Offaly resident publishes important work on booleying

TULLAMORE resident, Dr. Theresa McDonald’s new book entitled: Booleying in Ireland: A Study of an Ancient Farming Tradition in Achill, County Mayo was published by Cambridge Scholars, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK in July 2025.

Transhumance or booleying as it is called in Ireland involves the seasonal migration of livestock, mostly cattle, from a permanent, lowland settlement to summer pastures, usually in the mountains or uplands. The relatively great distance and nature of the terrain from these lowland settlements to the grazing grounds meant that people could not return home at night and it would also be impractical to move dairy cattle over long distances on a daily basis.

This book is important as it challenges traditional views of booleying as a post-medieval practice. The book offers fresh insights into the origins, economic and social aspects of booleying, suggesting its roots stretch back to the prehistoric period. It also emphasises the importance of booleying in Ireland, altering perceptions of its historical significance beyond the 19th-century rundale system. Additionally, the author, Theresa McDonald is a highly qualified archaeologist with extensive research experience, lending creditability to the work. The cover art connects the book to its cultural and historical context, showcasing a booley house on Achill Island.

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The Senchas Mór, a group of legal texts written down in the north Midlands refers to a law relating to the preservation from the depredations of cattle in summer of corn and grass for winterage at the permanent settlement. John Feehan (2003, 398) maintains that booleying in Ireland was responsible for profound changes in upland vegetation, because cattle are less selective in their grazing preference than sheep. This encourages the growth of more palatable grass species. A decline in cattle grazing and the advent of sheep grazing in upland areas as occurred when booleying ended, has resulted in the number of grasses and herbs declining, and heather , scrub and bracken becoming dominant.

Theresa McDonald, a native of Achill Island has lived in Tullamore since her marriage to Kevin McDonald of Church Street whose Mother’s family (Kearney/Ó Catharnaigh has a long association with County Offaly, with ancestry extending back to the late medieval period, or earlier.

The book is available from Cambridge Scholars: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-0364-4744-1

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