CountryWide

Philip meets Susan Denny, owner of the field from the 1990 film ‘The Field’, only to find that a portion of iconic landscape has been washed away, due to climate change.

Lorna Siggins meets local people attending the Geopark launch celebrations near the Owenriff River in Oughterard, including An Taisce Climate Ambassador Pat O’Brien, local ecologist Greg Forde and some music by harpist Nathalie Surina.  

Musical trio The Whileaways talk to Philip about making music in the landscape of the Geopark, and their hometown of Headford. Noriana Kennedy, Nicola Joyce and Noelie McDonnell play their song ‘You’ll Find Me There’.

Philip meets uplands farmer Colm Gavin for a walk on his sheep farm on the banks of the Killary Fjord. They discuss what really makes a geopark special, as well as the challenges of mountainside farming, in the company of attention-seeking cuckoo.  

Philip meets the Geopark’s official geologist Benjamin Thébaudeau for a walk at the Pigeon Hole, the cave in Cong. They talk about the formation of the landscape and how its people are connected to it.

Treasa Bhreathnach attends the celebrations at the launch of the newly UNESCO endorsed Geopark in Connemara, the Joyce Country and Western Lakes Geopark. Featuring Trish Walsh, Chair of the JCWL GeoEnterprise and Sinead Seoighe, Tourism Officer for the Geopark.  

Della Kilroy meets artists from a project called ‘Forest Songs’ — a collection of three love songs to the Dublin forests, written in collaboration with composer Tom Lane. The project creators are Cracking Light Productions, and the singer is Maeve Stone

Regan Hutchens visits a forest school Easter Camp near Donadea forest in Kildare to meet Forest School Leader Lucy Bell of Growing Wild, and an enthusiastic team of forest scholars.

Philip visits members of the Boyne Rivers Trust who are planting trees on their river banks to provide shade and help keep temperatures down, thus protecting the fish inside. Featuring Muireann Kerrane, Rosaleen Finnegan Gibbons and zoologist Sarah Austin.

Treasa Bhreathnach visits the farm of Gary Patterson in Granlahan in County Roscommon, where he has introduced trees into a little over half of the pasture, for animal health, soil health and farmer health.

A book promoting the Sitka Spruce tree caused some controversy this week after it was distributed to primary schools. Philip visits St Patrick’s National School Curtlestown, which is surrounded by both commercial and native woodland high up in the Wicklow Hills, to see how the book was received by teachers there.

Countrywide Full Episode 18/04/2026

Last weekend, Lorna Siggins visited Carraroe Community Garden, where residents of the nearby IPAS centre joined locals, including members of the Men's Shed and the arts group Gliogar, to plant vegetables in raised beds.

James Nix is an expert in the economics of heavy vehicles, working with the think tank Transport and Environment in Brussels.

Philip talks to Rob McNaughton, from Zoomlion, about hybrid and electric tractors that will be coming on the market from China.

An Feirm Ground is a farming initiative that received a national recognition for its impact on rural wellbeing. The initiative works with agriculture professionals, giving them the skills and confidence to engage with farmers who may be in distress.

Suzanne Campbell meets Brian Meredith and his father Keith, organic beef and tillage farmers in Co Laois, who have eliminated fossil fuel based, synthetic fertiliser from their farm.

Fendt Salesman Philip Mattey in Northampton gives our Philip a virtual demonstration of a Fendt battery-powered tractor, which will be in showrooms in Ireland next month.

Philip visits a farm with contractor Irvin Rothwell, who is spreading slurry near Ferrycarrig in Co Wexford to find out what impact the government's recently announced relief package will mean for him.

Countrywide Full Episode 11/04/2026

Fermanagh farmer Roger Corrigan takes Philip around his farm in the middle of lambing season, explaining that clay in some of his soil that is unsuitable for farming gets used by a local potter in her ceramics work. The poem ‘There will come Soft Rains’ by Sarah Teasdale echoes the sentiments of Roger's farm. Read here by Susannah De Wrixon.

Minister O’Sullivan offers some follow-up information on the issue of tangle netting, highlighted on the programme back in February, as well as analysis on the current national situation with fuel protests and government negotiations.

Philip is joined by Southern Correspondent with the Irish Independent Ralph Riegel for the latest update from the Whitegate Refinery under blockade in Cork, including analysis of the difficulties presented by the geography and infrastructure of the area.

Philip is joined by Francie Gorman, President of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) and Denis Drennan, President of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) to discuss the ongoing negotiations with government as to address the fuel hardship being felt by farmers and how to bring an end to the protests.

Philip is joined by Barry Larkin, CEO of the Acorn group of feed suppliers to discuss the impact the protests are having on their supply lines, including impacts on animal welfare.