Cloonacool Sheep Festival had something for everyone
THE recent Cloonacool Sheep Festival held in south Sligo proved to be a very popular event with a whole host of festival goers. There was literally something for everyone.
The four-day event included an old-fashioned cabaret night, a kids disco, an art exhibition, a gala festival dance, a sheep show and a spectacular dog show.
To top it all off, organisers were overjoyed to receive excellent weather for their Sunday outdoor events.
Local country singer Stuart Moyles was a huge hit while playing the gala dance on the Saturday night.
Social dancers came from a wide area to take full advantage of the opportunity to hear him sing and dance to his music.
The sheep and dog shows attracted huge entries and provided great entertainment for the large crowds who attended the festival on October 2.
After a break of three years, the unique festival in the picturesque village of Cloonacool, is now set to become an annual event on the local calendar of festivals and shows.
PRESIDENT of ICMSA, Pat McCormack, said that the Food Vision 2030 event held in Dublin Castle at the weekend perfectly illustrated what he called the Government’s fundamental misapprehension of the role and structure of Ireland’s farming and agri-food sector.
Noting the ‘vision’ set out in the Government’s press releases for the event stressed the ambition to ‘become a world leader in Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) over the next decade’, Mr McCormack said that Ireland was already a world leader in sustainable food and had been for at least decade.
The challenge the Government should be addressing – the ‘vision’ it needed to recognise – was the need to keep it as a word leader, he said. “We don’t want to appear to be arrogant or overly sensitive, but it’s a bit galling for farmers to hear that the Irish Government wants us to become world leaders in sustainability.
“Ireland is recognised as the most sustainable dairy producer in Europe, if not the world, and fifth most sustainable beef producer in the world. Ireland’s ambition should not be to lead the world in sustainability – we already do – our ambition should be to show how progressive commercial farming is compatible with greater sustainability and the transition to lower emissions farming,” said Mr McCormack.
The ICMSA president said that the Irish Government seemed hypnotised by what McCormack said was a “completely false either/or between commercial farming and environmental sustainability”. He said that policy and funding was being directed at widening that false binary when it should be going in the absolutely opposite direction. “We are already internationally recognised as being in the frontrank of sustainable farming and food production. What we need to do is stay there. Irish policy and funding should be going towards moving our world-beating family farm sector towards lower emissions and a more environmentally friendly basis. That family farm is where the expertise is, where the added value is, where the economic multiplier is, and where the social and rural infrastructure is.
“But the Government won’t recognise that and are effectively neglecting that while pouring resources into what we can only describe as niche farming and land stewardship models. It’s very odd and so far from helping us to become ‘world leaders’, it will end up eroding the leading position Irish farming already occupies,” he said. Mr McCormack said everyone should understand that before any journey or process began, it was always wise to know where you were starting from.
“Ireland must really understand what we already have in terms of farming and food production capacity. We must know where we are starting from. ICMSA would say that we are starting from an already advantageous position and that must be the basis for policy.
“We’d have serious concerns that not everyone at the highest levels understands that and have decided instead to impose their own very questionable analysis of what it is we do and where we need to go. “The irony is that we’ll end up losing what we already have without ever achieving the organic ‘never-neverland’ current policy as our destination. We’re on course to loselose,” he said.
National Parks and Wildlife Service invite public submissions
MEMBERS of the public and stakeholders are being invited to participate in the development of the first three-year strategy statement for the National Parks and Wildlife Service through a public consultation, which opened last Friday.
The strategy statement sets out the core mission and values of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), together with the organisation’s key strategic priorities as an organisation for 2023-2025.
In May of this year the Government approved the implementation of the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the renewal of the NPWS as an executive agency within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
There are significant strategic priorities that the NPWS must address in the coming three years, and equally significant challenges to overcome. The NPWS is seeking the views of individuals and organisations as to what its main priorities should be, what the principal challenges are across the key areas of its work, and any other views that should be taken into account as the strategy is developed.
The public can participate by completing the online questionnaire, or by emailing a detailed written submission addressing the questions in the consultation document.
The consultation closes on Friday, December 9.
Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan TD said: “In publishing the Strategic Action Plan for the Renewal of the NPWS earlier this year, we committed to organisational changes in order to establish clearer core priorities and better direction of resources toward those priorities.
“Our aim is to have an NPWS that is more resilient, more stable, with a stronger identity of its own, better able to drive and lead change.
“The process of change in the organisation continues at pace and this public consultation on the strategy statement is another step forward in delivering that aim.
He added: “We have big challenges ahead of us to protect, conserve and restore our biodiversity.
“I’d like to encourage everyone who cares about nature in Ireland to get involved and help us shape the way forward for the NPWS.”
The scene at Ballygilgan, a nature reserve in Lissadell.
IFA Farm Family & Social Affairs Chair Alice Doyle wants all farmers and farm families to make their mental wellness their priority.
“As the saying goes, your health is your wealth. In theory, people understand this. In reality, it can be more difficult, particularly when you are busy minding your family and running your farm, one can often overlook the importance of minding oneself,” Alice Doyle said. She said these are stressful times for many farm families, with the rising cost of living and the increasing operating costs of farm businesses, particularly as people face into the winter months. “At times like these it’s so important we look after our physical and mental health and try to reduce the stress in our lives. Just as physical fitness helps our bodies to stay strong, mental fitness helps us to achieve and sustain a state of good mental health. The two go hand in hand,” she said.
If you find your mood, your productivity, your relationships, or your quality of life impacted by stress, it is vital that you act. Persistent high levels of stress can increase the risk of developing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. “Remember that tackling problems earlier on can help prevent them from escalating, so if you are concerned make an appointment with your GP or talk to a trusted friend,” she said.