Achill man captains Ireland to world sheepdog trials victory

BONFIRES welcomed Achill man Martin O'Malley back to the island after he captained the Irish team to first place in the team shield at the 2023 World Sheepdog Trials.

The World Sheepdog Trials took place in the Gill Hall Estate, Dromore, Co Down with 240 sheepdogs and their handlers from all over the world taking part in the global event which took place from Wednesday, September 13 to Saturday, September 16.

Described as the Olympics of the sheepdog world, the World Sheepdog Trials is organised by the International Sheep Dog Society with competitors coming from all over the world to take part in a series of trials.

Team Ireland was captained by Martin O'Malley from Ballinock on Achill Island and during the competition the Irish team scored impressively and managed to secure the top prize in the teams competition amid tough competition from over 20 other teams hailing from all corners of the globe including the United States, Brazil, South Africa and Norway.

Team Ireland consisted of Martin O’Malley along with Eamonn Connell, from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Allistar Lyttle, from Co Donegal, Paddy Fanning, from Glenealy, Co Wicklow and James McCloskey, from Carndonagh, Co Donegal.

During the competition, 240 competitors and their dogs took part in a series of qualifying heats with the final 15 qualifying for the senior final last Saturday with a chance to be named the 2023 World Sheepdog Trial champion.

Martin and his dog Bruce performed brilliantly throughout the competition and were contenders for a long period but in the end had to settle for fifth place. The eventual overall winner was Peter Landfald from Norway and his dog Max.

The competition was followed feverishly in Achill and on Saturday evening crowds lined the roads and lit bonfires at Dookinella Church to welcome Martin back to his home village.

Branding the performance of Martin and his Irish team as 'outstanding', John McCullough, Chairman of the World Trial Committee, congratulated the Team Ireland members.

“The standards shown during the teams competition were extremely high, which means that clinching the title was certainly no mean feat. A huge well done to the members of Team Ireland on what is a truly momentous achievement,” he said.