An earlier and more innocent era in Irish agriculture, long before CAP, headage payments and the Green Pound, is recalled in State papers from the early 1960s which have just been released at the National Archives.
The story is literally a load of bull, since it concerns the shipment of an Aberdeen Angus bull, as a gift from Ireland to the Vatican to service the papal heifers. This was a prizewinning papal bull, since it had won a Leinster medal at the RDS Bull Show.
The saga began with a letter in December 1962 from a senior Vatican official to the Department of Agriculture. In the letter, Mgr L.G. Ligutti informed the secretary of the Department, Mr Jack Nagle, that "a whole planeload of high-quality Aberdeen Angus heifers" had been shipped to Castelgandolfo.
The Monsignor, whose title was Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, pointed out that "they need a young bull . . . It would not necessarily have to be of highest breed, just good reliable stock".
He said he had been given the names of a number of Aberdeen Angus breeders in Ireland but "before entering into communication with them, I wanted to consult with you. You were not consulted about the Ecumenical Council, so why not ask your advice on this right-bully matter?"
Clearly mindful of the papal finances, he finished with a request: "I thought that it might even be possible to secure the bull as a gift to the farm. What think ye?"
Mr Nagle replied a week later with the good news that his minister, Paddy Smith, considered it "an honour and a pleasure" to meet the Vatican's request. The secretary added in humorous vein: "May I say how much I appreciate your consulting me on such an important matter as a papal bull!"
Although news of the gift was not immediately released to the public, it proved impossible to hold it back. An internal memo from March 28th, 1963, had an anxious tone: "The bull is at present at Abbotstown Research Laboratory, and the minister is afraid that the news about its destination will be leaked by some member of the staff there to one or other of the agricultural organisations or journals."
In his reply, the secretary wrote: "Without claiming to be infallible on the subject, we think that this animal is a good one.
"We would very much like to hear later how he has turned out. Do you think he could be named 'Shamrock'?"