Glenmalure’s Pat among top six at farming awards
PAT Dunne, a sixth generation hill farmer from Glenmalure, was one of only six finalists in the ‘Farming for Nature Awards’ competition which has been running nationwide over the last few months.
The finalists were all invited to attend a special awards ceremony held as part of the Burren Winterage school which took place in county Galway last weekend.
After a presentation from well-known RTE broadcaster Ella McSweeney, the winner was announced by MEP Mairead MacGuinness with Martin Calvey, of Achill Mountain Lamb picking up the star prize.
The competition which was partly decided by an online public vote, saw significant support for Pat across social media channels and led to quite a lot of local media attention over the last month. Pat is also a key figure in the Sustainable Uplands Agriculture-environment Scheme (SUAS) in Wicklow.
The Farming for Nature Award, a nationwide competition forms part of a wider independent initiative, which hopes to source, share and celebrate the stories of those farmers across Ireland who are doing great things for nature on their land and in their community. All of the finalists including Pat, were conferred as Bord Bia Farming for Nature Ambassadors.
The winners, the Calvey Family have farmed on Achill Island for seven generations. The family farm a herd of 150 Black-faced Mountain Sheep on an extensive commonage area of 20,000 acres, as well as on an area of machair, a rare seaside habitat.