Would 'ewe' believe it?

A Killeigh sheep farming father and son partnership have beaten odds of one in a million to produce no less than eight sets of quintuplets among their flock of ewes since the lambing season began on March 4

Ken Mathews and his son, Richard, have been the busiest sheep farmers in Ireland over the past three weeks, and can certainly boast one of the most prolific flocks in the country. Apart from the very rare occurrence of having eight ewes with five lambs each, another 40 ewes have given birth to four lambs each (quads) and they also have numerous sets of triplets and twins this year.

'Some nights we would get hardly any sleep at all” he says “but we take agricultural students every year at lambing season, and they have certainly been a great help this year anyway.”

Ken and Richard's farm, at The Abbey in Killeigh, was named as the winner of the Zurich Farm Insurance/Farming Independent Sheep Farmer of the Year award just last year, and Ken attributes the massive productivity on his farm to the Belclare and Charolais rams that he uses for breeding.

With over 700 lambs on their farm and eight sets of quintuplets, the Mathews farm is sure to be the focus of plenty of national and local attention for some time to come.