Brave Herders

Brave Herders is a collective of independent family farms brought together by a love of native Irish livestock breeds & a drive to offer a non-factory farmed alternative to consumers. We represent farms across Munster and we are members of the Irish Dexter Cattle Society.

Who are the Brave Herders?

Diarmuid O'Riordan
Chief Brave Herder

Diarmuid, son of Dexter farmer Jerry, works in digital advertising in Dublin. The O'Riordans set up Brave Herders in response to the Covid crisis which resulted in many beef farms, including our own, being unable to supply premium beef to restaurants. Diarmuid coordinates the Brave Herders, manages the website & customer service.

Jerry O'Riordan
Dexter Farmer

Jerry O’Riordan is a Dexter Cattle farmer in Millstreet, Co. Cork. The farm is situated on the foothills of Curragh Mountain & home to a herd of 80 free range Dexter Cattle. Jerry decided to farm Dexters having sold his dairy herd in 2017. He remembers these native Irish cattle being common in his youth, with the last Dexter leaving our farm in the 1970's, due to the installation of a milking machine - and the excellent milking Dexter was too small to fit into the new milking stall.

Conor O'Riordan
Dexter Farmer

Conor O'Riordan has a herd of 14 Dexter cows in Millstreet, Co. Cork. The cattle graze in peace and quiet on Curragh Mountain.

John Murphy
Dexter Farmer

John Murphy, Gneeveguilla, Co.Kerry, farms in partnership with his son, David. The farm overlooks the lakes of Killarney & onto Carrauntoohil mountain. John & David decided to farm Dexters following the purchase of a neighbouring farm in 2013.

Larry Fanning
Dexter Farmer

Larry has a mixed farm and has kept Dexter Cattle for the last 5 years. Based in Cashel, Co. Tipperary, he's a member of the Dexter Cattle Society & one of the premier Dexter breeders in the country.

Melanie O'Donoghue
Dexter Farmer

Melanie & Michael O'Donoghue are Gleninagh Burren Dexter, a small Dexter farm in the Burren, North Clare. Their cattle graze outside all-year-round, owing to the karst limestone which takes in heat during summer and allows for grass growth all year round. Farming within this special area of conservation, Dexter Cattle are perfectly suited to this beautiful landscape.

Cora Hogan Doyle
Dexter Farmer

Cora is a Dexter Farmer based in Dunmore East, Co. Waterford. Having decided to take up farming in 2019, Cora started off on local dairy farms and working on my uncles suckler and tillage farm. Cora got a own herd number and joined dexter society in 2023. Cora is currently building up Dexter herd while doing an Operations Graduate Programme and completing a Masters in Organic & Biological Agriculture.

MJ Walsh
Dexter Farmer

MJ is a Consultant Civil & Environmental Engineer. Alongside this, he runs Glosha Organic Dexters a small but steadily growing, purebred organic Dexter breeding and beef finishing farm in Southwest Laois. He follows in his proud father’s footsteps and strong Walsh family tradition of breeding, keeping and herding pedigree beef cattle. MJ, like his father, is driven and guided by two key north stars “small is sustainable” and “quality stock/beef is purebred stock/beef”

Our History

Set up by the O’Riordan family in Millstreet, Co. Cork, our brand name attempts to bring together ideas & values about our farm and our history. “Herders” evokes a people who are less process driven & more focused on the intrinsic value of the animal, using traditional husbandry methods. “Brave” was for the decision taken in setting up something new, when in 2017 we bought Dexters having been traditionally a dairy farm.

Our history in Dairy farming informs our business strategy. Irish Dairy Cooperatives have helped generations of dairy farms thrive through the cooperative, family owned model. Having benefited from this for 50 years, we set up Brave Herders to be a cooperative model for local, family owned Dexter farmers.

We continue to grow and add more Herders, who match our values and ethics, to our collective. The journey continues.