Achill Mountain Lamb is bred, reared and butchered on the Calvey family farm off the west coast of Ireland.
Food and Wine Magazine
MAYO BLACKFACE MOUNTAIN EWES
The Blackface Mountain sheep are believed to have descended from the wild horned Argali sheep that inhabited central Asia in ancient times. Gradually they spread west through Europe and are thought to have been introduced to mainland Britain by the Danes circa 800AD. It evolved from there probably by interbreeding with other native breeds. In the 17th century the Blackface was known in northern England as the “Linton” or short sheep as opposed to the Cheviot, which was, know as the long sheep. During the 18th century the blackface sheep swept north replacing the Cheviot in the Scottish Highlands as it was better able to survive the harsh conditions and poorer grazing on the bleak mountains. Their numbers increased rapidly during that century as wool became an important product during the Industrial Revolution and the demand for meat increased in line with the growth of cities in Britain.
Several strains of Scotch Blackface have evolved down through the years. In Scotland and Northern Ireland there are three types namely Perth, Newton Stewart and Lanark. In Ireland there are the Mayo type, Kerry Blackface and the Waterford and Donegal types, which are very similar to the Perth strain in Scotland. There has also been a lot of crossing and merging of the types in recent years especially in Scotland where the Newton Stewart and Lanark are almost totally merged. The Mayo Blackface is still a distinct strain having evolved and adapted to conditions in the West over the last century. The Calvey family are farming this 100% purebred distinct strain Mayo Blackface Mountain Breed since 1856 & have continued for seven generations sheep farming decendant breeding ewes of this original flock. Calveys first Blackface ewes were from James Hunter who farmed the hills of Tiernaur with 20,000 sheep in the 1850s.
