SHEEP FARMERS IN the Galtee mountain range on the Limerick-Tipperary border have been out since first light, every morning for the last week to save a large number of sheep buried beneath snow.

The mountain range, home to thousands of sheep, has been covered in a deep layer of snow this week as extremely cold and icy weather swept over the country – creating a “nightmare” scenario for farmers in the area.

Ann Drake, whose family members own dozens of sheep in the mountains, told The Journal that local farmers all over the Galtees are anxious that their livelihoods could be at risk due to the snow.

“The last time it was like this, it would’ve been during the Beast from the East in 2018,” Drake said. She added that the snow has now stopped and largely frozen over.

Farmers have managed to rescue dozens of sheep over the last week but many fear that a large number of the animals have died due to the weather and being stuck under the snow.

Sheep that have been rescued got stuck under the snow after strong winds in the Galtees covered up holes where some of the flock sought shelter from the weather this week.

Drake estimates that some of the animals have been buried under the snow since Sunday. Farmers now hope the snow will thaw out slowly overtime, to avoid areas of the Galtees become impassable due to slush. 

“It’s hectic. When they find one sheep, they find more underneath them,” she said, adding that farmers in the mountain range are now also concerned over the financial impact the weather might have on their business, due to deaths and vet bills.