A love of wool crafts and a Facebook post from the Irish Rare Breed Society led a Cavan farm entrepreneur to a breed of Irish sheep that she and many others thought were extinct.
For many years Sandra Coote had a keen interest in wool crafts and had learned how to do everything from spinning and dyeing wool to using it for needle-felted pictures and 3D objects.
“When I initially started working with wool, I was quite happy to use fleeces that I obtained from local farmers and breeders, but as my interest increased and after completing my wool spinning exams with the Associated Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, I decided that I would like to have my own sheep and use their wool,” said Sandra, the creative force behind Crafts of Ireland.
I looked at the various breeds that were available and suitable but, as my business is mainly focused on heritage crafts, I wanted something different.
“When I noticed the post on the Irish Rare Breeds Society’s Facebook page in 2018, I was immediately attracted to the Roscommon sheep,” Sandra said.
“Not only are the sheep one of the oldest Irish breeds with a good quality wool but by purchasing them, we would also be helping to preserve the sheep and re-establish them as a formally recognised breed,” she said.
“In August of 2018 we travelled to Longford to meet Noel Kiernan, a conservationist who had spent the last 20 years endeavouring to preserve the breed.
“At that stage he wanted to sell small numbers of ewes to people who had an interest in working with the breed,” she explained.
“We purchased five female sheep and in October returned to select a suitable ram. This year we have 12 in-lamb females.
Roscommon sheep are a lowland breed originating on the rich soil of Roscommon and east Galway. This particular breed of sheep is mentioned as far back as the 18th century. In the early 19th century a number of landlords in Roscommon imported Dishley Leicester rams into Ireland and began crossing them with the native ewes.
“The quality of their wool was further improved by the introduction of Merino and South Down sheep rams into the area. The resulting sheep from these crosses became known as the Roscommon sheep,” Sandra said.
Excellent Reputation
“Written references to the breed dating from 1868 state that the breed was then widely recognised with an excellent reputation and had won many prizes at a cattle show in Kildare Street in long wool sheep classes.
“By 1870, the breed was recognised by the Royal Dublin Society and was afforded its own classes at the Spring Show and other shows of the society,” she said.
Continuing, Sandra noted: “In it, 3,658 ewes were registered by 57 flock owners. The flock book contained some photographs of foundation animals of the breed including Adam, a ram that weighed 177kg.
“Historical references state that these sheep produced up to 10kg of top-quality wool. The formation of the breed society led to the exporting of Roscommon sheep to Russia, Argentina and America, with queries from Australia,” she said.
“In the 1920s the market for sheep changed and a smaller more compact sheep was sought by buyers and the popularity of the Roscommon sheep began to decline. The society became defunct by the mid-1920s and the sheep class at the RDS ceased in 1937.
“Despite these changes, a small number of farmers in Co. Roscommon continued to breed these sheep and it is the remnants of these flocks that exist today.
Today work is ongoing in re-establishing the breed. The Irish Rare Breeds Society is leading a project in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Teagasc and Sheep Ireland.
“This year it is hoped to genotype approximately 90 females. The Irish Rare Breed Society secured a Genetic Resources Grant Aid Scheme [GRGAS] grant to fund the project.
“The aim of the genotyping is to isolate a unique DNA marker common to the sheep that fit the historical phenotype and documented photographs of the Roscommon sheep breed,” Sandra concluded.