Could Cloondahamper Cuchullain be the bull to put Lavally on the foodie map?

THE last time Connacht men went north in search of a famed bull it ended in tears, as the unfortunate original Cúchulainn found out to his cost. To make amends, Lavally man Joe Desmond made the trip to the Cooley Mountains last year and, in the spirit of reconciliation between the provinces, didn’t steal a brown bull but purchased and peacefully brought home a prize black one back across the Shannon.
In honour of the historic connection he christened his new bull Cloondahamper Cuchullain. It is now settled in Connacht and playing its part in a remarkable venture that Joe hopes will be the next big thing in quality Irish food production.
Cloondahamper Cuchullain is a full-blooded and registered Japanese Wagyu bull — although a test-tube baby — with a lineage that includes some of the best bulls to be exported out of Japan. Joe is now in the AI business, having brought his prized bull to Brendan Regan at Cooney Island Genetics in Roscommon, who trained the Cloondahamper stud to “jump for collection”. And they say romance is dead.