I’ve been farming Hereford beef on my farm on the Offaly/Laois border with my uncle Joe and cousin Jesse for many years.
Herefords are part of our family heritage, my grandparents got their first two pedigree Heifers as a wedding present.
Those two cows were the foundation heifers of the Ballyaville herd, and today almost all of the bloodline on our farm can be traced back to it.
My late father, Robert, was one of the founding members of the Irish Hereford producers group that was started in 1997, and I have followed in his footsteps. I am currently a member of the council of the Irish Hereford Breed Society and I sit on their breed improvement committee. I am also a director on the board of Animal Health Ireland (AHI) and I work with them to benefit both livestock producers and processors, by providing the knowledge, education and coordination required to establish effective control programmes for non-regulated diseases of livestock.
I honed my skills with a degree in Agriculture at UCD. I made lots of lifelong friends and great contacts during my years at college and it made me realise the benefits of farming with others and how it can really enhance a farm.
My family own an artisan food shop in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, called Hereford and More. I run it, along with my mother Margaret. We sell Irish Hereford Prime beef and other local food products. We find that local people are very loyal supporters of our shop because of the consistent taste and quality of the beef that we sell to them, they know with confidence that they are not going to be disappointed when they cook for themselves or for a special occasion.
Having grown up on a farm, I was well versed in the way things worked from a young age…
Between the farm, the shop, and my family (young son, Arthur and wife Alison), I don’t have much free time, but what little I do have is spent watching rugby. I captained and played for Tullamore RFC in the All-Ireland for many years, and since retiring from playing I have taken on a roll with the development committee in the club at both a senior and an underage level.
When I’m at home I love nothing more than to sit down to a dinner of Irish Hereford ribeye steak, I think the ribeye is the cut where the Hereford flavour really comes to the fore. It’s tender and juicy and when cooked right, it’s the most delicious thing on earth.
