Glistening mud marked with hundreds of footprints stretch up the hill. Some are clear, some fading as the liquefying mud creeps into them.

Will some of these be the trace fossils of the future? Will cows be extinct? Will an archaeologist work out that they had four legs and will they think my wellie prints were some kind of monster in pursuit? It had been a wet week and grazing had been challenging.

On/off grazing, especially at night, had been the modus operandi on the farm. Holding cows in the yard for a few hours after milking protects the fields from too much poaching. Cows are already going to dairy ready for the next breeding season.

As I walked, I noticed the odd spray of milk across the mud where a full udder dripped for a moment before moving off again. It’s an uphill walk. Knowing that she was nearing the yard, the cow gathered speed and the dripping milk changed to a finer spray. Something in the mud had turned it blue. I caught up with the girls.

We waited while Tim opened the wire at the other end. He had circled us to ready the wires. The slow procession started up again. It was our St Patrick’s Day parade. We passed the Grand Stand of celebrities.

They are a group of cross bred Norwegian Red cows that have joined the herd. They stood to attention to watch the home cows striding past. They have been in Woodside a few weeks now and have settled well.

There are many steps to expansion and increasing cow numbers is one of them. Cow personalities are as varied as the human population so I am cautious and respectful of them. After all, they don’t know us either. More about that anon!

St Patrick's Day soured

That morning was the first time in several weeks that I could actually take the time to walk out the fields with Tim for the cows. It was magic, with fresh air and the brilliance of spring around. Later on, I collected Matias (a student from Chile) from the airport. He will spend three months on the farm. He had no idea about St Patrick’s Day.

I watched the RTÉ news with him to show him the parades and tell him about St Patrick. Everything seemed celebratory and festive. Little did I think that by morning three teenagers would have lost their lives in a crush queuing for a disco.

I was back in the shed the following morning to feed the calves when I heard the news. I thought of all the times I dropped the lads to discos near the venue and then went home happy that they were safe. I remembered the time Tim dropped Philip to the bus a few miles away to take him to Clonakilty for a disco.

I remember being caught in a crush way back in 1986 at the Queen concert in Slane. The terror of it is still with me

We weren’t altogether happy, but the friends were going and he had a strong lobby on. He was also a good boy and we gave him permission to go. Parents do this in good faith trusting that other adults are in charge. The death of these three young people is a tragedy beyond belief. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to all of the people involved. Accidents can happen so easily and the heartbreak is that this could have been prevented.

I remember being caught in a crush way back in 1986 at the Queen concert in Slane.

The terror of it is still with me. Tim and I were leaving the concert following the crowd. There was no crowd control. On our minds was getting to the car and maybe beating the traffic. We were high on Queen and walking briskly at first, the crowd started to slow and then we began to feel the forward surge. Tighter and tighter it squeezed until it was hard to breath from lack of space and panic. But for the strong arms of Tim pushing against another man in front and keeping me and another young girl, a complete stranger, within those arms, we may well have gone down.

Once we were through the gate, the crush evaporated. Maybe it’s that experience that has me thinking of Lauren, Morgan and Conor today (Thursday) as they are laid to rest. I offer their families my sincerest sympathy and wish them strength and consolation for the tough days, weeks and years ahead. St Patrick’s Day has been marred forever for the whole country.