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11th May 2023

New kid goats join fire-fighting herd in Howth and one is in need of a name

Katy Thornton

kid goats howth

There are some new kids on the block… literally.

Ever since we learnt about the fire-fighting goats on Howth Head, we have been obsessed and fascinated by them. For those who don’t know, there is a herd of Old Irish Goats who were deployed on an important conservation project in Howth; essentially their job is to eat the gorse which is otherwise highly flammable. The goats prevent the fires from starting by being there to eat the gorse, and they’ve been doing a stellar job for almost two years now.

Now they have some new recruits to help them out. 37 of them to be exact.

The new kids born are already working away, doing what they do best, eating gorse. In honour of their arrival, Fingal County Council are inviting the public to name one of them.

As these are Old Irish goats, the council encourage participants to consider and suggest a name that reflects their Irish roots and the work they do for Howth. It could be using a name from Irish Mythology, names with Irish language origins or something which has Irish cultural significance.

The project is a collaboration between the Fingal County Council and the Mayo Old Irish Goat Society. While this is an effort to conserve the land, it’s also an effort to protect the goats, as they are the last native goat to Ireland. These indigenous animals are on the verge of extinction, and the project hopes to prevent that.

You can submit your name suggestion for one of the kids on the Fingal County Council website.

Header image via Fingal County Council

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