First tonight we spoke to people involved celebrations of the Dunbell National School in Kilkenny. The school formally closed in 1968 and we heard from Pat Mulrooney about the planned celebrations this summer; we heard from Desmond Keogh, a former pupil with many memories still (he started his first day there in 1937) and Proinsias O’Donnchú, a former local schools inspector (or “cigire”) about his own experiences of the school system at that time. We even had a song!
We heard from John Moloney of Teagasc and heard his advice on spraying at this time of the year and the issues surrounding chemical safety (particularly pesticides) and water sources. Peter Young of the Irish Farmer’s Journal joined us to discuss the issues raised and experiences of farmers and new technologies in farming.
Tomás Turley, dairy advisor with Teagasc spoke to us about the recent Farm Visit Day in Moorepark and touched the many themes involved, of resilience, of the changing nature of farming and employment and the development of the ‘perfect cow’
We then had the weekly Mart Report with George Candler
