I farm: “About 70 acres of trees in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow. My father was growing trees before me since the 1950s.”

Christmas trees: “I grow and produce in the region of 7,000 Christmas trees per annum. I distribute my trees all across the country, from Belfast to Cork to Galway. I have two retail outlets, one at the Leopardstown Racecourse and another in Bray. You can buy direct also at www.kavanaghchristmastrees.ie.”

Sector: “The sector has shrunk in one way but grown in another over the past few years. We had a lot of part-time guys come into the sector a few years ago. They planted a few trees, walked away and thought it was that easy. Most people have no idea of the process and length of time it takes to grow a tree. It’s a much more professional sector now.”

Growing process: “It takes about 14 years from the time the seed is planted until a Christmas tree is in your house. It can be a painstaking process. The seed spends four years in a nursery before being planted in the soil where it will grow for as long as 10 years.”

All year: “It’s not just about a few weeks here and there, it’s an all-year-round business. It starts again in January with spraying to control weeds. Then there’s the application of fertilizer and we start pruning work in May to make the trees narrower and fuller. The pruning has to be done by hand too, so it’s a big effort.”

Family: “I’m married to Kathleen and we have two children, Niamh (15) and Conor (11). All of them help out in the business. Kathleen does a lot of the office work, while Niamh and Conor help out, especially in the pruning side of things. I drag in my brothers and sisters at the busier times too.”

Quotable quote: “Our house is always the last to get a Christmas tree. My wife slags me that I’m busy all year getting trees ready for everyone else but when it comes to own place, there’s not too much enthusiasm.”