Tullow Livestock Sales (Tullow Mart) in Co. Carlow is set to host a special celebration sale this coming Friday, February 20, to mark 70 years in business.

Speaking to Agriland ahead of the anniversary sale, mart manager Eric Driver said that the celebration event will take place in conjunction with the weekly cattle sale.

He said: "There will be hospitality all day and farmers can come and go throughout the day.

"We've invited back some past businesses and staff that would have been involved with us down through the years.

The mart manager said that all are welcome to the event on Friday and there will be a presentation and cake at 12:00 noon.

History of Tullow Livestock Sales

The Tullow mart manager said Tullow Livestock Sales hosted its first-ever sale on February 10, 1956.

The business was formed by the Brophy, Dawson, and O'Byrne families who came together and "seen a niche in the market where they could open up a sales yard where livestock could come in and be traded in an environment where people could come and bid".

He said that in 1950s Ireland, livestock trading was very different and animal traceability was in its very infancy.

"It's still owned by those families, all in second generation now," Driver said.

He noted that there was some degree of a "standoff" when the sales yard first opened, with the livestock dealers of 1950s Ireland having been "a little standoffish".

Despite this, he said that both buyers and sellers alike soon came on board "when they discovered this was going to be the way of doing business".

"Throughout those 70 years, we want to thank all our customers who have supported us as we have came through the many changes."

Commenting on some of these changes over the years, Driver noted: "The animal traceability, the development of Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) with cattle, the sheep electronic tagging and embracing that and the positives it has brought to the sheep industry.

"They're in the second generation now and the famous rice pudding from their early days here is still served in the mart canteen today."

Driver noted that in the earlier days, there was also a bar operating in the sales yard alongside the canteen.

"The bar is gone 30-40 years but in the early days, it shows how things were developed to encourage people in and to break down the barrier of what was a very new way of doing business at the time.

"People quickly realised the beauty of the mart being the governing of guaranteed payment and so on," he added.

Driver also mentioned the various associations the mart has dealt with over the years and continues to deal with to this day.

This included the Tullow Sheep Breeders Association, which he said the mart has worked with "for near 30 years now" as well as the south-east mule breeders "who are coming up on 10 years".

"We've seen the organic sales developed and also worked with lots of pedigree groups in cattle and sheep sector."

Driver thanked all patrons of the mart for their custom over the years and reiterated that all are welcome to the celebration event on Friday.