Offaly farmer hails his 'record-breaking' goose

Banagher farmer John Dolan has week hailed one of his geese for being “a record-breaker” after it laid an unprecedented third clutch of eggs.

The popular farmer is well known locally for the incredible, unusual hens which he has reared on his farm over the years, and now his geese are following suit.

In 2023 he revealed that a Muscovy goose was laying more eggs than the norm. Now a Pomeranian goose, a three year old called Concepta, is doing something similar.

“She's a great bird,” he told The Midland Tribune. “Geese normally only hatch one clutch of goslings per year, nearly always between March and May, but she's produced three clutches which is very unusual. On the 10th of September 2024 she hatched out two live goslings out of six eggs. That was her second clutch this year. Her first clutch was on the 3rd of April when she hatched 13 out of 13 eggs.

“Then, at the end of December, a third clutch (one gosling) was hatched. We set the egg of the third clutch under our Muscovy duck and it hatched on the 1st of December. History has been made. There is no one in the world where a goose has produced three clutches of goslings in the one year.

“When we had Concepta on show at the Banagher Horse Fair people said to me they had never seen or heard of goslings in the month of September. I believe it's a Irish record for a goose to bring out goslings in September, if not a world record.”

The last of John's famous hens, Little Chip Marmalade, died in September 2023. John was heart-broken when Little Chip Marmalade died. She was five years of age. When she hatched out 26 chicks on May 16, 2019, it was widely reported in the media, including RTE.

Little Chip Marmalade was subsequently given the taxidermy treatment and now stands beside John's three other champion hens who had also died, been sent to a taxidermist and put on display, Marmalade, Sally and Ruby.