Irish Black cattle were developed over fifty years by progressive, forward thinking cattlemen. Maurice Boney began the breed, developing his foundation females in the late 1960's. By 1971 Boney imported the first foundation sire of the breed, a Friesian bull from Ireland.
Development of the breed over the following years was strictly governed by performance, however a closed gene pool was the most important key. Boney was convinced that line breeding, not crossbreeding, was the proper genetic theory to create consistent quality in the Irish Black breed. After testing foundation blood to eliminate flaws, Boney closed the herd books and never allowed any outside blood into the Irish Black breed. There is no "breeding-up" to a registered animal. In fact, today all Irish Blacks must be verified through individual DNA typing to be the offspring of a registered, DNA verified mating in order to be registered with the breed organization.
The American Celtic Cattle Association is the breed organization that registers Irish Black cattle. The Association was founded by a group of purebred Irish Black breeders seeking to preserve the high standards of the breed. The Irish Black breed is the only DNA verified cattle breed in the world. DNA verification together with established breed standards support further breed development as well as the continued success of Irish Black cattle.