Collapsed shed a threat to lambing season

ONE Wicklow farmer is having to cope with lambing season without the cover of a sheep shed for his 240 ewes after it partially collapsed under the weight of snow dumped by Storm Emma.

Brian Mulligan runs Paddock Farm on the old Long Hill Road near Djouce Woods and experienced snow drifts of up to nine feet high in places.

Lambing season is due to start this Wednesday but Mr Mulligan can no longer rely on the cover of a sheep shed after it buckled and collapsed.

Now he is in a race against time to try and get the shed repaired before the majority of his ewes go to lamb.

‘It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. The whole shed is exposed so I have had to turn most of the sheep out. Lambing can be tough at the best of times but the shed is a vital piece of infrastructure.

‘Normally we would do the lambing inside so this has really upset the whole apple cart. The snow will turn to water, which will make the conditions even more difficult.

‘Life was already tough with the snow but this has made things even worse. You have to be organised when lambing season arrives and this has just thrown everything up in the air.’

At first Mr Mulligan feared the collapse of the shed might have injured or even killed some of his ewes so he was relieved to find that all remained unharmed.

‘ Thankfully it came down on a different side of the shed so the sheep were alright. I had three good sheep dogs tied up and I thought one of them might have been buried. It came down right beside them but, fortunately, they were OK, which was a relief.’

Access roads leading to Paddock Farm remain blocked so Mr Mulligan can’t even consider getting the shed fixed until the roadway is clear.

‘I got in contact with a man in Tinahely who can repair the shed but first we need access. With a bit of luck, the road might be cleared by Wednesday.

‘At the moment, that’s my main focus. We can’t really do anything with the shed until the route is clear. My farm yard is still 200 yards from the road and we will need a digger to clean all that up as well.’