IRISH ANGUS CATTLE SOCIETY
Youth Development
Programme
sponsored by
by JIM DOCKERY
W
E have, once again, come to the end of another year for all our Irish Angus breeders and especially
our YDP members. It started, as we will all remember, with an extremely cold spell known as the
“Big Freeze”. Once we got over this we moved into spring and the sales started up. Prices were average,
cattle numbers were strong at most sales, and in general breeders were reasonably pleased considering all
the economic factors. Summer arrived quickly enough and we had what most people would agree was a
very good summer.
Our Youth Development Programme (YDP) plan for 2010 was to try and get more participation from
our YDP members, by getting them involved at local shows in the different regions. We selected one
show in each region – Munster, Leinster and Connaught/Ulster – and asked them to put on a special
YDP class for our members.
BANDON SHOW
We were somewhat late for the Munster shows as they are very
early in the year and had their programmes planned out.
ATHLONE SHOW
However, we started with Athlone Show and it was the first one of
the year to host a YDP class for our members. This class was well
represented with a good selection of existing members and indeed
some new members on their first day out and their first show.
The class, judged by Mr John Appelbe, had an excellent
display of good showmanship, putting into practice all the skills
members had picked up through their YDP workshops. Dressed
with the utmost style, the competitors answered questions from
the judge about their animals as they lined them up into place.
After much consideration by the judge – who had to exhaust all
his skill and knowledge to judge this class – John finally decided
on the winners.
The winning trophies were presented as follows by Oliver
Flanagan, Show Secretary.
1st: Michelle Farrell, Mountdillon, Curraghroe, Co.Roscommon.
2nd: Louise Mullen, Cloontuskert, Lanesboro, Co.Longford.
3rd: Eoin Gill, Annaduff, Drumsna, Co.Leitrim.
All YDP competitors in the class were presented with engraved
runner up YDP trophies and a “special rosette” to mark the occasion.
I can tell you that for those new members on their first day out
nothing in the world could have made them happier than that
“trophy and rosette” – so well done to Athlone Show and in
particular to the Chairman and Secretary, Michael and Oliver
Flanagan.
Dylan Dockery in YDP Class at Athlone Show.
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Michelle Farrell – winner of 1st prize – YDP Athlone.
Jim Dockery with Aidan, Ronan and Dylan at Athlone Show YDP Class.
BONNICONLON SHOW
The winners, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, were presented with their prizes
and rosettes and all competitors received the Irish Angus
engraved medal presented by the judge to commemorate the
event. Well done to all YDP competitors for taking part and
travelling to this event!
We thank Liam O’Grady, Michael Flanagan and the President
of the ISA, John O’Hara, for their assistance in securing a YDP
class at this show, and Gerry Corrigan for judging the class.
Our next event involved a three hour trip for me well into north
Mayo – this time it was Bonniconlon, the home town of the
President of the Irish Shows Association, Mr John O’Hara.
Set in the rolling hills of north Mayo 8 km from Ballina we
arrived in Bonniconlon. I would describe it as a huge show with
an enormous number of excellent events and massive crowds of
people from all over the country.
Here we saw a great display of Angus cattle of all ages. All
classes had a good number of entries and our YDP class was no
different – some had travelled for two to three hours to get there.
While we were preparing stock for classes a heavy mist set in
and all hands were busy trying to keep the rain off. The canopies
started to pop up and all the blowers started up.
The Angus judge, Gerry Corrigan, although delayed in busy
traffic, eventually got in and after much deliberation over this
excellent turn out of young competitors (and not docking marks
for wet hair) he finally lined out the class and presented the prizes
to the competitors:
Michelle Farrell, Mountdillon, Curraghroe, Co.Roscommon
Grainne Horan, Solaker, Knockmore, Co.Mayo
Richard Patterson, Cooley, Drum Co.Sligo
Louise Mullen, Cloontuskert, Lanesboro, Co.Longford
Nicola Farrell, Mountdillon, Curraghroe, Co.Roscommon
Adrian Dockery, Towra Shinrone, Co.Offaly
Dylan Dockery, Towra, Shinrone, Co.Offaly
YDP WORKSHOP
Castletowngeoghan, Co.Westmeath
Our next event was on the farm of John and Hazel O’Sullivan
and family Castletowngeoghan, Co. Westmeath, on Sunday 18th
July 2010. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side but,
thanks to John O’Sullivan, all the animals were under cover and
it made things very easy for us. We had a good turnout of YDP
members of all ages and indeed their families to support and
encourage them along.
