Ireland’s sheep flocks tend to be very small scale by international standards, with 69% of all flocks below the average flock size of 106 ewes. This compares with an average flock size of over 200 in Scotland and 1,400 in the world’s largest exporter, New Zealand. The top five counties in terms of sheep numbers in 2017 were all characterised by mountainous terrain – Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kerry and Wicklow.
