Baa Baa Black Sheep – a delicacy for Dev Óg

Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

Things escalated at a Dáil committee this week amid fears of discrimination against sheep.

And Galway West Fianna Fáil TD Éamon Ó Cuív was accused of ‘racism’ to a certain breed.

Dev Óg said at a committee meeting on organic food, that “rather than selling Connemara hill lamb and Kerry hill lamb, why not have a Wild Atlantic Way hill lamb?”.

A fair enough suggestion. But not if you’re Independent Senator Mary Ann O’Brien, founder of Lily O’Brien’s Chocolates, who showed her ignorance of woollen animals during the following exchange.

Heckling, the female Willy Wonka, said: “Why not have Wicklow hill lamb?”

Sheep expert, Dev Óg replied: “Do not mind that; those are all Cheviot crosses. They are not the purebred blackface mountain lamb. They will sell anyway in the normal market. There is no a problem selling them. I am talking about blackface lamb.”

Mary Bo-Peep, more heckling, asked: “What about the Waterford Comeragh?”

She was told to stop interrupting. Dev Óg ploughed on: “It is the blackface purebred that is the problem, because achieving the weight is a major challenge here with the blackface.”

To which Mary, bizarrely interjected: “Racism”. The Dáil stenographers didn’t add an exclamation mark so we presume she was serious.

Dev Óg continued . . . and lest anyone be under the impression that the Connemara-based former minister does actually have prejudices against black-faced sheep, fear not: he’s a fan.

After Dev Óg finished his crusade about labelling sheep, Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris said: “A blackface sheep”, before Mary, again interrupted – does she ever stop, asks you – and corrected him: “Wild blackface sheep”.

Ferris: “I have five of them in my freezer”.

Dev Óg: “They are very tasty”.

Ferris: “Beautiful. There is nothing like it”.

A hint for Dev Óg next time he’s discussing black-faced sheep and needs to silence the lamb called Mary: ask her to pass the mint sauce, Fava beans and a nice Chianti.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.