Holstein cow with 'extra ring presence' carries the day at Clogher Valley Show
The Inter-Breed Dairy Championship at Clogher Valley Show was won by an outstanding Holstein fourth calver, owned jointly by the Willis and Booth families.
But she didn't have it all her own way.
Andrea Rafferty, from Co. Monaghan, judged the dairy classes at Clogher. She described her champion as a tremendous example of the Holstein breed, adding:
'The quality of all the dairy stock competing in all the classes was exceptional. But at the end of the day, the champion had that little bit of extra ring presence.
The Beef Inter-Breed Championship was won by the elite Limousin cow, Deerpark Shakira with the Simmental Champion, Ballinalare Farm Nikita taking home the reserve inter-breed accolade.
It has been confirmed that both young cows are now back in calf, so watch this space in 2026.
The Commercial Beef Championship at Clogher was won by Robert Miller with his very special young heifer, Baby Spice.
And it really is a case of success building on success. Clogher was the heifer's sixth show championship of the year.
An undoubted highlight of this year's Clogher Valley Show was the event's hosting of the Northern Ireland Shows Association's (NISA's) Sheep Young Handler of the Year Final.
It is a competition that has seen the next generation of pedigree sheep breeders turn out in very large numbers at qualifying shows, held across Northern Ireland over the past three months.
But, at the end of the day, it was all down to the 24 enthusiasts who turned out for this year's championship class in the hope and expectation of catching the judge's eye.
Jean McCollam, from Nutts Corner in Co. Antrim, was given the responsibility of selecting her champion.
At the end of a long deliberation, which included an in-depth conversation with each of the finalists, she tapped out Jake Piggott, from Killinchy in Co. Down as the 'young handler of the year'. He exhibited a Zwartble shearling ewe.
But it was a close run thing, as Jean explained.
She said: "It was great to see so many competing in the class. And this is a trend that has been replicated at all the shows this year.
"We need to see lots of young people coming through - they are the future of sheep breeding in Northern Ireland."
The Texel breeder also confirmed the overall quality of the sheep competing at Clogher Valley 2025.
She explained: "Better breeding and better nutrition are ensuring that sheep sizes are increasing. This is particularly important when it comes to selling pedigree breeding stock."
Sheep numbers were up by an estimated 25% at this year's Clogher Valley Show.
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The 42
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'I lived out in the sticks in Athenry. Two donkeys outside, free potatoes'
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'I'd train all day with the lads in Galway but by the time I got to 3 o'clock, I was ready for some quiet time.' Nowadays, back row Booth and his girlfriend, Lucy, are living in the hustle and bustle of Bondi Beach, one of the busiest suburbs you could find. He sometimes misses the peace of Athenry, the greenery of Ireland, and its people, but rugby and life in Sydney are good. Easts, the defending champions, are sitting clear at the top of the Shute Shield with one more round to go until the play-offs. They'll be hard to dethrone. Booth reckons those years in Galway were the best of his life so far. He won five senior caps for the province and loved learning from coaches like Mossy Lawler, Cullie Tucker, and Eric Elwood. Booth is a native of Manchester and initially came through the academy with Sale Sharks, but he has Irish blood from his dad's side of the family. Booth's granny is from Ballinasloe in County Galway and his granddad hails from Strandhill in Sligo. Booth's parents have a house in Strandhill, so they would visit three or four times a year when Ciaran was growing up. Back then, Flybe used to fly direct from Manchester to Strandhill. Booth played for Connacht five times. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO So as Booth was making his way in Sale, he came onto the radar of the Irish Exiles, although he nearly missed his chance when Wayne Mitchell, the Exiles' talent ID officer at the time, came to watch him play. 'Wayne came to one of my Sale games and I didn't know who he was,' recalls Booth with a laugh. 'He was like, 'How are you doing? Good to see you.' I just said, 'Good, cheers, see you later' and walked off. 'Thankfully, he got my number and called me a few days later!' Advertisement Booth had been focused on playing for England, but he missed out on their U18s to his bitter disappointment, just before the Irish door opened. Given his roots, it made sense and he was soon playing for the Ireland U18s. He jumped swiftly to the U19 side and then got a late call-up to Noel McNamara's Ireland U20 squad for the World Cup in 2019, despite still being a year young, after Scott Penny was ruled out injured. Things were suddenly accelerating for Booth as he joined the likes of Craig Casey, Ryan Baird, and Thomas Clarkson at the tournament in Argentina. He came off the bench in a win over England. 