A number of sheep have been rescued after they were trapped under snow on the Galtee mountains.
The southwest of the country has been hit with heavy snowfall during the cold snap, with snow-ice weather warnings in place.
Ann Drake and her brothers brothers Tom, John and William Cunningham are sheep farmers who have trying to rescue their sheep on the mountains.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Ms Drake said that the sheep went into the mountain hollows for safety and shade, but when the wind blew they were covered in snow and became stuck.
She said there were probably between five, ten or maybe even 15 feet of snow on the animals.
"As my brothers and my nephew and all the sheep farmers on the Galtees are walking just trying to find them with their dogs, they might see one of their heads sticking up, and when they rescue that particular sheep, there is probably five more underneath them," Ms Drake said.
The dogs, Ms Drake explained, can find the sheep through smell.
However, she said there will be a lot of animals lost and the exact count will not be clear until the thaw comes.
"They're hoping for a natural thaw, not a quick thaw, because like with rain or anything like that, that's when landslides will start and there will probably be more losses then," she said.
Ms Drake added that when the sheep are removed from the snow, some cannot stand and are traumatised by the experience.
The farmers have to put them on their backs and take them off the Galtees onto waiting quads.
Ms Drake said that her mother has been home for the last week, nursing the animals back to full health.
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