WATCH: Day-old triplet calves finding their feet at Northern Ireland farm

Three Angus heifer calves were born around lunchtime yesterday at Cloughbane Farm in Dungannon.

The rare event was made even more unique by the fact one of the daughters from the Robinson family who own the farm is married to a triplet.

Lorna Robinson, who runs the farm with her husband Sam and sons Richard and Robert, said: “It’s a unique event on the farm. It’s been a tough time for farmers with everything that’s going on in the world, it’s a nice lift when something like this happens.

“It does happen but it’s very rare. We’ve had twins, twins is quite common, but not so much triplets.

“They’re all well on their feet. That’s the way with animals, they’re up right away and suckling.”

The 63-year-old told how her husband broke the news of the arrival: “Sam came in yesterday and asked me “what age am I?”. I thought that’s a weird question out of the blue. I thought about it and said, ‘you’re coming 69, you’ll be 70 next year – why?’.

“He said, ‘something has happened on the farm that I’ve never seen in my lifetime here, in the almost 70 years that I’ve been here’.

“After a few guesses he gave me a clue. He told me think of Iain who is our daughter Clare’s husband.

“So Iain, our son in law, is a triplet and yesterday for the first time ever we had triple Angus heifer calves born on our farm.”

Iain Carson from Carrickfergus, who is married to Lorna and Sam’s daughter Clare, was born a triplet with one other brother and sister.

Lorna said he was pleased to learn that the farm has become home to more triplets on Wednesday.

She revealed the names of the calves, who are all girls: “Last night our wee grandchildren were down looking at them. They wanted to call them Blackie One, Blackie Two and Blackie Three. After a bit of thought we’re going for Daisy, Petal and Rosie.”

Of their plans for the calves she said: “We’ll probably keep them and when they’re two year old we’ll get them in calf (pregnant).”

The triplets’ mother is a Redhouse Holstein bought from Co Tyrone farmer Alan Irwin and their father is the Robinson’s own Angus bull.

Lorna, who won Agrifood Woman of the Year at the Farming Life awards a few years ago, said: “The farm has been going for around 150 years. Me and my husband are married 45 years, we’ve been at it all that time.

“I came from a farm and did work on the farm for a long time but now I look after the food shop, supplying supermarkets, that end of things.”

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