Sign of the times: Judge asks sheep farmer to erect safety signage

An 85-year-old sheep farmer from the Beara Peninsula has been asked to consider paying for up to four large public safety warning signs after her sheep were found wandering on the public road in contravention of a law dating back to 1851.

Mary O’Sullivan, of Hilltop House, Dreenacappara, near Ardgroom, said she had been farming sheep since she was six years old and had done everything possible to keep them from straying onto the road adjacent to the 1,140-acre Kilcatherine commonage, of which she is one of the 74 shareholders.