A new president has been appointed to the Irish Aberdeen Angus Association which, since Brexit, has become the registry home for the breed’s cattle for a total of 15 different EU countries.
The association was linked with the Aberdeen Angus cattle society in Scotland, however following Brexit the association had to move out on its own.
The appointment comes following the Irish Aberdeen Angus Association’s second Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was held late last month in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.
This was the first in-person AGM held since the formation of the new company; previous AGMs were held online due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Reshuffle
The AGM saw a reshuffle of the association’s council and top table.
In accordance with bylaws, council members can only sit for a maximum of three years which resulted in Albert De Cogan, Bryan O’Halloran and Dermot Lynch all having fulfilled their terms.
Filling two of these seats were Enda Kearney, based in Munster and Anne Murphy, who is based in the southeast of the country.
This year also John McEnroe, the president for the past two years, leave his seat and go into an ex officio role.
Stepping in as the new president is Co. Cork-based Angus breeder Eustace Burke, who previously occupied the position of the association’s vice-president for the previous two years.
This resulted in a vacancy for the position of vice-president, which was secured by John Tait of the Westellen Herd.
Angus competition winners
Following the AGM, awards were presented to the winners of the association’s inaugural All-Ireland herds competition.
This competition saw over 50 pedigree Angus herds from across the island of Ireland judged by three different judges, one for each of the regional clubs.
The judges were as follows:
- Cathy O Hara;
- Albert De Cogan;
- Tommy and Patrick Beirne.
The winners of each category – small, medium and large – then went onto the final to face the winners from the other regional clubs.
The judges were rotated for this in order to adjudicate the All-Ireland winners.
After tough deliberation from the judges, the winners were as follows:
- Small herd: John Brady, Lisnafanna Herd, Co. Cavan;
- Medium herd: Eustace Burke, Clontead herd, Co. Cork;
- Large herd: Malachy Tighe, Tara herd, Co. Meath.
Winners of the competition:
The association’s recently appointed breed secretary, Shane Murphy, said: “Angus cattle have proved an all-rounder in Ireland for over a hundred years and of late, are the benchmark for processors when it comes to prices.”
According to the association, Angus cattle ‘”top the ranks” with regard to registrations in Ireland, with over 400,000 Angus calves born in 2021 – making them the beef breed of choice in Ireland.
Continuing, Murphy added: “Since milk quota abolition, numbers of Angus births have risen drastically due to the Angus traits of easy calving, short gestation and a beef product that’s in demand.
“We have also seen a rapid increase in the number of suckler farmers using Angus bulls, particularly in the west.”