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Peter Casey of Lisnalurg: A Small Sligo Herd and Hall of Fame Awards in Three Breeds

With no family land and about ten breeding females, a Sligo breeder supplied bulls to AI stations and collected awards in Charolais, Angus and Hereford.

Who Is Peter Casey?

Peter Casey is a pedigree cattle breeder from Lisnalurg in County Sligo, in the northwest of Ireland. A retired ambulance driver, he began with no land, and over several decades he built a reputation far larger than his herd. This profile rests on one detailed interview, published in the Irish Independent's farming section in July 2018 and available through the Irish Independent profile on PressReader. It is limited to his public record as a breeder.

His story is unusual because pedigree breeding is often associated with big herds and big acreage. Casey did it with a handful of cows.

Starting With Six Rented Acres

Casey started out renting six acres in Sligo. In November 1969 he bought a pedigree Hereford heifer, Spacot Hazel, for 135 pounds. From that purchase he kept building the Lisnalurg herd, first in Herefords, then with Limousin, then Angus and Charolais. He dropped the Limousin because they were harder to handle.

Today, as reported in 2018, the herd stood at about 10 breeding females on 40 acres, split across Angus, Charolais and Hereford. The article calls it one of the smallest pedigree herds on the breed registers.

Bulls for the AI Stations

The record that sets Casey apart is commercial as well as competitive. He bred 14 pedigree bulls that were bought by artificial insemination stations, including the stations at Sligo and Dovea. A Hereford, Lisnalurg Bullfincha, sold for 650 guineas after winning first prize at the Royal Dublin Society show.

His bulls also did well in testing. The 2018 newspaper interview says they were breed leaders at the Department of Agriculture's Progeny Testing Centre at Tully, County Kildare, in each breed he kept, and he had the top Limousin there twice.

Show Rings and Hall of Fame Awards

In the ring, Casey's tally is long for a small herd. The article reports 15 champion-championship titles in one breed and 13 Angus tankards, despite never keeping more than two Angus cows. He has judged at more than 100 agricultural shows.

The article also reports, as set out in his Irish Independent write-up, Hall of Fame awards in three breeds. The Charolais award came in 2013, the Angus award about three years before the article appeared, and the Hereford award most recently, at the Athlone Sheraton. He was the first in Ireland to win three Hall of Fame awards, according to the article, which does not name the body that presented them.

The Key to Casey's Success

Casey's own account is modest. He says he learned as he went along, and the documented pattern behind his results is careful, repeated selection with very few animals.

There are limits to the record. It rests on a single published interview, and the herd figures are from 2018, so this should be read as a snapshot and not as the full history of Lisnalurg.

  • He started small and kept the herd small, about 10 breeding females on 40 acres, so each animal mattered.
  • He chose breeds on handling as well as looks: he calls Herefords quiet, Charolais harder but great, and dropped Limousin as harder to manage.
  • He tested his bulls independently at the Tully centre and led the breed in each one he kept.
  • He sold to AI stations, which meant his bulls were judged on how they would improve other herds.
  • He kept showing year after year, collecting championships along the way.

Learn More

Readers who want a wider view of beef breeding and breed shows can visit the ranching section of farm.FM, or read a farm.FM story about pedigree cattle breeding. Because only one source was available for this profile, the entry is marked as thin.

Timeline

  1. 1969Buys Hereford heifer Spacot Hazel in November for 135 pounds
  2. 2013Wins a Charolais Hall of Fame award
  3. About 2015Wins an Angus Hall of Fame award, per the 2018 article
  4. 2017Wins the Hereford award, most recently as of the article
  5. 2018Profiled in the Irish Independent farming section

Frequently asked questions

Who is Peter Casey of Lisnalurg?

Peter Casey is a pedigree cattle breeder from Lisnalurg, County Sligo, Ireland, known for breeding bulls for AI stations from a very small herd and for winning Hall of Fame awards in three breeds.

How many bulls did Peter Casey supply to AI stations?

The Irish Independent reported in 2018 that Casey had bred 14 pedigree bulls bought by artificial insemination stations, including the stations at Sligo and Dovea.

What breeds does Peter Casey keep?

He started with Herefords and added Limousin, Angus and Charolais. He dropped the Limousin as harder to handle. In 2018 his herd was Angus, Charolais and Hereford.

How big is the Lisnalurg herd?

As reported in 2018, about 10 breeding females on 40 acres, described as one of the smallest pedigree herds on the breed registers.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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