Three cheers for Fame as she claims historic National Dairy Show crown at Millstreet
Owners Jason and Laura Helen celebrate as Eedy Doorman Fame is named this year's National Dairy Show Champion. Picture: Mathias Penn
Eedy Doorman Fame lived up to her name at Millstreet, becoming the first Irish-bred cow to win the National Dairy Show Championship three times.
The fifth-calver, owned and bred by Jason and Laura Helen from Clonakilty, Co Cork, returned to take the title after a year away from the show ring.
Already champion in 2023 and 2024, Fame’s latest victory caps a remarkable year in which she also became the first Irish-bred cow to achieve an Excellent 97 classification.
After topping her class, Mature Cow at Milk, at Millstreet, she added the Exhibitor Bred award to her championship honours.
“She was champion in 2023, and 2024. She had a year off last year because she calved later, but she is back and champion again this year,” Jason told the .
Success runs in the family. Fame’s fourth dam, Moralta Inspiration Fame, is the only cow
to have won the National Dairy Show Championship three times in succession.
Jason bought Fame’s mother as a calf 12 years ago, laying the foundations for a cow family that has served the herd well.
“She has bred extremely well for us, and she is still at home retired in the paddock,” he said.
Jason and Laura farm alongside his parents, Robert and Sylvia, milking around 100 pedigree Holstein cows on a year-round calving system.
“It’s a big team effort,” he said.
Fame had already made history in 2024, when she became the first cow in over a decade to win the National Dairy Show Championship back-to-back.
Her Excellent 97 classification earlier this year marked another milestone. The 100-point system assesses dairy cow traits against the breed’s true type.
“There has only been one other to get the 97-point score before — her fourth dam,” explained Laura. “But she was imported from Canada, so our Fame gets the title of being the first Irish-bred cow to manage it.”
For this year’s judge, former Holstein UK president and Holstein master breeder Mark Logan from Northern Ireland, Fame brought together the qualities he wanted in a champion.
“She has a tremendous frame, is so open in her dairyness, had so much presence in the ring. She’s a fifth-calved cow with a really tight udder and she moves so well; she just had all the attributes you are looking for in a very special cow.”
Mr Logan first attended the National Dairy Show around 30 years ago and has been drawn back by the magic of Millstreet ever since.
A regular visitor who has previously judged showmanship classes, he described judging this year’s show as an “unbelievable honour”.
“There has been a tremendous show of cows, tremendous numbers all day through and the quality was outstanding.”
More than three decades after Millstreet hosted Eurovision, Abba was back in the spotlight - this time in the dairy show ring.
Taking reserve honours was Tubbertoby Mirand Abba, who also claimed Best Udder in Show.
The third-calver is part of the 90-cow milking herd owned by Paul and Margaret Flanagan from Termonfeckin, Co Louth.
Sired by Australian bull Coomboona Zipit Mirand, she is out of Tubbertoby Unix Akazoo, the 2019 Emerald Expo champion, whose pedigree traces back to a Canadian cow family from Kingsley.
For the Flanagan family, Abba’s success brought a second consecutive reserve championship at Millstreet.
“We got reserve champion last year as well with her penmate, Tubbertoby Barolo Joy, so it was really nice to get the same again back-to-back,” their son Matthew told the
Now 27, Matthew has been showing cattle since he was around five or six years old. His breeding priorities combine performance with the strength and structure needed to sustain it.
“In terms of breeding, we look for high type and high production, good udders, feet and legs and plenty of strength.”
And it is an approach that seems to have paid off, with judge Mark Logan giving her the edge for the show’s Best Udder award.
“She is just a little bit fresher calved and needs a little bit longer just to clean off a little bit more, but I gave her [the award for] Best Udder in Show,” Mr Logan said.
“She has a tremendous udder, and has three calves, and her udder is really neat, snug and well attached in the fore and rear and that little bit more bloom in it than the cow that won the show.
“Two tremendous cows, and my honourable mention as well."
Honourable Mention went to Jones Knowlesmere Lvictory, exhibited by Jones Cattle LTD.
Show director Tom Baker said this year’s show had attracted record cattle entries, with just shy of 200 and strong classes throughout.
“A show of this size just doesn’t happen overnight, but we have had a tremendous committee, and we are delighted,” he said.
“We have had a new committee this year, and it has been a great team effort.”
