Irish 10-year-old uses €1,000 win to buy herd of calves

William Woods, from Ballyconnell, Co Cavan who is 10 years old and raising his own calves. ‘I missed my friends so much [due to Covid school closures]. Now the calves have sort of become my friends,’ William said. Photograph: Sinéad Brennan, RTÉ

When William Woods won €1,000 (£860) in a prize draw the 10-year-old knew exactly what to do: buy a herd of calves.

Lockdown had disrupted schooling and impeded meeting friends so spending days in a field tending his own herd seemed a no-brainer for the young farmer.

“Cows are my favourite animal, so why not buy some?” William said to RTÉ. “I’m proud of myself for buying them. I thought, what should I do with the money, should I save for college or for calves? I saved for calves and I’ll rear these and sell them and make a profit.”

The son of farmers in Ballyconnell, County Cavan, has no regrets about buying the six animals. Tending to them had proved a good antidote to the stress of Covid-19 restrictions, he said.

“I missed my friends so much. Now the calves have sort of become my friends – I’ll laugh with them in the field, they’re funny,” he said. “It’s taught me you need to actually work for something because you can’t just be sitting around on the sofa doing nothing saying: ‘Oh my life’s a mess.’ You need to have something you’re passionate about.”

William won the money in a Credit Union draw at Christmas. He still marvels at his purchase. “These lovely calves. I love checking them, make sure they’re eating, make sure they’re healthy, eating grass, all that stuff. If they’re not eating, they’ll get sick. It’s such a weird feeling because they’re mine.”