Sheep shearer Seán wins New Zealand title
Dunne said the achievement had been his target for the season, and reaching it left him feeling “pretty good now alright, to get over there and become the top ranked”.
At just 20, Seán Dunne from Laragh, Co Wicklow has carved out a place in sheep shearing history, becoming New Zealand’s top junior shearer.
His victory also marks a first: no non-New Zealander had previously claimed the title.
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Dunne said the achievement had been his target for the season, and reaching it left him feeling “pretty good now alright, to get over there and become the top ranked”.
Only three years into the trade, Seán reckons he has already shorn 70,000 sheep. “I travelled to New Zealand twice, and I’ve shorn in Ireland for three seasons and I’ve been to Norway once,” he said.
Sheep in New Zealand, he noted, present a different challenge because they are “more woolly”.
“There’s a lot more wool on them, there’s wool around the heads and legs that we don’t see at home in Ireland.”
Seán’s father and grandfather are also sheep shearer champions
Shearing success runs deep in the family. His father, Tom, has competed around the world and, Seán said, “he’s done a bit of shearing in his younger days”.
His grandfather, Paddy, was a champion too, winning four All-Ireland titles.
Seán said he takes real pride in following the path they set. “Ah yeah, it’s nice to carry on the family tradition, it’s a nice thing to do,” he said, adding that he and his father were both at the Irish national competition in Galway at the weekend, where he also took part.
He said he won the intermediate [Irish] national title.
New Zealand’s sheep shearing season runs from October to April, with as many as 30 to 40 competitions taking place over that stretch.
Dunne said the people he worked for were “quite happy” with the result, though he was less certain how it landed among rivals.
“My boss – and the people that showed me everything – was quite happy and pleased with it, so it was good.”
Competition scoring, he said, is “divided between the quality finish on the sheep, if you don’t leave any wool on or any skin cuts, and the other half is time points”.
In junior finals, competitors had to shear five sheep. “It’s physically demanding work but it’s quite rewarding at the end of the day, and actually enjoyable when you get fit on it.
“Your body gets fit… it’s actually quite enjoyable work.”
Now back in Ireland after a three-month spell in New Zealand, he said the experience sharpened every part of his approach. There, you “learn about shearing, you learn blows, and you learn how to shear and the mentality of shearing and just everything going up to a competition what way to approach different sheep and your work mentality every day to get up and keep going.
“You’re shearing the same sheep all day every day, it’s consistent.”
He said around 12 to 15 young Irish sheep shearers make the trip to New Zealand each year.
The world championship is held every three years, with the next event due in 2029 in Australia, but for the rest of this season Dunne plans to keep travelling to shows across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain.
“It’s what I love to do, I don’t think I could ever see myself doing anything else,” he said.
