Save the Goat Group is not Kidding

by

Posted:

Published in the London Times, February 9th, 2019

A conservation group is putting its faith in kids with plans for a €200,000 centre to save the old Irish goat from extinction.

The Old Irish Goat Society, which was formed in 2006, hopes to use four acres of land in Mulranny, Co Mayo to domesticate the old Irish goat. It also wants to develop a visitor centre and a craft workshop where guests can buy goat-themed souvenirs.

The old Irish goat is an indigenous breed that has adapted to the Irish landscape and climate since it arrived an estimated 5,000 years ago. It is has a multicoloured thatch-like coat, short legs and long horns.

While there were 250,000 Irish goats at the start of the last century, fewer than 500 are believed to roam…

Read the whole article at The London Times.

The Old Irish Goat Project

by

Posted:

The old Irish Goat Society

Reporter Tracey May Halloran of The Western People interviews Sean Carolan, Chairman of Mulranny Tidy Towns and member of the Old Irish Goat Society. Filmed on The Great Western Greenway at Mulranny with Bellacragher Bay as a backdrop, cyclists pass by unaware that The Old Irish Goat, that has been part of Ireland’s history for 5,000 years and is part of Ireland’s natural heritage, is grazing on the hills above the bay perilously close to extinction.

Mulranny – last stronghold of the Old Irish Goat?

by

Posted:

Save the Old Irish Goats

Source: The Mayo News | 15/02/2011

AS OLD AS THE HILLS

Weather hardy
The Old Irish Goat is essentially a cold-weather goat that developed rapidly during a period of intense cold and poor nutrition. It is what people think of as the ‘cashmere’ goat. In Asia, it is represented by the Central Asian Pashmina Down goat.

The goat reflects its cold weather origins. It has a compact conformation, with short legs; a long face to warm the air in the nasal passages; a thick coat with under-wool to keep out the extreme cold; small ears to protect against frostbite; and a large belly to accommodate large quantities of nutritionally poor forage.

In danger
The Old Irish Goat has a popular association with the Burren, but sadly the breed is in dire straits there. Mass removal and cross breeding with improved goats, including Anglo Nubian and Swiss dairy goats, has reduced the Old Irish to less than 10 per cent of the population. With those remaining being somewhat aged, their future is bleak. Saving the Burren Old Irish Goat requires enclosure and a major concerted effort. It is unlikely that an Old Irish Goat herd will ever again roam the Burren.

The quest to find a representative herd of Old Irish Goats in Ireland brought Professor Ray Werner to Mulranny in 2011. His journey began 50 years before, at 16 years of age, when he first studied feral goats. He would go on to pioneer the concept of the Northern Breed Group and found the British Feral Research Group. He has worked with the Old Irish Goat Society in the Burren over several years, and published an article on the Old Irish Goat in the Heritage Outlook magazine in summer 2009, seeking information on other herds. He got one response – from Mulranny.

Arriving in Mulranny, last weekend, Ray was immediately struck by the ‘Irishness’ of the Mulranny goats. In comparison to the goats of the Burren, many in the herd had the characteristic small size, long hair, dished forehead, some remarkable oversized quiffs and magnificent horns on the males.

Accompanied by Seán Carolan (Mulranny Environmental Group), Ruth Enright (PHD student at UCC) and Colin Johnston (Old Irish Goat Society), Darragh McCarthy (cameraman) shot high-definition footage of the goats over three days in perfect conditions. The group, promptly christened ‘the Save the Goats Brigade’ by one local resident, were later joined by Joan O’ Sullivan and Enda O’Byrne from the RTÉ Nationwide crew. 

Important discovery
During one of several interviews with local residents, on of the most important scientific discoveries for genetic typing of the Old Irish Goat was made: A local farmer had a stuffed goat’s head dating from 1895 mounted at home! This goat had roamed the Mulranny hills before the arrival of the railway. Both Ruth and Ray were stunned in disbelief; Ray commented that ‘not in his wildest dreams would he have thought it possible’. With only a handful of these artifacts in Ireland, this is probably the most important specimen in the country.
The Old Irish Goats have a long lineage, stretching back beyond the Neolithic Age to the Ice Age, two eras that have left an indelible mark on the Co Mayo landscape, from the Céide Fields to Clew Bay itself. They are literally, as old as the hills. The presence of these goats in reasonable numbers in Mayo is another chapter in the county’s long history as a refuge for declining species. 

Read the full story at The Mayo News.

A Shaggy Goat Story

by

Posted:

Source: The Mayo News | 09/07/2013

Mayo – Mulranny in particular – could now be the last stronghold of the rare, distinctive, gorgeously colourful and undeniably charming Old Irish Goat. The original and only landrace breed of goat in Ireland, its future hangs by a thread. While only individuals now exist in mixed herds elsewhere along the western seaboard, it is thought that the Mulranny hills support a small group of genetically pure animals and therefore hold the key to the breed’s future.   

Many people outside Mulranny are only aware of the existence of these impressive native creatures thanks to the tireless work of the Old Irish Goat Society (OIGS). The OIGS was formed in 2006 by a small group of enthusiasts who realised that the breed was rapidly heading towards extinction, but that its gene pool could be preserved if assertive action were taken. Its main aim, therefore, is to help save these heritage animals, so perilously close to extinction, and to create awareness of their plight.

The idea is not only to preserve the breed in the wild, but to study its benefits to landscape management; define its phenotype and characterise its genotype; work towards gaining official rare breed status, and thus protection; and create a herd book to preserve its existing standard as an unimproved landrace breed rather than turn it into a ‘standard’ breed.

The society also hopes to bring it back into domestication as an ideal smallholder’s goat, pointing out that when kept domestically, the breed could yield up to 200 gallons of milk a year. That’s a lot of goats’ milk.
The Old Irish Goat is smaller than other, ‘improved’ breeds. A cold-weather breed, they also have small ears to reduce the risk of frostbite, a long face to warm the air in the nasal passages and a big belly to accommodate large quantities of nutritionally poor forage. Their characteristic shaggy coats of many colours also conceal a thick cashmere undercoat that keeps them warm during harsh weather.

The goats’ other distinctive feature has to be their fabulous horns, arching backwards and often swooshing improbably outwards, forming massive hoops and handlebars that proudly describe the age of the head that carries them. Some not only sport eye-catching beards, but fetching hairdos too – the Mulranny goat nicknamed Elvis (AKA Donald Trump) is an especially handsome character.   

Speaking to The Mayo News, Seán Carolan of the OIGS said that he believed the remarkable Old Irish Goats could one day be seen as instantly recognisable heritage emblems of Mayo, in much the same way that Scottish highland cattle – also magnificently horned – have become iconic emblems of Scotland. Tourists and wildlife enthusiasts would visit the area just to catch a glimpse of them. That is, of course, if there are any goats left to glimpse.

The Old Irish Goats’ future, currently so precarious, depends entirely on the society’s efforts in Mulranny and the community’s support. Let’s hope these native animals can be pulled back from the brink of extinction, and that this shaggy goat story turns out to have a happy ending.

Read the full story at The Mayo News.

Tourist Potential of the Old Irish Goat in Mulranny

by

Posted:

The Old Irish Goat Project

Carol Loftus, Mulranny Tourism is interviewed on The Great Western Greenway during Heritage Week by Tracey Halloran, reporter with The Western People. Carol speaks about the tourism potential of the Old Irish Goat for Mulranny and Co. Mayo and the importance of saving Ireland’s native goat.