Temperament and ease of lambing makes the Swaledale a popular choice for NI farmers

John Blaney farms Glenann Mountain in the Glens of Antrim and has been involved with the breed since the late 70s.

Glenann comprises approximately 600 acres, ranging from 800 feet to 1,800 feet above sea-level, made up of rough moorland grazing, moorland wet heath and blanket bog.

“From the hill, we look across the sea to Scotland and see Sanda and South-end on Kintyre most days,” John explained.

“We have had Swaledales since 1976. At that time, sheep were mainly found on the uplands and the predominant breeds were the Perth type Blackface ewe generally bred pure and, if crossed, a Border Leicester ram was used.

“As all sheep farmers know, every sheep breed goes through different fads and back, then the 'in thing' was a blackfaced ram with a jet-black face.

“Sadly, the rest of the sheep behind the head did not seem to matter so much and there was a definite loss of size.”

John's brother and a neighbour travelled to Scotland and the north of England to find a blackfaced sheep with a bit more size and bought some Swaledale ram lambs and imported them.

“With the blackface ewe and the Swaledale ram you got a taller lengthy lamb,” John added.

“The real bonus was with the female offspring the Swaledale X Blackface ewe.

“We found she was more prolific, easy lambed and very protective of her newly born lambs.

“She stayed with the lamb when you approached and followed if you had reason to pick up the lamb.”

Currently, John runs 240 purebred Swale ewes and 60 mule and Dorset X mule commercial ewes put back to a Dorset ram.

The 160 ewes displaying the better characteristics of the Swaledale breed are put with Swaledale rams all imported from England, while the remaining 80 ewes are put to Bluefaced Leicester rams to produce North of England Mules.

John continued: “The main benefits of the Swaledale ewe is her ability to graze the poorer quality land, her temperament, ease of lambing, fertility and prolificacy.

“I look for a sheep with a reasonably short coat, good conformation, distinct colours, by that I mean black is black and white is white not grey, hard hair on the face and if possible on the legs, a good broad nose and reasonable white colour on the nose and around the eyes and a fairly good shoulder.

“I prefer wider horns, but the fad in recent years has been for tighter horns and lighter colours on the legs, although that is moving back somewhat towards the more traditional Swaledale.

“Like everyone else I am still trying to breed that perfect sheep with all those features.”

Eighteen-year-old Tiernan McSwiggan lives in Swatragh, Co Derry. He is currently in his third year at Greenmount where he is studying for a Level 3 Diploma in Agriculture.

Tiernan's family own a hill farm in Cranagh, Co Tyrone, which was purchased by his grandfather, Peter McSwiggan, in 1968 - over the phone from his then home in Canada. Peter then returned home to farm it.

“My grandfather, who died in 2021, and my father Paul have been my mentors from I have been a young child,” Tiernan said.

“I have watched and learned from both of them.

“We farm horned ewes, Lleyns and Swaledale. We cross the the Blue Leicester with horn ewes to produce mules.”

Tiernan has been breeding Swaledales since he was just 13 years old and now has approximately 60 in total.

He continued: “I enjoy going to shows to show my Swaledales, with the help of my sisters Cleona and Cara, my mother and father.

“My sheep won champion at both Ballymena and Antrim shows this year, and they got placed in the Omagh and Plumbridge shows too.

“What attracted me to the Swaledale sheep is their quiet nature and very intelligent personalities.

“They have great mothering skills and are prone to having multiple births.

“I would encourage people to breed Swalesdales as they are easy to work with, easy lambers that rarely need help with lambing, have great mothering skills and are friendly with an inquisitive nature.”

If you are interested in the breed, the Northern Ireland Swaledale Sheep Breeders Association will be holding a sale on 30 September at Richard Beattie's mart, Gortin.

The show will commence at 10am with the sale getting underway at 12pm.