Posted online: Aug 11th, 2010

By Lauren Harte
reporter

Forget Daniel O’Donnell and Shay Given, Donegal is not just famous for the producing musical and sporting talent – it seems we can now also claim to have the biggest ‘cock’ in Ireland.
This 27-inch cockerel – named Foghorn Leghorn after the famous cartoon character – is proving to be a major talking point in the bars around Bundoran and is also heading straight for the record books.
Despite being only two years old, the white rooster is nearly three times the size of his male counterparts and still growing.
Currently the world record for the largest cockerel is 32 inches while the biggest recorded in Ireland is 30 inches but owner John Mahon from Drumacrin believes he could be onto a winner:
“The average height of a rooster is about 12 inches – not much bigger than a hen but this one is trebling in size. He will stop growing when he hits three. He has another few months to go and gain a few more inches so he should certainly hit the 30 mark or more.”
John thought he was the owner of nothing more than an average white hen, given to him by his friend Gerry Hourihane, who also owns one of the smallest ponies in the world –a 14 inch Shetland.
“I got him from Gerry when he was two months old. He was meant to be a white hen but he started to crow one day and this is what he has turned into. He eats the same as the rest of the hens so it’s something in his genes for sure. He’s now well known around Bundoran and everybody is talking about him.”
And it seems the larger than life ‘cock’ has both a voice and temper to match.
“He’s nipped me a few times in the leg especially when I get too close to the hens just to let me know who is boss,” says John. “He starts crowing at 5.30am every morning like clockwork and keeps going for a good half hour.”