I farm: “Suckler cows and sheep on 280 acres on the Dingle Peninsula here in Kerry.”

System: “I’ve been scaling back a bit over the years. I have five suckler cows and 150 Scotch ewes. I’ve brought the ewes down from the hills and the rams are tidying up the last of them now. I’ve crossed them with a Charolais and a Belclare. It’s a wait now until they lamb next March. The cows are out all year around.”

Market: “I sell my weanlings in Dingle mart. There’s a big weanling sale at the end of the month and I’ll be bringing them to that. The Charolais sheep fatten very easily, more so than the Scotch are a great durable sheep but you nearly don’t need any meal for the Charolais.”

Hill farming: “It’s a challenge. There’s always something happening. I suppose the biggest job I’ve had over the years is the shearing, getting them down and doing it myself.”

Family: “I’m married to Maureen and we have four children, two sons and two daughters. Fiona is the eldest then comes Micheal, Padraig and Deirdre. They’re all off doing their own thing and they’re successful but I think Micheal might be home at some stage to do a bit of farming here.”

2014: “I’ve been farming since 1970 or so and this has been the best year I’ve ever seen. The grass growth has been phenomenal; sure it’s still growing and we’re nearly in November. It’s just unreal.”

Hospital: “I’m heading into hospital in a few weeks’ time to get a bit of work done. My knee has been bothering me in a good while so I’m getting a new one. I’ll be off my feet for a while but hopefully I should be fine after that.”

Quotable Quote: “The quad bike is the best machine that has ever come around the place. There are a lot of people who don’t act safely on them but once you’re careful, they’re unreal. They’ve saved me more work than I care to remember.”