Sheep of Ireland

Sheep and Ireland go together like a woolly jumper and a chilly day. Our fuzzy friends have been on the island for almost as long as humans have, and there are actually more of them than us! Not only will you spot them grazing happily in verdant valleys, rambling on hills and causing traffic chaos on country roads, you’ll also notice the number of placenames dedicated to our ovine compatriots: Sheep’s Head in Cork, Lamb’s Rock in Kerry, Sheep Haven in Donegal, Glenageary (Valley of the Sheep) in Dublin, Ram Head in Waterford … and Lamb Islands all over the place. ‘Tis no surprise that the wonderful woolie is our unofficial national symbol. In this book, we bring you a pure celebration of the Irish sheep. Let’s put aside talk of sustainability and a struggling wool industry and instead rejoice in our lovely lambs, beautiful blackfaces and stunning suffolks. As the Irish proverb goes, 'There was never a scabby sheep in a flock that didn’t like to have a comrade.