Following a meeting of the Irish Limousin Cattle Society Council, a new president was elected and has made history by becoming the first woman appointed to the role.
Ann Hester from Castlerea, Co. Roscommon is the new president of the society, and has taken over the role from Dr. Alan Kelly, who resigned from the position in September.
Hester represents the north-west club area, and she runs the Meelickaduff herd with her husband Michael and children, Marie and Owen.
At the Irish Limousin Cattle Society October premier sale this year, a homebred heifer calf, Meelickaduff Take on Me, sold for €5,500.
This calf is the reigning north-west calf champion 2023 and the overall Limousin champion in Elphin and Castlerea in 2023.
The society council has wished Hester “the very best of luck in her tenure”.
Irish Limousin Cattle Society
The appointment of Hester to the position of president of the Irish Limousin Cattle Society is the latest in a series of position changes within the society.
Agriland previously reported on the departure of Trevor Masterson from the society in September, followed by Dr. Alan Kelly the same month.
Current structure of the society is featured in the table below:
Role Name Club area President Ann Hester North-west Vice-president Michael McInerney Clare Joint treasurer John O’Reilly South-east Joint treasurer Pat Sheahan South-west Communications officer Brendan Curtin National representative James Wycherley Cork Archie Lambert North-east William Smith North-east Gerry O Connell North-west Ger O Brien South-east Brid Cronin National representative Michael Phillips National representative
The society is one of some breed societies that has issued statements expressing their disapproval of the new Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) beef breeding indexes which came into effect on November 28.
The Irish Limousin Cattle Society has said it currently does “not have confidence in the updated run of indexes”.
The society has said the changes are “having a detrimental impact on the breed and our breeders”.
The society also said it is liaising with Teagasc, ICBF and the Department of Agriculture “to address breeder concerns and remedy the issues with the new indexes”.