Forging her own path

Even though Ella McSweeney grew up amongst the hustle and bustle of Dublin city, she always had an enduring interest in the countryside and animals. A fact that is very much reflected in her career to date.

As a presenter on Ear to the Ground – alongside other farming, wildlife and science shows – she has been taken far away from the cityscape, down boreens and into green fields around the country.

“If I don’t get out of Dublin once a week I go absolutely mad. I am so lucky to work on Ear to the Ground,” explains Ella. “I was always very engaged and interested in animals, in the countryside. I am much more comfortable away from urban areas than I am in urban areas. It is a real privilege to be born into a farm, but unfortunately that didn’t happen to me.”

After secondary school, Ella considered studying agricultural science in UCD, but ended up opting for a general science degree in Trinity College instead. For the last two years of the course she specialised in zoology. As well as a keen interest in animals, Ella was also drawn to broadcasting.

Marrying her two loves, having finished her degree, Ella worked on a science programme in community radio before progressing to a similar show in RTÉ. She then moved to the BBC, where she was a producer and presenter for three years. Ultimately, she returned to RTÉ, where she remains today.

A new series fronted by Ella, How Animals Work, is currently airing on RTÉ One television Monday nights at 8.30pm. It looks at animals in a whole new light, exploring them inside and out. There are a variety of native, non-native and of course, farm animals included.

The programme was recorded live in Smock Alley Theatre, where Ella’s co-presenter, Professor Peter Wilson, a vet and zoologist, dissects the animals on stage. The programme also cuts to pre-recorded clips about the animals.

“There are strong dissection scenes in How Animals Work, but that is not news to anyone in farming at all. I suppose my advice to anyone who is squeamish would be, breathe through it and just see what the fascination is.

“When Peter describes the reason why animals behave the way they do while he is looking at their insides, it totally writes to your memory and everything makes sense in a really positive way.”

Ear to the Ground

Throughout the winter months, Ella will return to her tried and tested role as Ear to the Ground presenter, which returns to our screens this October. She has been on the show for 10 years now, and in that time has observed many changes in farming; most notably dairy expansion and farms in general becoming more professional and business-like. Also, Ella has believes there is an increasing number of people diversifying smaller holdings into niche operations.

In terms of her work, not being from a farm is in Ella’s eyes an advantage, although at first she didn’t see it as such. As Ireland becomes more urbanised and people move away from the land, she believes people who grew up outside of farms reporting on the topic is a way to connect the general public to the sector.

In terms of getting people engaged in agriculture, Ella feels opening up more farms to the public may help. “If you don’t have a relationship with a farmer, it is very hard to get on a farm,” she reflects.

“I was just over in England and because of the way they organise things, you can go for walks through farms, so you can still experience what a farm looks like. In Ireland you can’t really do that.

“We give out about people being disconnected from the land, but for people who don’t come from a farming background or aren’t related to someone, it is a really hard thing to get.”

Women and ag

Another ag area Ella has seen great change in over the past decade is the number of women involved in farming and indeed the recognition these women get. She describes this as “incredibly positive”.

“I think the more women we can have in farming the better. I think the more women we can have in farm leadership roles the better. I am really looking forward to seeing the first female president of the IFA. I think it needs to happen, I think it needs to happen really soon.

“We all eat, we all essentially share the land, so I think it is really important that there are more women involved in the power positions in farming,” says the presenter.

“I think also there is more acceptance of the idea that it is not just the eldest son that gets the farm. That is not the assumption anymore. If the eldest daughter wants it, she can get it and I think that is a really positive and necessary thing.

“To emphasise, that is nothing to do with the men being there, like in every walk of life it benefits everyone to have a better balance.”