This was a hands-on day for all our members. Michael
Flanagan, our MC, opened the event and welcomed all YDP
members. He outlined the rules, and the tasks they were expected
to complete. There were eight lots of animals specially chosen by
the YDP executive, placed in separate pens and all numbered for
the stock judging competition. They consisted of three pens of
bulls, three pens of heifers and cows with calves and senior bulls.
We also had a “guess the weight” of the stock bull event, which
was a surprising result for many. This outstanding animal showed
many of the Angus characteristics desirable in a stock bull.
Group of YDP members with Tadhg and Aishling O’Sullivan, Castletowngeoghegan.
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Halter making demonstration.
Oliver Flanagan and John Farrell making a presentation to
Glenn Patterson.
Presentation to Roy Griffen by Oliver Flanagan
and John Farrell.
Presentation to Michelle Farrell by Oliver Flanagan and John Farrell.
The presentation to Hazel, John, Aisling and Tadgh O’Sullivan by the YDP Executive:
Jim Dockery, Oliver Flanagan, John Farrell and Michael Flanagan.
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Presentation to Norman Little by the YDP Executive.
Kieran Campbell receives his prize from Oliver Flanagan
and John Farrell.
As in all cases we must prepare for the unexpected and in case
there was a tie over the final results we had a “master judge” on
standby to sort this out. This well known breeder was none other
than Mr Gerry Mulligan from Dromod, Co.Leitrim, However,
there was no doubt whatsoever about Norman’s ability and Gerry
was not called up.
The day finished up with the presentation of prizes, and well
done to all who received awards. All who participated went home
with an engraved medal to mark this occasion (see pictures of
winners).
A special thanks goes to the O’Sullivan family (John, Hazel,
Tadgh and Aisling) for hosting this event, for their excellent
facilities and quality and display of cattle. It is certainly a credit
to them and we say “well done”. Thanks also to Hazel and
Aisling and all others for the very welcome cups of tea, cakes,
scones, drinks, etc. To Norman Little and Gerry Mulligan for
travelling all the way to judge at the event – we appreciate your
effort and time. To Cathy Farrell who sat quietly in the
background but did a very important job as secretary taking all
the bookings and correlating all the results – “thanks, Cathy”.
WORKSHOP IN WATERGRASSHILL
Our second workshop was planned for Sunday, 29th August on
the farm of Ben and Elaine Ryall, Watergrasshill, Co.Cork. This
event was cancelled due to the untimely death of Ben’s father,
John J Ryall (RIP). On behalf of the YDP executive and all our
members I would like to express our sincere sympathy to the
Ryall family on their loss.
John J (Jack) was a well known pedigree breeder and loved
Angus cattle. He bred winners over many years and I’m sure he,
more than any one, would have loved to have been there to see a
large number of young potential breeders learning the trade in
his yard. However, this was not to be. “Ar dheis Dé go raibh a
anam”.
Oliver Flanagan and John Farrell making a presentation
to Ronan Mulligan.
Other attractions included halter making and as always this
went down very well with young and old. John Farrell, as usual,
made sure all score cards were complete for all the judging events.
While these were being evaluated, Jim Dockery gave a short
demonstration on safety with livestock on farms, highlighting
two particular areas on farms that are high risk: (1) the area
around the cattle crush; (2) loading on to and unloading off
trailers.
As part of our programme and commitment to promoting
farm safety on our farms, the YDP executive have agreed that all
our workshops/events will include a section on Health and Safety
for our YDP members. Our judge for this event was Mr Norman
Little, who was very thorough on the day and was of immense
help to the participants in answering any questions they had
following his final decision.
STROKESTOWN SHOW
Our final event was the Strokestown Show All-Ireland Finals held
in September. There was an excellent turnout of top class cattle
in all three YDP classes at this event, and once again competitors
travelled from all over the country. There were three classes:
Junior, Intermediate and Senior.
The judge on the day was John Appelbe and well done to John
for doing an excellent job. His manner, patience and attention to
detail was a credit to him and he did what in my opinion is most
important for the young people in showing animals: he involved
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NEW MEMBERS AS ORGANISERS
everyone and left every competitor feeling they were as important as anyone in the class. So well done, John. The winners for
each class are as follows.
Another focus this year will be to recruit some of our more
experienced members on to the executive to become more
involved in organising events. As always, we need new blood and
new ideas and to keep the YDP going strong we must recruit and
harness all their new ideas. So any member wishing to become
involved, please feel free to contact any of our executive
members.
