THE IRISH GOVERNMENT’S given 29 grey partridges to the North, in an appropriately seasonal gesture.

And in case you’re wondering if someone in Government Buildings is attempting a real-life ’12 Days of Christmas’ and screwing it up in a major way — well, no…

At least, not as far as we can tell.

It’s part of a project to re-establish a wild population of the birds in the six counties, apparently.

Wild grey partridges were declared extinct in Northern Ireland in 1992.

“This conservation project is good for our natural heritage and wildlife, while bringing the communities together to work towards a shared goal,” Arts & Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys said, in a press release.

“This is the second translocation of birds from the Grey Partridge Conservation Project, which is based in Boora Bog, County Offaly.

“A translocation to North Dublin in 2011 has seen the grey partridge breeding successfully on farmland after an absence of nearly fifty years.

“We hope that our colleagues in Northern Ireland achieve their conservation objectives for this iconic farmland bird.”

Read: Snow … and not just on the hills: Met Éireann’s issued a weather warning for the entire country