A cattle breed society was established on 5/11/2015 dedicated to preserving the Droimeann cattle breed. Currently a programme of genomic testing is being undertaken as a means of scoring cattle in terms of breed purity and co-ancestry so that an effective breed improvement programme can be developed. The aim of the society is to promote the breed and assist existing breeders while attracting new members interested in the breed. This is important work as it is protecting the integrity of this wonderful, ancient, remarkable and rare breed of Irish cow.

Bertha’s Revenge Gin is aptly named after ‘Big Bertha’ the world’s oldest cow. Also Ballyvolane translates from gaelic as ‘the place of springing heifers’. Bertha was a Droimeann and lived near Sneem in the Kingdom County of Kerry until the ripe old age of 48. The reason that we know so much about Bertha is that a mutual friend of ours, writer and historian Turtle Bunbury, stumbled upon her wake which was held in the Blackwater Tavern between Sneem and Kenmare on the the night of the 31st December 1993. We have always loved the story which he later had published in the Guardian newspaper here.

If you would like to support the preservation of the Droimeann cattle breed, please contact the society through their Facebook link below:

• Please click here to view the Droimeann Cattle Society website.