Donegal Man Shaves Seconds off Sheep Shearing World Record

By R. Bryan Willits, Editorial Assistant
June / July 2016

Co. Donegal man Ivan Scott (below left) has recently beaten the Guinness World Record for the fastest time in shearing a single adult sheep. Scott, 33, hails from Kilmacrennan and broke the record live on RTÉ’s Big Week on the Farm in April, shearing his sheep in 37.9 seconds, beating the previous record of 39.31 seconds which was set in Australia in 2010.

Scott is no tyro when it comes to the craft of sheep shearing either, as he is an eight-time All-Ireland sheep shearing champion. In New Zealand in 2012, Scott also set the record for the number of sheep sheared in eight hours after shearing on average over 1.5 lambs per minute, totalling 744 in the eight hour stint.

His most recent record was overseen by Guinness World Record adjudicator Glenn Pollard and chair of the Irish Sheep Shearing Association Tom Dunne, who assessed if the sheep was sheared to World Shearing Committee standards and ensured that the sheep did not suffer from any nicks or cuts after Scott rid it of its wool, which had to weigh in total three kilos after being sheared. Scott managed 3.92 kilos in his record breaking time. ♦

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