI value above average of €83.
Peter Cooke’s second lot for the day, Bonleapoll 1 Denisthemenace, sold for €3,600 to a Co. Limerick farmer.
This September 2021-born bull was also sired by Gouldingpoll 1 Superstar Et and bred from Udel 1 FR Lively Gem.
This homozygous polled bull has a super set of figures with five stars for both the replacement and terminal indexes, an easy calving figure of 1.8% and a DBI value of €88.
Another success of the Kilmallock sale was heterozygous polled bull Awbegpoll 1 Ainsley, from Adrian Curtin, Co. Cork.
Born in July 2021, this Dernaroy 1 Oscar son was bred from Blueheather Cindy, a Kye Harry 686 dam.
Ainsley has five stars for the replacement index and carcass conformation, four stars for the terminal index, carcass weight and milk, along with a DBI value of €89. The hammer dropped for Ainsley at €3,700.