A young shearer from Co Wicklow has made history on the other side of the world, taking the top junior sheep-shearing title in New Zealand.
Seán Dunne, 20, from Laragh, is the first non-New Zealander to be crowned the country’s leading junior competitor.
It was the goal he set himself for the season, he said, and the result has left him in high spirits. “Pretty good now alright, to get over there and become the top ranked,” he said.
Although he only started three years ago, Dunne reckons he has already shorn about 70,000 sheep. “I travelled to New Zealand twice, and I’ve shorn in Ireland for three seasons and I’ve been to Norway once,” he said.
Speed is only part of the challenge. Dunne said no two sheep are the same, and the time needed can vary widely — from 90 seconds up to three minutes — because “it depends on the type of the sheep”.
New Zealand flocks, he added, bring their own demands. The sheep there are “more woolly”.
“There’s a lot more wool on them, there’s wool around the heads and legs that we don’t see at home in Ireland.”
Seán’s father and grandfather are also sheep shearer champions
Shearing success also runs in the family. Dunne said his father, Tom, has competed internationally as well and “he’s done a bit of shearing in his younger days”.
His grandfather, Paddy, built an even more decorated record, winning four All-Ireland titles as a champion sheep shearer.
Dunne said it is a point of pride to continue that line. “Ah yeah, it’s nice to carry on the family tradition, it’s a nice thing to do,” he said, adding that he and his father were at the Irish national competition in Galway at the weekend, where he also took part.
He said he won the intermediate [Irish] national title.
The New Zealand shearing season runs from October to April, and Dunne said it can include as many as 30 to 40 competitions.
Those he worked for were “quite happy” with his success, he said, even if he was less certain about how rival competitors viewed it.
“My boss – and the people that showed me everything – was quite happy and pleased with it, so it was good.”
Judging, he explained, is split between two core measures. The scoring is “divided between the quality finish on the sheep, if you don’t leave any wool on or any skin cuts, and the other half is time points”.
In junior finals, competitors must shear five sheep, Dunne said, calling it demanding work that becomes more satisfying with fitness and experience. “It’s physically demanding work but it’s quite rewarding at the end of the day, and actually enjoyable when you get fit on it.
“Your body gets fit… it’s actually quite enjoyable work.”
Now back in Ireland after three months in New Zealand, Dunne said the trip sharpened both technique and mindset. There, he said, you “learn about shearing, you learn blows, and you learn how to shear and the mentality of shearing and just everything going up to a competition what way to approach different sheep and your work mentality every day to get up and keep going.
“You’re shearing the same sheep all day every day, it’s consistent.”
He said around 12 to 15 young Irish sheep shearers travel to New Zealand each year.
The world championship is held every three years, with the next scheduled for 2029 in Australia. For the remainder of this season, Dunne plans to keep chasing competitions closer to home, travelling to shows across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain.
“It’s what I love to do, I don’t think I could ever see myself doing anything else,” he said.
