I’ll start with a brief introduction. I have been farming in Wexford since 1968. I was born and bred near Dublin and have lived in Ireland all my life, apart for a brief spell in Scotland and the UK at agricultural colleges.

After college, I got into RTÉ in its infancy as a film cameraman. They were great and interesting years and I was lucky enough to often film farming programmes.

Since I was a child, I have been fascinated by nature and even remember walking home from where the bus left me off in Chapelizod. That took ages, as I used to peer under windowsills for the chrysalis stage of butterflies.

The first farm in Co Wexford was considered very big at that stage – about 120ha. I had cattle and cereals, and in the latter years ran two grain dryers, rented extra land and had a spray contracting business. Then I bought another farm near Oilgate running down to the Slaney river. A crazy idea, but I had fallen in love with the place.

The big farm has long gone and the Oilgate farm is now called Jamestown Nature Reserve. The farm is a small strip of land running from a side road right down to the river, which is tidal. There are extensive reed beds and lots of wildlife.

I have let some land to a good neighbour near the road. He runs dairy young stock here. There are a small amount of cereals, usually oats or spring barley. There is also some young forestry, planted about nine years ago under the Native Woodland Scheme. This is mainly Scots pine and oak. Another small block is under another scheme and consists of hybrid larch and oak. The larch started slowly, but has now overtaken the small quantity of Scots pine in the same plantation.

An unusual farm enterprise is red deer. At one time I had 60 breeding hinds running with two stags. The numbers are lower now. There were 12 deer farmers in Co Wexford at one time. Now there is only me. There would be some profit in the business if I were nearer to Northern Ireland, where there is a dedicated abattoir.

Finally, there is a wooded valley with a small stream at the bottom, plus a small old wood near the river. Herons and little egrets nest there.

Now the nature bit for the month of September. Keep a lookout for these butterflies still on the wing: Red Admiral, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell (below), and possibly Painted Lady.

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