One of Ireland’s few master sheep shearers is from Athenry
SHEEP shearers and wool handlers the world over tend to follow the sun when it comes to the practice of shearing sheep, and that was true in the case of multiple All-Ireland champion Tom Kennedy.
The Athenry man has won nine All-Ireland Open sheep shearing titles – eight in a row – and is one of only two master sheep shearers in the country, alongside Donegal’s Ivan Scott. Both men happened to be at Mountbellew Mart for the European and Connacht Sheep Shearing and Woolhandling Championships on the June Bank Holiday weekend.
Kennedy’s personal record for the number of sheep shorn in one day is “about 500". He has taken fleeces from thousands .........
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