500 years of history in Ireland
Brackloon Kerry Cattle
On our farm we have recently begun to build a small herd of pedigree Kerry Cattle, one of the oldest breeds of native Irish cattle. Our first arrivals, Decca and Lillian, came from an organic farm in County Clare where they were born and reared and settled comfortably in to life at Brackloon farm over their first winter.
Once these small black cattle were everywhere in Ireland. Now, with only a handful of herds in Ireland and abroad, they are so rare as to be endangered. Valued for the quality of their milk, they are said to produce wonderful succulent beef in small cuts.
Our cattle are fed on our own farm grassland with no artificial fertilizers, pesticides or sprays.
So why Kerry cattle?
These small docile animals are ideally suited to our farm. Grass-fed as nature intended, they produce excellent quality beef and milk. In winter, with their coats grown longer, they are sufficiently hardy to outwinter easily in Ireland’s climate.
Their gentle nature make them a very pleasant animal to handle and their attributes make them a practical choice for us. Also, of course, with an eye to conservation, we see ourselves as playing our part in preserving an important part of Ireland’s rich agricultural heritage.
For much of our past, cattle have been at the centre of Irish life and specifically the Kerry cow. Once these little black cattle were widespread throughout Ireland and grazing in large herds the open limestone grassland plains of east Galway. Gradually replaced as new breeds were introduced from abroad, they survived principally in the wild recesses of County Kerry and from there derived the name by which they are now universally known.
In previous centuries, with a landholders’ wealth defined by the size of his herd and livestock-raiding prevalent between warring families, these cattle were brought within the confines of the castle’s bawn walls at night in times of conflict. Now they quietly graze our nearby fields with only the nuisance of occasional summer flies to intrude upon their peace.