DONKEY TWINS
There are only a few pairs of twin donkeys in the world - but a Sligo native is celebrating the arrival of two foals in Illinois, USA.
Mike Willis, a native of Coola in east Sligo, welcomed the twins into the world on January 21st on his farm near the village of Onarga.
The unique pair have also picked up some appropriate names. Having been born the day after the Presidential inauguration, the male twins have been dubbed ‘Biden’ and the female twin ‘Harris’ after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris who were sworn into office last Wednesday.
What’s more, the arrivals weren’t even planned.
Mike picks up the story: “We were surprised. She got bred unintentionally because she’s so old. We didn’t mean for her to get bred, I acquired her from a Clare man just to breed her to get one foal, and she’s going to be two in June. We had the Jack separated but he obviously broke out and bred her again.”
The foals were born early in the morning and discovered by the family living on the farm - Mike and his family are based around an hour away.
“We have a family that lives on our farm, I’m a contractor and I live like an hour away from the farm and I come here every weekend and whenever but they live here, the family
that lives here and takes care of the stock so it was one of the girls that actually named them, she’s the one that found them first.”
It’s a story that has captured the imagination of many, but Mike’s primary focus on the agricultural front is his 50-strong herd of Angus cows on the 200-acre holding.
Mike moved to the United States in 1987 and has worked in construction.
He comes from a family of 14 in Coola, and has also felt the impact of Covid-19 as he was unable to travel home for his father Mick’s funeral last
year due to the pandemic.
He retains a strong interest in all things Sligo, and is in touch with his family regularly over the phone.
“I’ve a brother in New York, he came here the year before me in 1986, I came over in ‘87.
“There’s a family of 14,” he explains, “and they’re all at home now except me, my brother in New York and another who lives in Kerry. But all the rest of them are within a ten mile radius of the home place.
“We’re on Whatsapp all the time.”