HUBERT Melia from Corrandulla (centre) with President Catherine Connolly and her husband Brian McEnery at the annual Galway Wool at Athenry Mart.PHOTOS: Hany Marzouk

President visits Athenry for annual Wool Meitheal

Mark Walsh

Published: Mon 27 Jul 2026, 9:53 AM

A STRONG crowd attended the sixth annual National Wool Meitheal from the Galway Sheep breed in Athenry Mart on Saturday, including President Catherine Connolly.

The Galway Wool Meitheal, as it is known, is organised by the Galway Wool Co-Op, which is a voluntary group of almost 50 members nationwide who keep Galway Sheep, which are Ireland’s only native breed of sheep.

Wool was weighed, inspected and prepared for collection on Saturday with farmers guaranteed a price of €2.50kg for their wool. Returning buyers for the wool produced included AVOCA Ireland, Wool Store Ireland, and The Sheep Walk Ranch (from Texas in the US). A new buyer at this year’s meitheal was Ériu, a family business based in County Wicklow.

One of the main goals of the Galway Wool Co-Op is to ensure there is a fully traceable supply chain for Irish wool and that it is recognised as a valuable product.

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HUBERT Melia from Corrandulla (centre) with President Catherine Connolly and her husband Brian McEnery at the annual Galway Wool at Athenry Mart. PHOTOS: Hany Marzouk Hany Marzouk

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CAOIMHE Ryan (Secretary of the Galway Wool Co-Op), Martin Ward (Chair of the Galway Co-Op), Matthew Carroll and Gerry Daly (Chair of Galway Sheep Breeders’ Association). Hany Marzouk

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PRESIDENT Catherine Connolly trying out the hand spinning machine.

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EIGHTEEN-month-old Tadhg Forde from Clarinbridge sporting his county colours at the Meitheal. HANY MARZOUK

“It was just a perfect day, with the weather we had and the President being there. The buzz around the mart was unreal,” said Blatnaid Gallagher, a member of the Galway Wool Co-Op.

“More transparency and accountability is needed for farmers producing wool as part of that value chain. We need to have farmers included in the markets for Irish wool because there are markets there for Irish wool.”

As well as President Connolly, MEP Maria Walsh was also in attendance at Athenry Mart on Saturday.

Katarina Hruskova of The Woolstore in Belclare received a prize for the Best Display by Shepherdess, sponsored by Galway County Council. Other features at the meitheal included a traditional hand-shearing demonstrating by Athenry sheep farmer Sean Kilkenny. A hand spinning demonstration was also performed by Sandra King of Irish Fibre Crafters.