Roscommon’s ace shepherds are ‘shear’ perfection

Two South Roscommon boys are well ahead of the herd, winning numerous shepherding rosettes between them.

It certainly has been a very busy year for Oisín Hogan, aged 11, and William Murray, aged 10, who are both from Taughmaconnell and are students at Castlesampson NS.

In July, at the Ossory Agricultural Show, the two boys were among the eight finalists in the FBD All-Ireland Young Shepherd and Shepherdess Competition in County Laois, with Oisín winning the competition, and William taking the bronze with a brilliant performance.

Oisín, who is in Fifth Class at the school and is one of the youngest members of the Irish Dutch Spotted Sheep Society, went on to win the junior section of the Young Shepherds’ competition at the Tullamore Show, an incredible achievement. There he was interviewed by the Irish Farmers Journal and FBD Insurance but took it all in his stride. Closer to home, he also won the rosette at the Roscommon Agricultural Show.

“I was at the Roscommon Show, and I came first in the Young Handlers class,” Oisín, who is also a member of Pádraig Pearses GAA Club and Skyvalley Rovers FC, said.

“When I am older, I would like to get into the farming and keep a bit of sheep and cattle maybe,” Oisín told the Herald last week. He explained that when shepherding, it’s all about doing his best to keep the sheep together “and keep them moving up”.

“The day before a show, you give the sheep a light wash. Then you could get your shears and trim their backs to make their backs flat. You also fluff their legs up to see how wide you can make them,” he said. “You’d put a bit of baby oil to shine the black on their face and take any straw or hay off them. And maybe give them a brush on the chest.” The youngest child of Caroline and Aidan, Oisín has one brother and sister, Killian and Ava. For him, he has always loved working with animals and being a shepherd, especially helping his granddad Joe with his sheep. Oisín is also certainly getting a great start on his future career, as he has 30 cross breeding ewes, around 40 lambs, four pedigree Dutch Spotted ewes, and two ram lambs.

During the shows, the boys, who were full of chat to the Herald, have to be observed by the judges as they prepare their sheep for the competitions. They also have to answer questions from the judges about their animals. As well as attending different shows, the pair also often meet each other at marts where they discuss the animals and their shared interests.

For William, his family has always had a love of sheep, he explained “I got into it through my father. I started showing at the same time as Oisín two years ago,” he said, adding that he has Zwartble breed sheep, which he enjoys working with.

“We have 140 commercial sheep as well,” he said. “I love working with sheep and cattle. They are easy to manage, and it pays off to work with them.” William, who is the son of George and Christina, plays hurling and football with Pearses and is in fourth class. After his success at Ossory, he took a break from shows this summer, travelling with his family across the globe to Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand, where farms are so big they use helicopters for herding.

“When I was in New Zealand, I actually stayed on a sheep farm. There were 3,000 sheep there. The journey was long and they do sheep farming very differently to what we do,” he said.

So did he get a chance to do any shepherding? “Yeah I was holding a sign on the road,” he said with a laugh.

School principal Michelle Kelly said the entire local community was so proud of the two boys' many achievements.