CountryWide

Countrywide Full Episode 28/03/2026

28 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide Full Episode 28/03/2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nature Restoration Plan

28 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Farmers and environmentalists have agreed an ambitious plan to restore nature. The only open question now is will government give it the funding it ne...

Lambing

28 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A sleepless time of year for sheep farmers, made easier on many farms by taking on students to help. UCD Ag Science students Aoife O’Brien and Sarah...

Cullahill Mountain

28 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Heritage Council runs a Heritage in Schools scheme giving pupils a chance to experience farm life. Della Kilroy went on Vincent O’Sullivan’s t...

Pond Life

28 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Regan Hutchins reports from a greenway outside Clonakilty Co Cork on how digging three ponds saved the local newt population from being trodden on or ...

Horticulture

21 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Following the news of the collapse of carrot producers Hughes in Kilkenny last week, Philip talks to another horticulturalist, Kenneth Keavey of Green...

Impact of Energy Crisis on Farmers

21 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the current oil crisis, which the International Energy Agency this week called the ‘worst in history’, fluctuating prices on fuel and fertilise...

Mountain Meitheal

21 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Treasa Bhreathnach joined Mountain Meitheal West, in the Galway Clare area a few weeks ago, while they were out clearing hazel from the trails on the ...

Livestock Boat to Israel

21 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This week, an Israeli registered Livestock carrier left Ireland heading to Israel, with a large shipment of calves on board. But with the port of Haif...

Search and Rescue Dogs in Kerry

21 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Lorna Siggins attends a demonstration of the search and rescue dogs of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team in Killarney.See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Female Farmer Roundtable

14 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Should we even be using the term female farmer in 2026? Is it naive to not recognise that more women farmers fall by the wayside than men? How a femal...

Female Farrier

14 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Women are very visible throughout the bloodstock and racing industries, except in on role. There are only four female farriers in the country. Suzanne...

Female Farm Ambassador

14 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Agriculture minister, Martin Heydon, announced Carina Roseingrave as Ireland’s Female Farming Ambassador for the International Year Of The Woman Far...

TB – Learning from others

14 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Unlike Ireland New Zealand has nearly entirely eradicated Bovine TB. Kiwi veterinary epidemiologist, Dallas New, visited Ireland recently. Back at hom...

Countrywide Full Episode 07/03/2026

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide Full Episode 07/03/2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thinking like a Mountain

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Professor John Feehan, Geologist and Botanist, argues that the rewetting of bogs may prove to be a major missed opportunity for nature, and that we ne...

Up in Smoke?

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

26 years ago, a team of archaeologists followed in the wake of Bord Na Mona’s peat harvesting machinery to rescue artefacts revealed by the milling....

Artists and our Wetlands

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Della Kilroy meets artist Annie Holland on Abbeyleix Bog to hear about her work which is inspired by the landscape there. Annie is one of 19 artists i...

Carbury Bog

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

At Carbury bog in Kildare, a local community group has cracked the problem of simultaneously protecting nature while allowing people who can’t affor...

Rain Essay

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Janet Heeran in Cork on the many days of rain this year. Featuring the track ‘Light Rain Blues’ by Sam Amidon. (For copyright reasons the full tra...

Lemanaghan Bog

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Lemanaghan Bog in Offaly, or Manchán’s bog, has been earmarked by Bord Na Mona and SSE Renewables as a site for turbines. Locals like Ciara Egan wo...

Lazy Beds

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Farming in peaty soils is challenging. But not so for horticulture. In Connemara Aongus O’Coistealbha has embraced the Lazy Beds growing system deve...

Fermanagh Farmwalk

28 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Creative Ireland has fostered collaborations between artists and farmers to better explain farming to the public. Della Kilroy visited farmer Barry Co...

Countrywide Full Episode 28/02/2026

28 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide Full Episode 28/02/2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Signs of Spring

28 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Three experts in their field on the signs that spring has or hasn’t sprung. Aine O’Donoghue, Irish Peatland Conservation Council on frogs and frog...

Grass Growth

28 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

One of the surest signs of spring is the moment when the soil gets above 5 degrees in temperature and grass starts growing. Suzanne Campbell visited T...

Beating TB

28 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

An opinion poll of farmers shows they are prepared to go much further than farm leaders or politicians in trying to eradicate bovine tuberculosis. Lia...

Bord Bia Row

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What do farmers outside the mainstream make of the IFA / Bord Bia stand off, and how would they like to reinvent our food systems for the 21st century...

Dúlamán

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When a song about seaweed is actually about so much more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tangle Net Fishing

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Tangle Net Fishing for Crayfish is sweeping up other critically endangered species as “by-catch”. How do we save Angel Sharks from extinction whil...

Seaweed Rights

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Families who have traditionally harvested seaweed from the foreshore fear that a new requirement to register before collecting will favour a multinati...

A live A live O

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Lee Hunter has developed a way to tell the difference between live and dead oysters using sound.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Countrywide Full Episode 21/02/2026

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide Full Episode 21/02/2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Countrywide Full Episode 14/02/2026

14 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide Full Episode 14/02/2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Irish dairy farmers more exposed than most

14 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Agri-economist Prof Alan Matthews on why efforts to reduce supply and increase the international price are unlikely to work.See omnystudio.com/listene...

