Michael Herlihy at the NZ Championships intermediate final in Te Kuiti last season where he placed fourth.

Less than a fortnight before Taranaki's Herlihy brothers were to attempt a new world shearing record, the youngest of the six competitors has died.

Former national lambshearing junior champion, Michael Herlihy, of Stratford, died at the weekend. He was 20.

He and his five older brothers, Paul, Mark, Craig, Tim and Dean Herlihy, had planned to tackle the Six-Stand Strong Wool Lamb record at Gisborne next week.

SUPPLIED John Herlihy with his sons Paul, Mark, Craig, Tim, Dean and Michael.

The brothers aimed to shear 3000 lambs in just eight hours, 90 more than the five-stand record, which would require each of them to clip one sheep every 50 seconds.

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The record setting event has now been cancelled.

Shearing Sports New Zealand chairman Sir David Fagan said the sports and industry of shearing, much wider than just in New Zealand, was shocked by the sudden death of Herlihy who had been a keen competitor in New Zealand's intermediate ranks.

"He was certainly one of the up-and-coming guns in the lower grade," he said.

The son of former long-time shearing contractor John Herlihy and wife Pat, who now farm at Whangamomona, Herlihy's biggest single win in New Zealand was the national lambshearing championships junior final at Raglan in 2013.

Last season, he finished in second place on the Shearing Sports New Zealand Intermediate rankings with wins at Stratford, Levin, Apiti and the Flaxbourne show in the South Island, but the major feature was third place at the Golden Shears where he was also top qualifier among the 46 shearers in the heats and claimed the FMG Quality Award for the grade.

Fagan said the brothers record attempt would have been a one-of-a-kind performance.

"They weren't trying to break a record, they were setting one," he said.

"It was pretty unique. We've never had six brothers go for a record before."

He said the loss of the young competitor was an "absolute tragedy" which would ripple right through the shearing community

"The whole industry and sport is built on family."

Taumaranui police senior sergeant Grant Alabaster said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Herlihy's death and it had been referred to the coroner.

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