It was a gift of Irish Farmers Journal contributor Gerald Potterton‘s collection of farming stories that sparked a relook at my collection of various farmer biographies and recent Irish farming publications.

While Gerald’s is the most recent, I had almost forgotten that I had been kindly given a copy of John Roche’s wonderful autobiography of growing up on a farm outside Castleisland, Co Kerry.

They were tough times, with hard, consuming physical labour and, at the same time, a family realisation of the importance of education.

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John’s son - also John - has become the New Zealand government’s scientific adviser.

Several Irish farmers have written books about their families and experiences down through changing times. And times have changed and farming’s role in Irish life has changed as the country’s population has grown by 45% since 1995, with a huge cosmopolitan blend of people from all over the world.

Some of my books are by farmers who became deeply involved in farm organisations, though Tom Clinton is - as far as I know - the only former president of the IFA to have written a book of his remarkable life and times.

Unique account

The recently deceased Raymond Keogh wrote a unique account of the cattle business and the beginnings of the Irish beef processing industry.

As the son of Jack Keogh, one of the key founders of the IMP Group, later to be taken over by Cork Marts, he was well placed to see life from both the farmers’ and the processors’ vantage point. But it’s not only farmers that have put pen to paper.

Several farming bodies have chronicled their early years and developments over time.

John McCullen, the well-known Drogheda farmer, historian and FBD Trust board member, has written a history of FBD itself. The IFA also published a volume to mark its 60th anniversary in 2015, while many co-ops within the last 10 years celebrated their 100-year anniversaries by publishing their history, which will be an invaluable source of local knowledge.

Compilation

But to get back to Potterton’s book. It is a compilation of his pieces that have appeared in the Irish Farmers Journal over the last 20 years or so. They are short, beautifully written and usually have an easily-absorbed moral message. His book - Till - Farming Stories from the Plains of Meath - is available from www.antonias bookstore.com.