All-Ireland Irish Angus YDP Showmanship Awards: Junior
Section – Age U13 on 11.09.10
Michelle Farrell, Mountdillon, Curraghroe, Co.Roscommon
Hugh O’Connor, Cloonmeen, Banteer Co.Cork
Nicola Farrell, Mountdillon, Curraghroe, Co.Roscommon
Dylan Dockery, Towra, Shinrone, Co.Offaly
Michelle was presented with the McCormack Shield by Joe
McCormack, Steil, Tulsk, Co.Roscommon.
PR FOR OUR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME
We now live in the era of Facebook and social networking and
when we deal with young people we must move fast to keep up
with them. This internet age is all around us. I always look at the
positives in things first and in this area there are many positives.
Our youth can learn from Twitter/Facebook, etc., and keep up to
speed with others in Ireland as well as across the world who are
breeding and showing Angus cattle; so part of our plan is to look
at setting up a network site for YDP to share information with
others.
All-Ireland Irish Angus YDP Showmanship Awards: Intermediate Section – Age over 13 and under 18 on 11.09.10
Louise Mullen, Cloontuskert, Lanesboro, Co.Longford
Grainne Horan Solaker, Coolcran, Knockmore, Ballina
Co.Mayo
Eoin Gill, Annaduff, Drumsna, Co.Leitrim
Louise was presented with the Dillon Angus Cup by John and
Cathy Farrell, Mountdillon, Curraghroe, Co.Roscommon.
JUNIOR JUDGE
All-Ireland Irish Angus YDP Showmanship Awards: Senior
Section – Age over 17 and under 25 on 11.09.10
Maeve Mullooly, Lavally, Strokestown, Co.Roscommon
Noreen Shryane, Rooskey, Ballaghaderreen, Co.Roscommon
Patrick McGrath, Elphin, Co.Roscommon
Maire Mullooly, Lavally, Strokestown, Co.Roscommon
Maeve was presented with the Moydrum Angus Cup
presented by Michael and Oliver Flanagan, Moydrum, Athlone.
All competitors received their engraved medal and a show
supplies pack from Christies Show Supplies.
I would like to compliment all the YDP competitors on their
excellent display of skill and showmanship at the All-Ireland
Finals. Well done to all of you and thanks to all your families for
your support on the day and throughout the year.
We have mentioned this in the past and we will keep it on the
agenda until it happens. As I have said before, the youth is the
generation of tomorrow and we want them involved in judging
their own classes at shows; so we will finalise plans for this in the
New Year.
Finally, thanks to a number of
very special people
PLANS FOR 2011
The YDP Executive will hold its next meeting in the coming
weeks to finalise plans for 2011.
●
Firstly, to all YDP members, thank you very much for
your participation at our events during the year, and well
done to all prizewinners. To all those who were down the
line, your turn will come very soon, so keep it up.
●
To the families who came out to support you, thanks to
you, we really appreciate your support.
●
To our President, Michael O’Connell, thank you for
your full support throughout the year.
●
To the members of the Irish Angus Council, thanks for
your continued support and ideas and assistance in every
way with the Youth Development Programme.
●
To Patsy and Breeda, a special thanks to you both for all
the hard work you have put into making the year a
success. Your input is very much appreciated.
●
To Cathy Farrell, for all your help and assistance with
the paperwork at our YDP events – thanks Cathy.
●
Thanks to FBD and Irish Angus Cattle Society for their
generous sponsorship during the year.
●
Finally, to my fellow YDP Executive members – Cathal
McCormack, John Farrell, Michael and Oliver Flanagan
and John Appelbe: thanks to all of you for your
outstanding work at all the events throughout the year;
and thanks, Michael, for your fantastic PR skills.
YDP CLASSES AT MORE SHOWS
Our aim is to increase the number of shows that can facilitate a
YDP class. For next year we would like to see eight to ten shows
putting on a YDP class.
We want to encourage the youth to breed and show Angus
cattle and it is very important that we have an outlet for them to
show their animals in their own class.
PROMOTING YDP THROUGH THE
IRISH SHOWS ASSOCIATION
Speaking to Mr John O’Hara, President of the Irish Shows
Association, he has given a firm commitment that he will
promote youth development through his organisation. He was
very impressed with the numbers of Irish Angus YDP members
who participated at shows throughout the year. John presented
YDP show prizes to our members at several shows during the
year even where there were no YDP classes and he has spoken
very highly of our Youth Development Programme. So we look
forward to meeting with the association in 2011 to discuss this
area further.
Go raibh maith agat.
REGIONAL WORKSHOPS
Jim Dockery
We will continue with our regional workshops. The workshops
are very popular and that is where a lot of the learning is taking
place. Young people love to take part in practical activities and we
use the workshops to continue this method of training.
YDP Executive
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