‘I’m a farmer at heart’: the Iraqi cosmetic surgeon exporting Irish cattle to Algeria

During the week, Dr Ahmed Salman runs a chain of cosmetic surgery clinics and at weekends, he farms on a 373-acre Wicklow estate once owned by a president

IN recent weeks, news of a shipment of cattle to Algeria brought hope to beef farmers who have seen prices fall to a 10-year low.

The man behind the shipment is a new name in the business to most people.

However, exporting animals is nothing new to Dr Ahmed Salman, the cosmetic surgeon behind the shipment.

Born in Iraq in 1970, Dr Salman spent a number of years in the US before moving to UCD to study medicine. He then went back to America to continue his studies, eventually returning to Ireland, where he set up Auralia Clinic in 2000.

He now has three clinics and a hospital in Park West, Dublin, and his interests extend into the pharmaceutical sector, nursing homes - and livestock.

On his surgery’s profile, it says that when not working, he enjoys the outdoors and has a great passion for the conservation of wild deer and their habitat.

And the acquisition of Roundwood Park in Wicklow in 2015 probably earned him the title of ‘gentleman’ farmer, but he’s now a substantial farmer at the weekend.

Once the home of the second president of Ireland, Seán T Ó Ceallaigh, the 373-acre estate was in need of refurbishment. According to the auctioneers at the time, it is “probably now the biggest private estate south of Dublin”.

Dr Salman restored the property, which is now home to his family, and on the farm he keeps sheep and “some cattle”. Weekends, he says, are his opportunity to not wear a suit and get back to nature.

“I’m a farmer at heart,” he says. “My family had a farm in Iraq and my hobbies are to be outdoors.”

This year the farm lambed 400 ewes and Dr Salman takes an active involvement, although most of the sheep are lambing outside themselves.

“There is better harmony with the environment if they lamb outside, but at the weekends I’m quite hands on. There is a lot of selection into the breeds to make life easy for us. I wear a suit all week, but at the weekends this is what I do.”

He’s been exporting sheep for a number of years, with a Department of Agriculture certified export centre.

“There was a need for it as competition is good for business,” he says.

“We produce fantastic sheep on the farm and I try to get the most out of things.”

Markets here are subject to fluctuations, he says, and he has developed niche markets for his sheep in countries like Qatar and UAE.

“There is demand in these markets for lambs that are not castrated and don’t have their tails docked, and we looked at making the farm an assembly centre,” he says.

Dr Salman’s cattle operation, he says “involves playing with breeding”, and he’s currently crossing Aberdeen Angus and the Japanese Wagyu breed, famed for its fat marbling.

“I’m doing this to see if I can produce nicer meat. Wagyu is a highly valued meat, but maybe not for the Irish palate.”

The recent shipment of just under 1,100 cattle, he says, was orchestrated by a business partner who has good contacts in Algeria.

“We have the best cattle here, so I thought ‘why not try develop the market here?’ Bord Bia also helped us get contacts,” he says.

“Farmers want an alternative,” he said and the cattle which went to Algeria last weekend will be sent for slaughter over there.

“We are trying to create a link. They (Algeria) are used to French and Spanish cattle, and people are people of habits,” he says. “That’s something we’re trying to change.

“We have fantastic cattle in Ireland so we wanted magnificent cattle from here for the shipment.”

While coy about the details of the end buyers, he says they have a contract for the cattle that were shipped and landed last week.

He’s aware that there were “a couple of issues” around payment to some of the farmers involved.

“It’s government money, the letter of credit is there. I guarantee payment,” he insists.

Dr Salman’s commitment to Ireland is embedded and not just through his commercial

‘We have the best cattle here, so I thought ‘why not try develop the market?’ … we wanted magnificent cattle from here for the shipment’