Effie Neill (Aoife O’Neill), the 2023 Cowboys and Heroes Singing Competition winner, took centre stage in Kenmare Livestock Mart’s cattle sales ring earlier this morning (Thursday), ahead of the release of her debut single, Country is Best, written by Niall O’Brien.
At today’s general cattle sale, she performed the nineteenth-century Irish ballad, ‘The Rose of Tralee’, which the internationally famed Rose of Tralee festival takes its inspiration from.
A spokesperson for the mart said:
“A Cork girl wishing both Kerry teams all the best on Saturday and Sunday from Kenmare Mart.”
“Effie Neill is bringing out her debut single on August 1st, 2023, so please go check it out,” the spokesperson added.
Dan McCarthy
Previously, we interviewed Dan McCarthy, a sheep and beef farmer and local councillor, who has managed the sheep and cattle mart since 2004.
In 1996,Kenmare Co-operative Mart opened through a visibility study led by Stephen O’Brien and a development group. The mart serves a 30-mile-radius catchment area of The Bear Peninsula and south Kerry.
Today, it operates one ring and is celebrating over 25 years in business. The mart employs sixteen part-time staff, two permanent staff, one office staff member, and one livestock auctioneer at sheep sales from August onwards alongside Dan.
Furthermore, Kenmare Co-operative Mart’s weekly throughput is between 2,500 to 5,000 sheep and 300 to 500 head of cattle.
“You must be prepared to answer the phone twenty-four hours seven days a week. A person buying one animal must be treated the same as a person buying 150 animals. You must have a grá for people; if you have not, you will not succeed.”
Dan’s early memories of marts can be traced back to his attendance at the Kenmare Fair and neighbouring Castleisland, Skibbereen, Macroom, and Miltown.
Read more on his profile.
See more farming news on www.thatsfarming.com
, 2023 Cowboys and Heroes Singing Competition winner, performed in Kenmare Livestock Mart’s cattle sales ring.){kind=link}