Dwayne Stanley

Thurles, Co. Tipperary

My name is Dwayne Stanley and I have Brittas Farm in Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

We are a suckler beef farm and we also purchase calves in the spring. We run a spring and Autumn calving system.

I really like the Herefords; they are very docile and have a great temperament. When they are ready to go, they come in quick, they don’t take much meal, so the cost is low. They do well on a grass-based system, once they have good grass in front of them, they thrive.

We are lucky to have a castle on our land. It is Brittas Castle and appears in the Book of Castles of Ireland. In 1820 there was a ruin of ancient castle here and they knocked it down because they wanted to build a replica of Worcestershire Castle in England. Henry Langley owned the land and was the main engineer on the project and he planned and began to build this castle. In 1830 he died, and the construction stopped. So that is what is left standing here today. We have a pair of peregrine falcons that come every year and nest in the castle and have chicks, so it’s a lovely home for the wildlife.

We have a lot of forestry on the farm and a lot of hedgerow cover. We have 170 acres of hardwood forestry; beech, ash and oak. The forestry takes careful management, as the trees grow bigger, they need light, so they must be thinned. There’s a first, second, third and sometimes a fourth thinning. The first we say is for the birds, it’s just to thin it out and let the strong trees grow up. The second thinnings is used for firewood or in some cases with the bigger ash trees they go to make Hurleys. When it gets bigger the third thinnings go for furniture making, because it’s prominent, good quality timber.

I really like the Herefords; they are very docile and have a great temperament.

We love the look of the forestry on the farm and it’s so good for the wildlife. We have a set of buzzards, falcons, pheasants, foxes, rabbits. It’s lovely when you’re out working to see nature working around with you.