The distinctive black and white colours of the Holstein Friesian breed of cattle is not a unique sight in Ireland, with it being one of the most popular breeds for dairy production.

However a farmer in Mayo believes he could have one of the tallest and largest examples of the breed on his farm near Kilmaine.

Noel Murphy farms about 40ac at Killernan, Kilmaine in a part-time drystock enterprise. Outside of the farmyard, Noel works in plant and machinery.

While the majority of Noel's Holstein Friesian cattle are finished for the factory, often being transported to Dawn Meats in Ballyhaunis or Boyne Valley Meats, Co. Meath, there are a special four - three Holstein Friesian bullocks and one British Friesian - who will live out their days on the peaceful pasture around the farm.

When Agriland visited the farm to see first-hand just how 'big' the animals were, Noel admitted that his cattle are better taken care of than most humans!

His beautiful rescue Kelpie-cross dog Sam, with ice blue eyes, greeted us at the gate and the four animals do not seem to mind him giving chase around the field where they graze, where they are familiar with their four-legged friend.

The cattle are certainly the largest Agriland has ever encountered and the closer we got, the more we realised their true enormity.

'Eddie' is the largest Holstein Friesian and while it was impossible to measure with exact precision on uneven ground in the field, a rough calculation is that he approaches 6ft 5" tall and weighs just under 1,200kg.

The other two Holstein Friesians don't reach quite that scale in height, but are by no means run of the mill either, towering above Noel, one weighing almost a whopping 1,500kg and the other just under 1,200kg.

In the future Noel admits he will probably have to get a wider crush constructed for them to cater for their mammoth size and is constructing a more suitable shed for them with straw bedding if needs be.

The Holstein Friesians were bought from Co. Cork as calves and are about 3.5 years old now, while the 'pet' British Friesian has been on farm for almost eight years and all have a very docile temperament.

Noel explained that it is very good land in the area and that agricultural land in Kilmaine is in high demand as it is very suitable for growing crops in particular.

The special 'pet' Holsteins get to roam freely between two fields on the farm year round with ample amounts of pasture to graze and rarely need additional feeding with nuts or meal.

The biggest one just shot up all of a sudden and it wasn't from nuts or meal as Noel explained that in the beginning the bullock wasn't even a fan of it, "I can't understand. All of a sudden, it has to be something that happened in his genes and he just shot up then like that."

"I'd rear them from calves, a couple of months old and then keep them. They [the three enormous cattle] came in a bunch of 10 or 12," Noel said.

He feeds them 'crunch' in a trough in the field as a treat from time to time and uses treacle to coax them to allow him dose when necessary, although that is rare as the health of the animals is optimal.

But he considers this to be down to not being in close quarters and therefore he finds their health sheet to be fairly clear.

Noel said he uses so little pour-on and thankfully never has to administer antibiotics as the cattle don't get sick and he believes housing animals of that size together in a shed over winter would just be "dangerous" given their size.

His vet Paul Cummins of PC Vets in Ballinrobe carries out routine testing and check-ups and has often commented that the special Holsteins are simply "out on their own" in terms of their scale.

"They're too big; it's too dangerous. Because that guy (Eddie), going back two years ago, that fella had a two-year-old bullock on his neck, under him, because he wanted to get the silage and he just flipped out over the barrier down on top of the silage," Noel said.

"He's strong that fella. He has every gate in the place bent from rubbing against it," Noel said.

When asked if he has any 'plans' for the special cattle he replied: "Oh they'll be left here. There's no plan. Sure, there are lads gone cracked, there is one dealer in particular who does nearly be frothing and he can't get over that fella [1,500kg Holstein Friesian]."

Noel decided to move to Holstein Friesians on the farm in Kilmaine, despite his father previously preferring other breeds.

"British Friesians and Holsteins are so quiet. Because my father was into the Charolais and the Limousin and doing that," Noel continued.

So why did Noel decide to switch? "I'll tell you... because of sickness, danger and time. Whereas I can open the gates and go up there with the bucket and you could be on the phone and looking around and they're all just standing there looking at you.

"I can dose them with the dosing gun. Now he [Eddie] doesn't like it anymore , he's copped on to it," he jokes. "But with treacle, if I give them an odd shot of treacle and then put in the dose and then they've forgotten it."

Noel explains that he has very little illness in the herd and one of the few health related tasks he carries out is to pare their hooves from time to time.

It's easy to see the animals have a great affection for Noel and no doubt won the prize of the century being selected to go home to the Mayo farm.

One of the most recent recordings of an exceptionally large Holstein steer was last September at an animal shelter in Oregon, US where 'Romeo' was recorded as being 6ft 4.5" tall.

Another famous name in recent years has been 'Knickers' a Holstein Friesian steer in Australia who was 6ft 4" tall and weighed a remarkable 1,400kg.