Milk Price Collapse

14 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A drop in the price of milk in the international markets threatens to cut average dairy farm incomes by €70,000 this year. Dairy Farmers Aoife Ladd,...

Cork Butter Museum

14 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Regan Hutchins pays a visit to the museum that explores Irish history through a dairy lens.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dairy Gothic

14 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Writer Dennis Ryan reads an excerpt from his memoir about the last day his father milked his cows.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Powdered Milk

14 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Only 10% of Irish milk is sold in Ireland. The rest is sold mostly as powdered milk in three quarters of the countries around the world. Suzanne Campb...

Ireland’s Brainiest Bovine

14 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Hanley in Kildorrery nominates 1255 from his Holstein Friesian herd who has mastered pulling the hopper cord to feed herself and her herd mates.Se...

Flood Prevention

07 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Is the way we are farming partly responsible for flooding, and what changes might decrease damage in the future? Geomorphologist Prof Mary Bourke. Sli...

Countrywide Full Episode 07/02/2026

07 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide Full Episode 07/02/2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Financing nature-based flood relief

07 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Rob Gardner, Natural Asset Investment manager argues nature-based flooding solutions give you more bang for your buck than traditional concrete and st...

The Jet Stream is stuck

07 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Leading Jet Stream expert Dr Jennifer Francis explains how the fast-moving current that used to ensure changeable weather is increasingly getting stuc...

Countrywide Full Episode 31/01/2026

31 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide Full Episode 31/01/2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Farm Machinery Sector

31 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland’s farm machinery sector is an unsung economic dynamo, creating nearly as much wealth as the tourist industry and a value to the economy of a...

Seamus O’Rourke: Leaning On Gates

31 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

An excerpt from Seamus’s memoir Leaning On Gates about what “innovating” with tractors in the eighties.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Tractor collector Kieran Geoghegan

31 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The 91-year old farmer from Westmeath still gets out on his Massey Ferguson 165 every day to do jobs around the yard.See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

Safety around farm machinery

31 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

40% of workplace fatalities happen on farms. Half of those involve machinery. Suzanne Campbell accompanies a HSA inspector doing a farm safety audit.S...

Why are modern tractors so big?

31 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Charles Hutchenson from Armstrong Machinery answers the question frequently asked by Countrywide’s listeners.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Richard Lovell Edgeworth

31 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the 18th century, the father of the author Maria Edgeworth from Longford was the inventor of many agri-mechanical innovations still in use today.Se...

Price of a pint

24 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As the price of a pint rises above €10 in some places, how much of that do barley growers get? David Walsh-Kemmis, Ballykilcavan Brewery discusses.S...

Inshore trawling ban

24 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Owners of large vessels are going to court to have the ban overturned, meanwhile owners of small vessels support it. Lorna Siggins with Donegal trawle...

Not so stupid cows

24 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Austrian dairy cow Veronika has taught herself how to use a tool. The scientists who studied her say that bovine intelligence needs to be reappraised....

Mercosur political impact

17 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Pat O’Toole, Political Editor of the Farmers Journal and RTÉ’s Europe Editor, Tony Connelly, on the consequences of the trade deal.See omnystudio...

Mercosur Protest

17 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Beef and Tillage farmer John Keogh assesses how the trade deal will impact his business in Co CarlowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

Mercosur public health fears

17 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The former head of the Food Safety Authority, Prof Alan Reilly, on whether the inspection system can keep adulterated meat out of Europe.See omnystudi...

Fostering the future

17 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Della Kilroy reports on farmers Ned and Kate Sullivan who have fostered up to twenty children in as many years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Mad Yolk Farm

17 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

With the pressure on farms to diversify, Suzanne Campbell reports from one farm business with everything from trees to saunas.See omnystudio.com/liste...

Boat building

17 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Lorna Siggins reports from Greencastle Boatyard in Donegal on the restoration of a uniquely Irish-Scandi vessel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

Early bloomers

17 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The third warmest year on record has caused many plants to bloom in the depths of winter according to the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland.See...

Laura Burke retires from the EPA

10 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The outgoing director assesses the state of the Irish environment, our commitment to preserving it and the performance of the agency on her watch.See ...

Beef Versus Venison

10 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

With an explosion in the deer population and a steep rise in the price of beef, might venison represent better value for money. Featuring gamekeeper A...

Local Link Buses

10 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Regan Hutchins travels on a Local Link bus from Bantry to Skibbereen to see why the service is about more than just getting from A to B.See omnystudio...

BVD Eradication

10 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Robert and Valerie Hovendon came down with Bovine Viral Diarrhea in 2025. Patrick Donohue from Animal Health Ireland explains why theirs might be amon...

Cooking with venison

10 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Suzanne Campbell talks to Chef Jess Murphy about how to popularise a meat that has often been seen as elite.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

Countrywide New Year Panel

03 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Joined by Cheryl Poole, Wexford dairy farmer, Seamus Boland, CEO of Irish Rural Link, Magaret Donnelly, Editor of the Irish Farming Independent, and F...

