Droimeann bull joins Hooves4Hospice Herd

The latest addition to the Hooves4Hospice herd is a special young animal. He is a member of one of Ireland’s oldest breeds of cattle, one that was endangered as recently as the turn of the century.

The stronghold of his breed is in the south of the kingdom of Kerry. At school, we all encountered the poem ‘An Dromfhionn Donn Dilis’, which in English is the ‘The Faithfull Brown Droimeann’.

In the 1980s, a long lived Droimeann cow, affectionately known as ‘Big Bertha’, enjoyed bovine celebrity status. Otherwise, the breed is not one that many are familiar with.

That is changing though. With a view to saving the breed from extinction, a number of breeders and enthusiasts began to meet up and with the assistance of the Dept of Agriculture, Weatherbys, the ICBF and Teagasc, good progress is being made.

There is now a well organised, active Droimeann Cattle Breeders Society.

The Droimeann Bull donated to h4h was born in February 2019. He is 94% pure (no grain, no doses, no chemicals and outwintered).

A condition of sale is that the bull is kept for breeding purposes for 12 months.

Further information can be viewed on the www.h4h.midlandhospice.ie website.