The 2017 World Angus Forum visitors and delegates were treated to a trip to one of Ireland’s oldest and best-known herds, the Liss herd, owned by John McEnroe, alongside wife Trish and children, Sean, Niamh and Eimear. John is the current Junior Vice-President of the Irish Aberdeen-Angus Association and as one of the most easily recognisable faces in the Irish Aberdeen-Angus fraternity provided a fitting welcome to the hundreds of visitors who attended.
Since its foundation in 1953, the Liss herd has never wavered in its loyalty to traditional Aberdeen-Angus breeding values. The 90-cow herd is rooted in the guiding principle of producing honest hard-working cattle of average size and width, coupled with easy fleshing, natural characteristics. The most prolific cow families within the herd include the Merlot, Miylo, Duchess and Bette families. The young bull, Liss Marty P417 (pictured) is a male offspring from the Miylo line. Attracting significant interest on the day was the herd’s 1st prize winner from the 2017 All-Ireland Aberdeen-Angus championships, Liss Myrlo R532, as well as several descendants from Liss Miylo B434 – herself a former All-Ireland Aberdeen-Angus Champion.
Image: Liss Marty P417, one of five stock bulls at Liss
Image: Liss Miylo M273, a typical young cow at Liss
The Liss herd has benefited tremendously from the judicious and shrewd use of stock bulls over the years. Currently, five stock bulls are in use in the herd – the homebred Liss Marty P417 and Liss Darl R561, the recently acquired Fordel Mighty Paidi R248, the UK bred The Moss Black Angus M150 and the Irish bred bull Mogeely Lord Harrow M191. All five of these bulls are from well-established genetic lines and were on show in their working clothes for the open day. All pedigree bulls at Liss are sold for further breeding each year at an average age of 15 months with a total of 35 pedigree yearling bulls due for sale this coming Autumn/Spring.
The visiting group was mightily impressed with the uniformity of the Liss herd and the hard-working characteristics that were evident throughout the entire farm. The Irish Aberdeen-Angus Association would like to thank all of the extended McEnroe family for their hard work in the lead-up to the open day and for putting such a tremendous herd of Aberdeen-Angus cattle on display.
Here’s a selection of images from a brilliant day at the Liss herd:
Image: World Angus Forum visitors viewing the stock at Liss
Image: John McEnroe (host) welcoming visitors to Liss
Image: Jesse Emery, Canada, making a presentation of appreciation to John & Trish McEnroe for hosting the World Angus Forum Open Day on behalf of the Canadian Angus Association