Kerry farmer to take on 50-hours of ‘shear craic' for charity
James O'Connor, a sheep farmer from in Cloghane in west Co. Kerry, is no stranger to record-breaking shearing events.
In 2023, he sheared over 800 sheep in a 24-hour period to raise funds for his sister Mary Lynch, who had been given a terminal cancer diagnosis.
The money was used to cover the cost of treatment in Germany for Mary, who is a mother of two young children, and has helped to prolong her life.
Charity
James told Agriland that he was eager to test his shearing ability even further and as a result the idea for '50 Hours of Shear Craic' was born.
James said: 'We had done the 24-hour [challenge] and there was a little itch somewhere that couldn't be scratched, and we decided this was probably the way to do it and get it out of the system.'
The upcoming 50-hour challenge taking place at Dingle Mart from July 3-6 is aiming to raise funds for two causes close to James and his family's heart.
All money collected will go towards the Kerry Hospice Foundation and the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Unit at St. Joseph's National School in Castlemaine.
'Unfortunately, there aren't many families or people that haven't been touched by palliative care at this stage.
'They do great work and it is a credit to them, and it's nice to do something for them while they are looking after families in their time of need,' James said.
The farmer also explained that a family member is attending the ASD unit at St. Joseph's National School, and James hoped that the money raised will help support the valuable work there too.
James with his flock of sheep in west Co. Kerry
James has set a fundraising target of €25,000, but he added that 'any few pound that's made and is given to the charities is a help to them and that's all we want to do'.
The farmer, who also is involved in contract shearing, said it is hard to know how many sheep he will shear over the 50 hours.
'When I did the 24-hour challenge, we had originally set aside 700 sheep for it. I ended up doing 833.
'We have around 2,000 sheep organised for this. That's not to say I'm going to shear the 2,000 sheep, I could do more. I don't know, it's very hard to put a figure on it,' he said.
'50 hours is a long time. At the end of the day I still have to look after myself and my own wellbeing. There are breaks. It's going to take three-and-a-half days to do it.
'I've done a lot of training – there's a lot of background work gone into it. I've had a personal trainer since last September working towards it,' he added.
James shearing a sheep during his previous 24-hour shearing marathon
The farmer is being supported on this challenge by his wife, Stacey and his cousin Ilona O'Dowd, along with Roy and Jeff Collier, who will be with him while he is shearing.
James is encouraging members of the public to support the challenge in any capacity they can through the '50 Hours of Shear Craic' fundraising page on iDonate.
He invited everyone to come along and see the challenge at Dingle Mart from July 3-6, where there will also be a range of family entertainment on offer.
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