The farm: “I’m farming 70ha with my wife Christina and son David at Filane, about four miles east of Castletownbere on the Beara Peninsula. The ground is made up of lowland grazing and commonage.”

Stock: “I’d run about 16 sucklers, 20 dry cattle and about 200 ewes. Lambing is starting this week and the rest of the ewes will be coming off the mountain for lambing too. Cows are calving as well. It’s all action. This is our busiest time of year.”

The cows: “A mix of Charolais, Simmental and Angus. They wouldn’t ever go to the mountain. We only use sheep on the high land. You’d be trying to get a good calf, if she’s on the hill there won’t have enough milk, so you’re better off having them on the better ground. We use a Charolais bull. He’s easy-calving and throws a beautiful calf. We sell in Kenmare Mart.”

Walks: “Part of the Beara Way crosses my land. It’s nice to see people walking the mountains anyway and the fact we get a few bob for it is better again. There was no payment when we started the walk. When the Wild Atlantic Way opened, it increased tourism in the area. You can see more people using the walks now.”

Farming in Beara: “There’s a few young people farming down here. You’d have to have a job with it. There are some very interested in farming, but they are scarce. There are a good few combining farming and fishing – you have to. They’d have to run an enterprise that would suit as they could be at sea for 10 days.”

Distance: “Halfway to Dublin for us is Mitchelstown, which is still in Co Cork. I drove a lorry for years carrying shellfish to Dublin. It was long hours. Beara is a nice place to live, if you can make a living. It’s very scenic.”

Quotable quote: “David completed the part time Green Cert course. It wasn’t very relevant for people farming on marginal ground. The skills needed for the mountain are different to farming better ground.”