'That was like childhood trauma cured,' says Booth. 'That was a massive release, a very special moment.' David Nucifora, the IRFU's performance director at the time, spoke to Booth about a potential move to one of the Irish provinces. And then, the next day against Italy, Booth started at openside. He jackaled at an early breakdown. Disaster struck. Anyone who saw Booth's horrific knee injury at the time can probably still remember it. The first Italian player tried to croc roll him and fell to Booth's left, dragging at him as he fought to stay on his feet. 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He needed two operations, including an allograft for his PCL, which involves using a dead person's ankle ligament as a replacement. It took Booth 18 months, or 547 days, to make his return and it came for the Connacht Eagles against Leinster A. Nucifora and the IRFU kept faith in Booth after his injury and there was a chance he could have moved to Ulster, but Connacht was the right fit. 'Once you get back, you're like, 'Shit, I've got to get good again,'' says Booth. He raves about his time in Connacht, where he spent two seasons with the academy and then moved onto a senior deal for the 2022/23 season, during which he played twice in the URC and three times in the Challenge Cup. 'Just the smallest details were all they cared about when I was in the academy,' says Booth. 'It wasn't about the big picture. 'Andy Murphy, one of the S&C coaches at Connacht, always used to say, 'I'm not training you to be the best rugby player this weekend when you play in AIL. 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'Now, I just want to play professional rugby. I'm at the point now where if I don't play for Ireland, which was always the goal, but if that doesn't happen, I'll live. 'You never know, there's people that come back at 30 and get back in, shit happens, but now I just want to play professional rugby at the highest standard I can.' Whatever comes next, it seems unlikely to be boring. Ciaran does things differently.
Agriland
4 days ago
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Holstein cow with 'extra ring presence' carries the day at Clogher Valley Show
NISA Sheep Young Handler of the Year Final proves highlight of the show. The Inter-Breed Dairy Championship at Clogher Valley Show was won by an outstanding Holstein fourth calver, owned jointly by the Willis and Booth families. But she didn't have it all her own way. Andrea Rafferty, from Co. Monaghan, judged the dairy classes at Clogher. She described her champion as a tremendous example of the Holstein breed, adding: 'The quality of all the dairy stock competing in all the classes was exceptional. But at the end of the day, the champion had that little bit of extra ring presence. The Beef Inter-Breed Championship was won by the elite Limousin cow, Deerpark Shakira with the Simmental Champion, Ballinalare Farm Nikita taking home the reserve inter-breed accolade. It has been confirmed that both young cows are now back in calf, so watch this space in 2026. The Commercial Beef Championship at Clogher was won by Robert Miller with his very special young heifer, Baby Spice. And it really is a case of success building on success. Clogher was the heifer's sixth show championship of the year. An undoubted highlight of this year's Clogher Valley Show was the event's hosting of the Northern Ireland Shows Association's (NISA's) Sheep Young Handler of the Year Final. It is a competition that has seen the next generation of pedigree sheep breeders turn out in very large numbers at qualifying shows, held across Northern Ireland over the past three months. But, at the end of the day, it was all down to the 24 enthusiasts who turned out for this year's championship class in the hope and expectation of catching the judge's eye. Jean McCollam, from Nutts Corner in Co. Antrim, was given the responsibility of selecting her champion. At the end of a long deliberation, which included an in-depth conversation with each of the finalists, she tapped out Jake Piggott, from Killinchy in Co. Down as the 'young handler of the year'. He exhibited a Zwartble shearling ewe. But it was a close run thing, as Jean explained. She said: "It was great to see so many competing in the class. And this is a trend that has been replicated at all the shows this year. "We need to see lots of young people coming through - they are the future of sheep breeding in Northern Ireland." The Texel breeder also confirmed the overall quality of the sheep competing at Clogher Valley 2025. She explained: "Better breeding and better nutrition are ensuring that sheep sizes are increasing. This is particularly important when it comes to selling pedigree breeding stock." Sheep numbers were up by an estimated 25% at this year's Clogher Valley Show.
The Irish Sun
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