A Co. Wexford farmer who died from cancer at the age of 55 will be remembered at a fundraising auction for cancer research at Carnew Mart on Thursday, April 30.

The late Robert (Bob) Staples completed the Green Cert at Kildalton Agricultural College after boarding at St Peter's College, Wexford.

Growing up on the family farm - predominantly dairy but also with sucklers, sheep and horses - in Scar, Duncormick, with his brothers, John, Leo and Michael, and sisters Mag and Martina, he was passionate about farming from an early age.

He married Josephine Tobin and they moved to Curracloe in the early 1990s. They went on to have two sons, Robert (Robbie) and Graham.

Farming

Bob worked on many dairy farms across Wexford including the North Slob in Curracloe which supplied milk to Lee Strand Co-Op in Co. Kerry.

He went on to work with the late Nick Stafford of Wexford Cattle Company in Castlebridge, where he was farm manager for over 10 years.

After a break from farming, Bob went into construction, but returned to sheep farming during the recession.

His passion for dairy farming won out when he was appointed farm manager of the Byrne family dairy herd in Clonroche, owned by Ted and Aidan Byrne, working there for nine years.

Grassland management was a key focus of Bob's in his efforts to improve milk solids and overall milk production. Bob also completed the artificial insemination carried out on the farm.

Cancer diagnosis

Sadly, Bob was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer in April 2020.

Hi son Graham recalled: "The outlook was positive to help put the cancer in remission, with treatment from excellent specialists in both Whitfield Clinic, Waterford, and St. James's Hospital, Dublin.

"A bone marrow transplant was planned, but unfortunately never materialised as the cancer became too aggressive, leading to his untimely passing on November 3, 2020, only six months after being diagnosed," he said.

During treatment, Bob continued to be ever present on the Byrne family farm, such was his passion for dairy cows.

"The plan post-cancer treatment was to expand into elite pedigree Holsteins, and to subsequently develop more offspring for personal and business use on the farm," Graham said.

Candy heifer line

Bob purchased a heifer calf called Candy Lily, from the Lissue Holstein herd, owned by Lisburn-based Conor McAulfield, with the aim of flushing embryos from this highly rated genomic herd, to then utilise them with sexed straws, to further improve the overall pedigree, and to hopefully trade in this market.

As part of the overall plan, Bob's wish was to raffle some of the embryos from the flushing process, with all money raised going to cancer research.

"Her first calf was a bull, while her second was a heifer calf called Candy Floss.

"She was born on January 29, 2023, and later produced a heifer calf of her own on February 6 this year," Graham said.

Candy Floss will go to Carnew Mart for auction on Thursday, April 30, with all money raised from her sale going to cancer research to complete Bob's wish.

There will also be a bucket collection on the day for donations, while Bob's sons, Robbie and Graham, are setting up a sponsorship GoFundMe link for two weeks.

All funding streams, the sale of Candy Floss, the bucket collection and the sponsorship link, will be combined in full and donated to the Irish Cancer Society.