New Quay man makes the cut in Kilkenny

It is a long story. How could it be anything else when the chairman of a Kilkenny hurling club, a Clare man, not even a farmer, is organising an international sheep shearing competition.

Micheál Nolan, a native of New Quay, who has been living in The Marble City for the past 10 years, is hoping that Clare’s sheep farmers, shearers and breeders will make their way to Kilkenny later this summer for the Clik Pour On All-Ireland and International Sheep Shearing and Wool Handling Championships as part of Ireland’s biggest sheep and wool festival.
The New Quay man is chairman of the voluntary organising committee and among those critical to the success of the event.
“I am from a farming background but we never had sheep,” Micheál admits.
“My father had a small farm in New Quay. We did a bit of everything there, we did a bit of dairy with 20 cows, some dry stock and some tillage. We had potatoes and barley. Ballyvaughan and NewQuay are good for tillage, they have great soil and drainage,” he adds.
Micheál is the son of the late Jimmy and Nora Nolan.
“When I was in North Clare I was working, coaching Gaelic games in Galway. I changed jobs then and worked for BOC gases, but then I got a job in Carlow so I moved here,” Micheál explains.
That was 10 years ago and in the intervening years he has proven his mettle in the Marble county and now finds himself chairman of Clara GAA Club.
“The Irish Sheep Shearing Association gives the event to a club every year and I am chairman of the hurling club here, Clara, and we applied for it. Portlaoise had it last year and Burt had it in previous years and basically it is a fundraiser for the club. That is the sheep-shearing side of things, then we added on a lot of other events ourselves.
“Normally, it has family activities but we have tried to include as many sheep-shearing and breeders competitions as possible and a craft and food fair. We are really trying to promote it and are talking to the hotels and restaurants here, asking them to put on a special lamb dish for that weekend. We are trying to get people from all over the country and the sheep sector to come along,” Micheál outlines.
The 2011 Sheep and Wool Festival on June 4 and 5 in the Cillín Hill Exhibition Centre on the edge of Kilkenny city will draw competitors and spectators from all over Ireland and the UK and as far away as Australia, New Zealand and mainland Europe. Because Kilkenny will be full with Cat Laughs Comedy Festival revellers, other surrounding counties will benefit significantly from the event.
“It’s going to be one of the biggest sheep, wool and cultural festivals ever staged in Ireland,” Mícheál promises.
“Our festival coincides with the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival and the two events will be mutually beneficial to the entire region,” he says.
Micheál believes the two events will bring more than 10,000 visitors to Kilkenny and the surrounding region on the June Bank Holiday Weekend and will be a massive revenue spinner in tourism terms for the entire South-East region and surrounding counties.
“Together, they add to the buzz, excitement and festival ambiance in Kilkenny and we expect that surrounding counties such as Carlow, Wexford, Waterford, Laois, Tipperary and Kildare will get a significant bounce in terms of revenue spend, hotel and restaurant bookings, bed nights and increased visitor numbers,” he adds.
Plans are also afoot to host a Young Sheep Farmer Competition and the National Sheep Breeders Association has confirmed that a number of breed societies will host their All-Ireland Championships at the event.
The two-day festival will also be a major showcase event for trade, craft and food exhibitors in the region as the organisers are offering exhibition space at very affordable rates. The focus will be on helping craft exhibitors and indigenous, artisan producers showcase their goods, without spending a fortune.
Given that 2011 is the Year of Craft and Kilkenny is home to the Crafts Council of Ireland and a renowned gourmet hub, craft and food exhibitors from Clare and right across Ireland are expected to avail of the opportunity to showcase their products and services. They can book their slot now on www.sheeepshearing2011.ie.
Speaking at the launch of details of the event, IFA president John Bryan said, “The Sheep Shearing Championship is a key event and will attract farmers from all over the country.
“Higher lamb prices and additional direct payments have helped restore confidence to the sheep sector. It is essential that the strong lamb prices in 2010 are continued into 2011.”
Micheál is looking forward to the event but is hoping a good number of people will attend from his home county and enjoy the competitions and the experience.
“Clare would have a sheep-farming culture, indeed all along the west coast it would be big. We are hoping that people will travel down here for the weekend, it will be of interest to everyone in farming, in agri-business and so on and also there will be 150 trade stands so there is something for everyone,” he concludes.