Farm Succession and Generational Renewal

03 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Feely is the chair of a group called the Young Sheep Farmer Forum who last month made recommendations to government on how to best promote gen...

Tackling Social Isolation in Farming

03 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Reporter Ella McSweeney travels to Kerry and to a group of farmers tackling one of the hardy perennial issues – social isolation. This small group i...

Countrywide 2025 Highlights

27 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout 2025, the Countrywide team was on the open roads visiting homes and farms across the country, and here are some of the team's favorite piec...

To Inis Mor for salted white fish and boiled potatoes

20 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s an Irish Christmas food tradition from coastal communities that traveled the world. Salted White Fish, boiled potatoes, drowned in white sau...

A family run bookshop in Wexford

20 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Red Books is an independent bookstore located in Wexford town that sell new, previously loved, antiquarian and collectible books.See omnystudio.com/li...

Kilfinane Intercultural Winterfest

20 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Craft workshops, Carol singing, hot chocolate and Christmas decorations... It's all there at Kilfinane Intercultural Winterfest.See omnystudio.com/lis...

Candle making in county Cork

20 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Frances Murphy is a candlemaker originally from Bere Island in West Cork. She is an aromatherapist and reflexologist who has developed her own range o...

Countrywide Christmas Special

20 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this special edition of Countrywide, we have gathered stories of Christmas preparations from across the country and sprinkled them with music from...

Illuminating traditional boats with Christmas lights in the Claddagh Basin

20 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lorna Siggins meets Peter Connolly, Dara Bailey and Ray O Beara of Bádóirí an Chladaigh as they illuminate three traditional boats with Christmas l...

Countrywide 13.12.25 Full Episode

13 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide 13.12.25 Full EpisodeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nitrates and Habitats

13 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Three more years of derogation from nitrates directive for 7,000 farms announced by the Department to prove to Brussels that derogation farms are not ...

Louping Ill

13 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Louping Ill is a serious tick borne disease, deriving from the distressing behaviour of infected sheep - including jumping - or louping. Now, a proble...

TB Breakdown

13 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following one year on from Philip's last visit, East Galway farmers Joe and Michael Dempsey have once again suffered another TB breakdown, leading to ...

Geese

13 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Darina Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery School discusses how, long before Turkey became traditional, Goose was our Christmas roast of choice and had been s...

Plantain

06 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Could a little grass-herb, dismissed in the past as a weed, play a key role in solving Ireland’s livestock/water quality issue? With Thomas Moloney,...

Countrywide 06/12/2025

06 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide 06/12/2025See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bluetongue Virus

06 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

BBC Farming Journalist Anna Hill reports on the impacts of two years of the virus in England and Wales. Dept of Agriculture deputy chief veterinary of...

Dry Stone Walls

06 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

PJ Davon, the lead Stonemason in Connemara National Park, tells Treasa Breathnach how to building a stone wall is part engineering exercise and part a...

Connemara Pony Heritage Centre

06 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A visit to the newly opened tourist facility which will also play a role in preserving the genetic heritage of our native pony. With Cathy Snow and Ma...

Seen / Unseen

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How do you relate to the landscape and what is going on in the countryside if you are blind or partially sighted. Suzanne Campbell reports from Gavin ...

Rivers of No Return

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Walking the banks of the River Nore, artist Bernadette Kiely tells Della Kilroy how she thinks rivers simultaneously shape the landscape and our sense...

Countrywide Full Episode 29/11/2025

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide Full Episode 29/11/2025See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Houses of Guinness

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Just how historically accurate is the Netflix series about the brewing dynasty. In the grounds of Ashford Castle, one of the family’s many houses, h...

Nitrates Derogation

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon shares new detail on what promises he had to make on improving water quality in order to secure the EU Commission’...

Gas men in Meath

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new anaerobic digester in Meath, one of the first of many, raises questions about where will all the grass to feed them come from? Minister Darragh ...

Devil in the dancehall

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Keith Brennan goes to one hell of a hooley in Tooreen dancehall in MayoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seashore solutions to plastic pollution in Cork

22 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two pupils in Loreto secondary school Fermoy look like they are on the brink of developing a biodegradable plastic packaging made from seaweed washed ...

Michael Miley's flooded farm

22 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide visited a farm in County Kildare that was flooded by recent heavy rain.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Countrywide Full Episode 22/11/2025

22 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Countrywide Full Episode 22/11/2025See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nitrates derogation

22 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Back in the early nineties all across the EU a rule was introduced to protect rivers and streams from agricultural run off. At the last count 7,000 ou...

Marine protected areas

15 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Irish scientist Mark John Costello, based at Nord University in Norway, looked at the evidence of economic benefits on 50 existing marine protected ar...

Learning about regenerative farming in Monaghan

15 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Monaghan, a not-for-profit co-operative called Síolta Chroí is hosting training courses on regenerative agriculture. They recently started a six-...

Tralee Oyster Fishery

15 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Tralee Oyster Fishery was founded in 1979, after the near collapse of the native oyster stock. The local fishers came together to restore the popu...