Donegal has the highest number of sheep in Ireland, the sheep and goat census 2023 has revealed.

At the end of December 2023, there were over half a million sheep in Donegal (526,658), some 14% of the country’s total sheep population.

On the opposite end of the scale, the Department of Agriculture’s census showed that Limerick had the least amount of sheep.

There were 18,437 sheep in the Treaty County at the same time, representing just 0.5% of the national flock.

Overall

Overall, the number of sheep in the country decreased by 7% (approximately 290,000 animals) when comparing the 2023 and 2022 censuses.

On 31 December 2023, there were 3.72m sheep in Ireland, compared with a December 2022 sheep population of 4.01m.

This was the second consecutive year the census showed a drop in the national sheep flock.

The number of registered holdings keeping sheep decreased by over 1,000 from 2022 to 34,519.

Of the 34,519 flocks keeping sheep in 2023, the average flock size was 108, compared with an average flock size of 113 in 2022.

A total of 69% of flocks kept fewer than the national average of 108 sheep.

Ewes, rams and lambs

There were 2.56m breeding ewes over 12 months of age, which is a decrease of 3.7% (or almost 100,000) on the previous year’s breeding ewe population.

A total of 82,756 breeding rams were recorded - a decrease of over 3,000 on the previous year.

Some 1.08m sheep classified as ‘other’ (including lambs, wethers and cull ewes) were accounted for. This category also decreased by over 14.7% in 2023 (or over 185,000).

As required by law, the Department of Agriculture carries out a census of sheep and goats annually.

This census report records the number of sheep and goats kept in Ireland on 31 December 2023 and is based on data submitted to the Department by 26 April 2024.