Mayo brothers through to World Teams final at World Shearing Championships

James and Martin Hopkins have lit up the World Shearing Championships in New Zealand in both the individual and team categories of blade shearing. 

Alongside the historic win for Prospect’s Joseph Scahill, these Mayo men are representing Ireland with distinction. 

Saturday will see Claremorris man Adam Killeen (20) compete in the Senior Semi Finals, after coming through a strong field of 65 competitors earlier in the week. 

Blade shearing

The highly skilled blade shearing method is a traditional method using hand-held shears, rather than an electric razor. 

In blade shearing, competitors are judged not only on the speed of the shear but on the overall quality and neatness of the fleece, ideally removed in a single cut, and on how calmly and carefully the sheep is handled throughout.

Martin was awarded 50.439 points in round one and 50.713 in round two, to qualify for the semi finals with a total of 101.152 points. 

James Hopkins competing at the World Shearing Championships in New Zealand

His brother James qualified with a points total of 108.099, made up of a first round tally of 53.921 and a second round tally of 54.178. 

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Martin, 28, is a Wood Technology and Graphics teacher at Rice College in Westport, while his younger brother James, 26, works as a carpenter. Both men have been shearing sheep since they were just eleven or twelve years old, first competing seriously in their mid-teens, and have gone on to become two of Ireland's most decorated shearers.

Martin Hopkins competing at the World Shearing Championships in New Zealand

This is Martin's second World Championships, having represented Ireland in France in 2019, where he finished 5th in the World Team Final alongside teammate Peter Heraty. He earned his place on this year's team by winning the National Title in Mountbellew and is the current All-Ireland blade shearing champion.

James, meanwhile, is also no stranger to the world stage. At the 2023 World Championships at the Highland Show in Edinburgh, he and teammate Peter Heraty finished 6th in the World Team Final — but he didn't stop there, going on to win the Big International Open, beating blade shearers from across the globe. A two-time All-Ireland blade shearing champion, James qualified for this year's squad through competitions last summer, including the All-Ireland in Donegal.