Holy cow! Four little identical quad heifers are causing a sensation in north Clare after beating odds of more than one billion to one after being born last Sunday, writes Gordon Deegan.

Yesterday, a convoy of well-wishers continued to descend on Tom Clair’s farm outside Ennistymon to see for themselves the bovine foursome: Rosie, Fluffie, Mia, and Jenny.

The four were being handfed by an “over the moon” Tom yesterday, and kept warm under a red lamp in his farm-shed.

“It is like winning the Lotto, but you know what, I wouldn’t swap these calves for anything you could win in the Lotto,” he said.

When identical quad calves were born in Texas in 2015 and Norfolk in 2004, experts described the chances of such an event ranging from odds of more than a billion to one.

“This is incredible,” said Tom. “It was like scenes from an All-Ireland win yesterday with the amount of cars coming up to the farm full of people looking to see the calves. It didn’t stop until nine o’clock last night and there is no sign of it ending today either.

“I’ll put them on the mother this evening. I just wanted to give her a break over the last couple of days for her to get her breath back.”

Mia McMahon, affectionately known as the ‘farm manager’ on Tom Clair’s farm in Maghera, Lahinch, Co Clare, with the the Charolais quads, Mia, Rosie, Fluffy, and Jenny. Picture: Brian Arthur

The frenzy of the last few days follows the peaceful scene that Tom encountered at 1.30am on Sunday.

“I went out to the mother at that time and she seemed very peaceful,” he said. “There was no sign in the world that anything was about to happen and I went away happy to leave her alone for the night.”

He thought she might be pregnant with twins but confessed to getting “some shock” after 7.30am when he went back to the mother.

“It was way out altogether,” he said. “There were two standing in front of her, one standing behind, and I was very happy at that stage and I then I heard another little ‘moo’ from what was the fourth near the gate. I couldn’t believe it.

“I have been farming since I was six years old and I never saw anything like it. What has happened is desperately unusual. This week has been one of the best weeks in my 70 years — there are enough down days on the farm.”

Tom said he is delighted the mother is doing fine after giving birth to the four without any help. He said: “She is incredible.”

The mother of the four is a nine-year-old Hereford cross and the father is a Charolais bull.

The farmer said the four calves “will have a long life here in Maghera”

“They will be retained for breeding and will be here long after I am gone.” he said, adding that the calves are around 35kg each.

This story first appeared in the Irish Examiner.