The Irish Charolais Cattle Society has announced that it has relocated its offices to a new location based in Co. Kildare.
The cattle breed society’s office was previously based in the Irish Farm Centre which is located in Bluebell, Dublin 12.
The Irish Charolais Cattle Society’s new office is located at Unit 2, Saint John’s Court, Saint John’s Grove, Johnstown, Co. Kildare (W91 V38Y).
A statement from the Irish Charolais Cattle Society to Agriland confirmed that the move took place at the beginning of this month (October 2023).
According to the society, the new Kildare location is seen as “a more suitable location for the society going forward in the future”.
The Irish Farm Centre was officially opened in 1972 and the cattle society’s offices have been located there since shortly after the building was opened.
According to the society, it has approximately 2,000 members and registers approximately 7,000 pedigree Charolais calves every year.
Charolais cattle arrival to Ireland
According to the society’s website, Charolais cattle first arrived into Ireland from France in the autumn of 1964.
While the credit for the importation of the cattle often goes to the late Charles J. Haughey, according to the society, “the planning and the deed actually belonged to farm minister at the time, Paddy Smith and his forward-looking officials”.
In the spring/summer of 1964, three Department of Agriculture staff, the late John Beattie along with Reddy Day and Austin Mescal, spent weeks in France inspecting Charolais herds.
They selected eight males and 12 females of four to five months (at eight to nine months, all French cattle were vaccinated for foot-and-mouth disease, rendering them ineligible for entry to Ireland).
The cattle were then quarantined on the farm of origin, quarantined in France and then more months of quarantine on Spike Island in Co. Cork.
Since the first Charolais cattle were imported to Ireland 59 years ago, the breed has grown in prominence finding its place in the core of many suckler herds across the country.