"To have three sets of twins within 24 hours is really something, " said farmer, Patrick O'Connor. "We now have 16 cows who have calved and four of them have had twins. That's a really high strike rate; usually you might get one lot of twins from a herd of 40."

The excitement began at 9am on Saturday 28 January when the first cow . . . a matriarch of the herd who has been giving birth to twins nearly every year for the last 10 years . . . went into labour.

"I had been watching her on camera because I knew her time was coming and I was a bit concerned about her, " said O'Connor. He needn't have worried. The first calf arrived before he made it down to the stables and although he helped with the second, the whole process was over within five minutes.

A bull and a heifer were the result.

At lunchtime that day, one of the matriarch's daughters went into labour and produced two heifers. Then at half past midnight, her twin sister went into labour and delivered her own set.

"We were all delighted, " said O'Connor. "The kids would always be delighted with the one calf so having so many twins at once was very exciting for them, and all of us."

Then, just when the family thought it had its full complement of twin calves, a fourth set was born the following Tuesday to another daughter of the matriarch . . . this time a bull and heifer.

Twin calves often cause complications during labour as one can smother the other during birth, or the mother can refuse to keep pushing.

But according to O'Connor, very little intervention was needed during labour and all mothers and babies are doing well.

"We have a tough time in agriculture, with nitrate laws and milk prices, " he said. "But this . . . this is the lovely side of farming. You couldn't buy what's happening on this farm for anything."