RARE BREEDS TRUST OF AUSTRALIA
powered by TidyHQCattle: Irish Moiled
Cattle: Irish Moiled
Country of Origin
Ireland
Australian Status
International Status
Rare but slowly increasing numbers. Found in Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia.
Uses
Meat and Milk
Breed Traits
Dual purpose breed - dairy and beef. A cheese named Moily is made from the milk. The beef is tender and highly praised for flavour.
Naturally polled. Lovely colour side pattern, red and white, with some roaning. Some are all red. Long lived and continue to be fertile, calving well into their teens.
Graze in a way that does not shear the feed off too close, and like to move about to both graze and browse, having good sound legs and feet, so very popular for conservation grazing.
Hardy breed, docile. It milks well simply from grass. Once primarily dairy, and believed to be triple purpose in the past - draught, dairy, beef - now increasingly seen as dual purpose animals. Put over traditional breed breeds they also increase milk supply for fast growing calves.
History
Moiled is the old Irish word for polled.
An ancient Irish breed known from the 600s AD, once rare in its homeland - numbers sinking dramatically in the early 20th century - but steadily regaining numbers. One of four native Irish cattle breeds - Dexter, Droimeann, Irish Moiled, and Kerry.
Vikings were so impressed by Irish Moiled in the 10th century they took a lot back to Scandinavia when Magnus Barefoot, King of Denmark, raided and took lots away (Irish Moiled Cattle Society).
Originated in County Leitrim, County Sligo, County Down and County Donegal where they thrived on hill country, now found throughout Ireland.
History in Australia
They came to Australia in 2019 as embryos and straws.
Straws from Waikato Alister EX91 (in photo) were brought here by Global Genetics and auctioned at Rockhampton by Auctions Plus. Probably some sold directly to farmers. Straws also sold by Elders. This bull was bred in Scotland.
The good bull Ravelglen Rocky's straws were also sent to Australia and New Zealand in 2019.
Breeders in Australia instrumental in bring the breed here are Denis and Therese Roberts of the South Burnett area of Queensland. Therese has Irish heritage. Denis, with Lindsay Jones from New Zealand, travelled to Ireland in April 2022 and bought at the Magnificent Moilie Sale there - two of N&M Irish Cattle stud's cows - Ballyreagh Foxglove and Curraghnakeely Pandora; they also purchased Ravelglen Bo Ez from the Ravelglen herd of Brian O'Kane. They are to be shipped to South of England to undergo flushing for embryos. In July 2022 one also calved a heifer in Ireland. Lindsay had also visited Ireland in 2019 to arrange getting some Irish Moiled.
Brian Agnew, a veterinary surgeon and farmer of Irish extract in South Australia, has used straws from both bulls over his naturally polled cows which are Lincoln Red, Red Poll, Red Angus in breeding.
Breed Organisation
None found in Australia.
Facebook group: Derry Duff Irish Moiled Cattle
In their home country: The Irish Moiled Cattle Society
Australian Population
2022: estimate five, with youngsters coming along, and upgrades
Photo Credit
Photo of bull Waikato Alister from the Global Genetics facebook page
Page by Janet Lane, 2022.
