A bright start to the weekend with Damien O'Reilly and the CountryWide team, featuring events, people and happenings from across the country.
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Irish scientist Mark John Costello, based at Nord University in Norway, looked at the evidence of economic benefits on 50 existing marine protected areas in 31 countries. Can protecting parts of our oceans actually increase profits for the fishing industry?
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 population and today, they're a cooperative of 200 fishers who both profit from and protect the fish in the bay.
In Monaghan, a not-for-profit co-operative called Síolta Chroí is hosting training courses on regenerative agriculture. They recently started a six-week program called Farming the System, aimed at helping local farmers to create more diversified and resilient farms. For more details, visit sioltachroi.ie
Several cases of avian have now been confirmed here in Ireland, and that means it's more important than ever to stick to strict biosecurity measures. Dr June Fanning is Chief Veterinary Officer at the Department of Agriculture, and Paul Moore is a tillage farmer from Cork.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board is the body that investigates accidents and incidents at sea. It says that fatalities and injuries remain too high, especially on smaller boats under 15 metres in length.
In 2021, Nick and Cass McCarthy set up Lúnasa Farm on 30 acres of land in Co. Clare. Neither of them comes from a farming background. Nick's an engineer by trade, and he met Cass while working in her home country of Australia. lunasafarm.ie for more details
Last month, Séamus Boland became President of the European Economic and Social Committee, an EU body that gives voice to workers, businesses, farmers and communities right across Europe.
Across Ireland, repair cafés are springing up. The idea is simple: reduce waste, reuse what you can, and give old items, from clothing to furniture, a new lease of life.
At the moment, anyone across the world can use “Donegal Tweed” to describe their fabric, whether it was made in Donegal or not. This might all stop because the Donegal Tweed Association is applying to get official EU recognition and legal protection.
Mary Reynolds is a writer based in Wexford. She's been thinking about how our concept of nature has shifted over generations and wants to introduce us to the idea of Shifting Baseline Syndrome.
Last month the government allocated €157 million of public money in Budget 2026 for the Department of Agriculture to continue their efforts to eradicate the disease.
Two very large farms that have just come on the property market, and the asking prices for both say all kinds of fascinating things about the value we attach to land.
Up on Forth Mountain in Wexford, a group of volunteers and craftspeople have been slowly restoring an old cottage, a place that was once the centre of a small, close-knit community.
A poem by Janet Heeran, remembering Manchán Magan
October is the start of storm season. So how should we prepare for extreme weather?
Marie Hannah Curran and her husband moved to a windy spot in East Galway, and quickly realised they'd have to adapt their home if they were going to cope with severe weather. Our reporter Della Kilroy went to meet her to find out what they've done to storm-proof their lives.
On Saturday 8th January 2005, a powerful storm swept past the northwest of Ireland before gaining ferocious strength as it reached southern Sweden.
The backbone of communities is neighbours helping each other, but also the teams of volunteers who are trained in dealing with emergencies.
London-based vet Sean McCormack tells us why flea treatments for cats and dogs are threatening river life.
Philip visits Balla Mart to see who is selling and the prices cattle are making.
Maria Moynihan reflects on how she found comfort in nature, while grieving the loss of her firstborn.
Celebrating publication of the Irish Farm Book in colour, we visit Kinvara to see a unique collection of photos from the 1950s.
Barry Fox, Deputy CEO of Inland Fisheries; Tom Ryan, a Director of the EPA with responsibility for environmental enforcement; Rick Officer CEO of the Marine Institute; Timmy Dooley, Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries and the marine.
Haraldur Eiriksson runs a salmon fishing business 45km outside Reykjavik. The technology he uses gives him live readings of what is going on in the river.
During the week, Countrywide went to the lower reaches of the river catchment and talked to a few people who describe the Blackwater as part of their lives.
A special programme on new books about farms, rural life and nature.
Seventy Years in the Wild West is the story of Dhulough Farm, published by Mayo Books. It is a chronicle of the human disaster behind creating the biggest farm in Irish history.
Poet Jane Clarke reading Walls of Arainn, one of her poems from a new book called The Hare's Corner.
Walking during lockdown Deirdre O'Neill noticed how visible the fingerprints of history are on our landscape. This inspired her to chronicle as many of these ancient artefacts in fields around the country as she could find. The result is Remnants of Our Past, published by Gill Books.
James Rebanks is a farmer turned author in England's Lake District. In his farming memoirs The Shepherd's Life and English Pastoral, he tells his story of rightsizing an unprofitable, environmentally unsustainable farm.
Conor W O'Brien's book The Living and The Dead, tales of Loss and Rebirth from Irish Nature is published by Merrion Press.
The Hare's Corner: Making Space for Nature by poet Jane Clarke and journalist Catherine Cleary, is a celebration of the quiet, hopeful revolution taking place across Ireland, where people are making space for nature to thrive once again.
On the Burren in County Clare, farmers are preparing to move their livestock up onto the limestone pavement winterage in the hills. This traditional way of managing cows over winter is recorded in Jane Clarke's poem, Come October.
The report on the River Blackwater fish kill published this week was inconclusive, with no enough evidence to say what was to blame for the largest fish kill in Irish history. We discuss the impact of the flow of rivers and river pollution, with Professors Fiona Regan and Mary Bourke.
Rye is in the same family as wheat and historically was used in distilling and thatching. Nowadays most farmers are planting rye for animal feed. With the rise in craft bakeries, rye is also going into baked goods. We visit a farmer and food seller benefitting from this very old but increasingly trendy grain.
Féile na bPuiteachaí is a celebration of the blackberry on Inis Meán ar nOileann Arainn.
Hundreds of farms across the country have taken advantage of support from the ACRES scheme to plant native apple trees on their farms, including varieties like Rose Hogan, the Beauty of Ballintaylor or the Dick Davies.
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