Lisnolan George, a 12-month-old homebred bull owned by Sean Hyland and family of Castlebar, Co. Mayo set a new Irish Moiled breed record when he was knocked down at €5,900.
The final bid of €5,900 came from new Irish Moiled breeder Dermot Burke of Galloney Farm, Co. Derry who also purchased five female lots in the sale which included the three highest priced females, a fantastic foundation laid for the future of the Galloney herd of pedigree Irish Moilies.
Sean Hyland, who had one entry in the sale, is a well-known Irish Moiled breeder who established his herd of Lisnolan Irish Moiled cattle in 2016, on the family farm in Co. Mayo. Sean is very passionate in breeding several different native Irish breeds of farm animals, helping with the conservation and protection of some of Ireland’s wonderful indigenous farm animals, he is very committed and keen to support Irish rare breeds.
Alongside his farm enterprise Sean runs an artificial insemination and bovine scanning business. Sean finds that the Irish Moilies work particularly well for him because of their low input and little labour requirements as well as being easily handled. He plans to explore and increase his Irish Moiled numbers, through using the best Irish Moiled genetics he can get his hands on to continue to improve his herd and ultimately the Irish Moiled breed.
Sean and his two daughters Aine and Shannon have been showing Irish Moilies for the last three years. In 2026, notably in the Centenary year of the Irish Moiled herdbook, the family pulled out all the stops to show off their cattle and Lisnolan George was part of their small show team of cattle that attended an incredible total of ten shows, commencing in April at the Future Stars Of The Show Ring event held at Tullamore, before attending agricultural shows throughout the year such as Riverstown Show, Ballinamore Show, Finn Valley Show, Tullamore Show, Bonniconlon Show, Ennis Show, Glenamaddy Show and Ballinasloe Show, taking home an array of cups, rosettes and prize money.
One memorable occasion in 2026 was when Lisnolan George was crowned the ROI national show Irish Moiled male champion at Tullamore.
Little did Sean think when entering Lisnolan George into the online sale, that he would be the highest priced animal of the sale, let alone break the breed record price. They as a family are ‘still taking it in’ but are extremely proud as they think a lot of George and it will be bittersweet when the bull goes to his new home. They are delighted to hear he will be joining a pedigree herd of Irish Moiled cattle and look forward to hearing about his next chapter.
The dam of Lisnolan George is a powerful heavy weight beef type Irish Moilie cow who has produced several stock bulls, she clicked exceptionally well with the sire of George, the A.I bull ‘Ravelglen Owney’, who’s straws are no longer available in the Republic of Ireland, so quite possibly Lisnolan George could be one of the last sons of Ravelglen Owney to be born in the Republic of Ireland.
As mentioned before, buyer Dermot Burke of Galloney Farm, Co. Derry also purchased the three highest priced females of the sale. The highest priced female and one of the second joint highest priced females in the sale were for a pair of stylish 16-month-old twin maiden heifers that were consigned by N & M Moilies (Nigel Edwards and Michelle McCauley) bred by William Edwards of Tempo, Fermanagh – Ballyreagh Ruby 6831 sold for £3,450 and her twin Ballyreagh Ruby 6832 sold for £3,050.
It was an exceptional sale for N & M Moilies when another consignment, their cow and young bull calf outfit Curraghnakeely Bluebell 0618 bred by Nigel Edwards of Tempo, Co. Fermanagh took the 5th top price of the sale of £2,800 selling to Penny Hutchinson of Downpatrick.
The last of N & M Moilies’ four entries and the last entry in the sale was the young 8-month-old weanling bull calf which caught the eye of many breeders. Ballyreagh Ralph bred by William Edwards, took second highest male price of the sale of £2,350 selling to buyer Jimmy Gilheany of Co. Leitrim who has repeatedly purchased stock in previous sales.
The other second joint top priced female that was purchased by Dermot Burke for £3,050 was owned by Aubrey McAlister of Newtownbutler, Co. Fermanagh for his eye-catching homebred, strong grass reared in calf heifer - Drummully Annebelle. This was Aubrey’s first time to sell in the Society sale, who started his herd from stock bought in previous sales, had a tremendously successful sale also secured £2,050 for another quality homebred heifer Drummully Juliet, also bought by Dermot Burke.
Another breeder who’s first time entering and selling in the Society Online Sale was Cian Elliott from Birdwood, Gloucestershire, when his lovely marked homebred heifer Birdwood Rosie sold for £2,400 to Ian Parker of Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Another Irish Moiled breeder who took home some of the top prices in the online sale was Brian O’Kane of Martinstown, Co. Antrim who sold Beauty Hill Miltown, bred by Albert Baxter of Newtownstewart, Co. Tyrone. A strong first calver in calf to Woodbine Casper went on to sell for £2,050 to Gareth Wright of Carnlough, Co. Antrim. Brian also sold a maiden heifer from one of his favourite cow families, Ravelglen Ramona 3 934, who sold for £2,050 to Niall Edwards of Greyabbey, Co. Down.
The trade for pedigree Irish Moiled cattle remains strong with almost a complete clearance and averages showing a marked lift on the 2025 autumn online sale.
The Irish Moiled Cattle Society would like to thank Ballyjamesduff Mart for all their help and support, the Irish Moiled breeders who entered some superb Irish Moileds from all three constituencies, thank you to all the buyers and underbidders in the sale, the team behind the scenes for all their hard work, with special thanks to Irish Moiled Cattle Society director Caroline Maxwell who oversaw the whole sale from start to finish.
9. 2. Ballyreagh Ruby 6831 from N&M Moilies (NI) made £3,450.jpg
Ballyreagh Ruby 6831 from N&M Moilies (NI) made £3,450 Photo: freelance