Episode notes
A lot of this vision of a more "open access" Ireland might seem unachievable. But there is an example of farmers opening up access to the public and everybody getting along. The Sheepshead Way was created 30 years ago this year – securing agreement from 265 different landowners to open up all the old mass paths, holy well paths, to school through the fields paths and connect them all together into a six day hike. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Podcast
CountryWide
RTÉ Radio 1 · Tech & Science · English
The CountryWide team feature the events, people and happenings that bring colour and life to communities, towns and villages across Ireland. Listen live Saturdays at 8am on RTÉ Radio 1.
More from CountryWide All episodes →
-
19 Sep 2026 · 6 min
Apple Season
If any of you have an apple tree in a park near you, on your farm or garden, you’ll notice how early the apples have appeared - very early. Con Traas's parents, Willem and Ali, came from Holland in 1967 looking for land to grow fruit. They found a farm with an old orchard in Tipperary, and the family has been growing apples there ever since. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
19 Sep 2026 · 8 min
National Ploughing Championships - Angus calves
This week, five secondary schools, from Donegal to Cork, were presented with an Aberdeen Angus calf to bring home and rear. It's all part of the Certified Irish Angus schools' competition, which asks students to do a research project on farming. 180 schools entered this year, and the finalists collected their calves at the Ploughing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
19 Sep 2026 · 8 min
National Ploughing Championships - Lamb Shearing
The All-Ireland Lamb Shearing Championships took place at the Ploughing this week when Ireland’s fastest and most skilled sheep shearers - ranging from juniors upwards - were put to the test. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
19 Sep 2026 · 9 min
National Ploughing Championships - Young Innovators
At the National Ploughing Championships, young agri start-ups had a chance to pitch for Enterprise Ireland awards, and Suzanne Campbell met three of these companies as they tried to catch the judges' attention, each trying to win one of the overall prizes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
19 Sep 2026 · 14 min
Minister Christopher O'Sullivan
Ireland sends its plan for restoring nature to Brussels, so how much public money will be allocated to it, and what will it ask? Minister for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan joined us to discuss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
12 Sep 2026 · 15 min
South Kerry Greenway
This morning we took a a closer look at the kind of access to the countryside that the state is actually investing in; Greenways. 350 km of Greenway has been built in the last 5 years, and there are plans to build out a network of paved cycling paths that will be ten times that long. But, along the South Kerry Greenway, compulsory Purchase of land from farmers who say they were open to granting access to cross their farms without being forced to sell has generated conflict. Cleona O'Shea, chairperson of the National Greenway Action Association discusses. See omnystudio.com/listener for…
-
12 Sep 2026 · 15 min
'The Pathless Land: Finding A Way Across Ireland'
Tim Hannigan is a Cornish born Travel Writer so as somebody who grew up with a right to roam the countryside, the thing about living in Ireland that he can’t get his head around is the comparatively limited access to the countryside that we settle for here. So he set himself the challenge of walking through Ireland’s heartlands - from one side of the island to the other - without trespassing to see how much of the journey could be completed off road. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
12 Sep 2026 · 8 min
Donald Trump touches down in Ireland
Ahead of President Trump's arrival to Ireland, RTÉ News Correspondents Brian O'Connell, Colman O'Sullivan and Elizabeth Hearst brought us the latest updates live from this morning. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
5 Sep 2026 · 7 min
Can organic farming provide buffer against weather extremes?
Amanda Galvin is running an organic sheep and tillage enterprise not too far from Tullamore. She hasn’t dipped in to any of her winter fodder, her fields are notably greener than her neighbours and her ewes actually need to lose a bit of the weight they’ve put on over the summer before she puts them to the ram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
5 Sep 2026 · 12 min
Do we need more drought-resistant pasture to adapt to hot and dry weather?
The creamery Tirlan surveyed 800 of its farmers last week – and over 80% of them said that they had already fed several week’s worth of what they should be feeding in December and January. And 90% said that there was barely any grass in their animal’s diet now. Head of Dairy Knowledge at the farming research agency Teagasc, Joe Patton joined the programme to share findings of a survey that gauged how deep the shortage of winter fodder is going to run this year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Take it with you
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
