Rory O’Reilly

Rory O’Reilly is an organic beef and sheep farmer farming 56 hectares (140 ac) on Slieve Aughty mountain range in East Galway. He rears mostly Angus cattle that he direct sells. He uses mob grazing and moves the cattle every day in the summer which he says gives a real feel for the land and what it can do. The farm is a Special Protection Area for the Hen Harrier which he is an enthusiastic participant in its protection. ‘All animals are fed on this farm – not just the livestock but the field mice, the foxes, the hen harrier’. He is delighted to see the hen harrier as it signifies to him that there is food available up and down the food chain and when the foxes are full, they’re not interested in his lambs. An ACRES participant, he is committed to ensuring good water quality having already installing two ponds and silt traps. This year, he plans to plant 700 trees along the water courses to stabilise the riverbanks ensuring even greater water quality.

NOMINATOR: Kristina Feeney, ACRES Munster/South Connaught
NOMINATION:
Rory is an organic suckler beef farmer in the Slieve Aughty Mountains Special Protection Area in County Galway. He was in GLAS and was a very engaged participant in the Hen Harrier Programme EIP. He is now a participant in the ACRES Munster South Connacht Co-Operation Project Zone. Rory takes pride in his sensitive management of the land in this very important High Nature Value farmland area. He employs a mob grazing management system which allows for significant resting periods to allow plants to set seed, which maintains the diversity of plant species present. Hen Harrier and Curlew were recently spotted on his farm.

Rory carries out targeted grazing on his peatland sites to significantly reduce the amount of Molinia grass present on the hills. Molinia grass is a deciduous grass and poses a fire risk if left to form dense clumps. As part of this, he cleverly uses the availability of water. Water troughs are turned off and on at different points on the site – the cattle hang around where water is readily available and so they naturally graze more in that area. He is also very aware of the importance of good water quality and is very aware the movement of water over his land and the wider area. Rory has moved 400 m of fence away from the riverbank, put in two wader scrapes and 3 silt traps along the river with LACM/ LAW PRO funding. He is also having discussions about slowing down the water coming off the bog by rewetting part of his farm and has identified 3 sites on his land that he would be happy to put larger ponds in.

Rory is very innovative, he has developed a market for beef from his 40 animal herd with his business, Lough Mountain Farm. He takes his stock to an abattoir in Banagher, Co. Offaly and then sells a box of beef directly to customers via online orders. The beef boxes can be shipped anywhere in Ireland. In 2023, Rory processed 16 cattle and 45 lambs. This business model brings control back to the farmer and Rory believe that more farmers should take this approach – he doesn’t see them as competition and happily explains the ins and outs of this business model to those that are interested.

Rory is always willing to share advice and experiences with other farmers and interested parties in relation to organics, his beef box business, sensitive management of HNV farmland - always with an eye to the future.