The five Flynn brothers Gerry, Laurence, Vincent, Paul and Fergal are the fifth generation of the family to farm in Rush Co Dublin. In the heart of vegetable and potato growing country, the family started growing potatoes in the 1800s.

The Flynns grow a variety of crops on the farm, including winter and spring cereals which they grow in rotation with their potato crops. They also run a straw business which supplies straw to the mushroom composters. Their farm is based in Rush but extends all over north county Dublin and into Meath,

The farm grows early, maincrop and seed potatoes. Varieties of potatoes grown include Premier, “Rush” Queens and Rooster. Harvesting starts with the first earlies in May with the first new season Irish potatoes which are grown in the glasshouse. Harvesting of the potatoes will continue all the way through the summer months and up to the end of October.

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The British Queens, or “Rush” queens, are the main variety that is grown on the farm. These are harvested and sold from the end of June until September. They usually start with the maincrop variety Rooster in August and aim to finish marketing them by December.

The Flynns deal with greengrocers and corner shops, in counties such as Donegal, Galway, Sligo, Meath, Cavan and Kildare, where people are looking for a traditional Irish potato.

Some Irish people are turned off by the “British’’ tag, so the lad’s father, Paud, took to calling his potatoes Rush Queens. It was a stroke of marketing genius - sales doubled almost overnight.

Paud’s own grandfather started growing potatoes on a few acres in the 1880s, at a time when they were sown and harvested by hand with the help of a spade and a pair of horses.

The farm now stretches to nearly 1,000 acres, spread across north Co Dublin and Meath. There are now three generations of the family involved in the business with four of Paud’s grandchildren now working on the farm, thus making them the sixth generation.

Though Paud retired in 1994, he admits to still being involved from time to time. ‘’I am the gofer,’’ he says. “They tell me: “Go for this, go for that"." His five sons - Laurence, Gerry, Vincent, Paul and Fergal - now run the business. ‘’It took five of them to replace me,’’ says Paud.