calves they obviously milk very well. Gerald has developed an amazing market for his calves as they are usually all sold before weaning. When we arrived, he told us that the bull calves were all sold, and there were only four heifer calves left to be sold. Before we left t h a t d a y , Tommy A group of young heifers at Gerald McGann’s.
Staunton had purchased the remaining four heifers. The uniformity was actually quite incredible as there was very little difference between any of the calves. Gerald told us, with a smile on his face, that when he sells an animal, all the money goes into his pocket. Basically, there are no other expenses for feed and supplements to pay for. Both Tommy and I agreed after we left Gerald’s place, that we all could learn a lot from the way his cows look after themselves with little additional management. Our next stop was to see John Keane’s Bushy Park herd at Ennis in County Clare. The Bushy Park farm has only had Shorthorn cattle on it for many generations. This reputation herd was full of big framed, thick made, deep sided cows that also had exceptional udders on them. There were some females in this herd that literally stopped me in my tracks and I am glad I was able to see them. John took over the herd in 1995, and since then has produced many show winners and sale topping animals. We could have stayed longer at Bushy Park, but we needed to leave if we were going to see as much as possible in a short period of time. The day was getting short but we made a quick stop at Val Flathery’s Tierlaheen herd. This is another traditional Shorthorn herd, and the cattle were very similar to the ones we saw at Gerald McGann’s. Val is quite elderly now and his nephew manages the herd. In Ireland, the traditional Shorthorns are registered in the Dairy Shorthorn herd book, but they are not what I would consider to be dairy animals of any kind. The number of traditional Shorthorn herds has become very limited, and these breeders both mentioned that it was becoming quite difficult to find outcross sires to use in their herds.
was happening, we had pulled into a small tavern. The steaks on the menu were listed as “Shorthorn steaks” and I found out that the tavern owner raised the Shorthorn cattle A typical Bushypark female. that produced the steaks he served. When the meal arrived it was meal fit for a king, and the steak was one of the best I have ever had. It was a truly memorable experience! Tommy dropped me off for the night at a local hotel, and the next morning we went to Caramba to see his herd. He has built a A part of the Caramba herd on pasture. beautiful farm and the Shorthorns we saw are definitely world class. I was very impressed with the quality of the Shorthorns Tommy has developed since he started his herd in 2011. His senior herd sire is Carrarock Chalkie 1E and he is a massive bull sired by Alta Cedar Perfect Storm 11U. Chalkie is truly a most impressive beef bull and he is breeding extremely well. By the sons I saw in Carrarock Chalkie - herd sire at use in England, this bull Caramba at 9 years of age. is leaving a real positive mark on the breed. Also in use at Caramba was a massive white bull named Bushy Park Ultra 1E. Ultra was also most impressive and has been a many times champion throughout Ireland. He is a grandson of Eionmor Ultra 8C and he combines Canadian, Deerpark and traditional Irish bloodlines. Bushypark Ultra 1E - another herd sire at Caramba. A daughter of HC Free Spirit 6Y in Tommy Staunton’s Caramba herd.
Bushypark cows on pasture.
The day was almost over and as we were driving back towards Kinvara, where I was staying for the night, Tommy asked me if I would like to have a Shorthorn steak. I told him that this sounded very good and before I knew what The Canadian SHORTHORN REPORT - Fall 2019
Tommy Staunton with one of the Caramba brood cows. They were all this quiet!
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