Alan O’Brien is a commercial suckler farmer from Piltown, Co. Kilkenny, where he runs a herd of 100 suckler cows on approximately 150 acres. Alan began his farming journey with a herd of mixed continental cows. Looking to improve his herd, he purchased a Saler bull from John Burke, Co. Clare. Retaining a number of Salers heifers as replacements, the breed soon became the foundation of his female herd.

Having admired Beef Shorthorns for a number of years, Alan eventually decided to introduce the breed by purchasing a white Beef Shorthorn bull to run with a selection of his Salers heifers. With the help of his friend, Pat O’Flaherty, he sourced a young bull from the Ardnaskea Herd in Inagh, Co. Clare. Ardnaskea North Pole is a powerful white bull, born in 2020 and bred by Pat Hehir. He is sired by Bushypark Jumbo and out of a Sprys Patents Ace sired dam. (A video of Ardnaskea North Pole can be seen on the Irish Shorthorn Society Facebook page).

“He is a lovely bull and I still have him. He is an absolutely phenomenal bull and unbelievably quiet—you can do anything with him.”

When asked why he chose Beef Shorthorns, Alan recalls attending a friend’s wedding in Miltown Malbay several years back. “The following day I was out for a walk, and I saw a lovely herd of Shorthorns. I said to myself, ‘They are some cattle.’ They always caught my eye.”

Another key reason for choosing the breed was their temperament. Although he receives help from his nephew and his partner, Georgina, Alan often works on his own. “I needed something that was easy to handle and easy calved. They are really good-natured animals, and that’s important.”

 

Today, Alan has 45 replacement heifers, the majority of which are Beef Shorthorn-cross females out of Salers dams. “It’s an unbelievable cross. If I wasn’t satisfied with them, I wouldn’t have them. They would be gone out the door.” Alan calves approximately 45 females during March and April, with the remainder calving in June and July. His bullocks are sold to Coolmore Stud at around 12 months of age. “The bullocks average 387kg at 12 months old”.

 

“They are the best cattle on the market; they are far superior, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Liveweight gain, docility—they’re kind cattle. They’re hardy, and the calves are up sucking within minutes. They are just so hardy.”

 

Looking ahead, Alan plans to continue using Beef Shorthorn genetics in his herd, and he hopes to purchase another Beef Shorthorn bull in the near future, but he will have to be “an exceptional young bull with power, length, style and easily fleshed”. He notes that in many breeds, too many inferior bulls are being registered and this needs to change. He would also like to see Society’s searching for outcross genetics to widen the gene pool.

Alan currently has a number of both in calf and maiden SHX heifers for sale. Please message us on the Irish Shorthorn Society facebook page for contact details. We thank Alan for his time, and we look forward to following his herd’s progress.

By Áine O’Donovan Nicholson, July ’26