I farm: “Alongside my father and my two brothers just 10 minutes outside Sligo town across the Leitrim border. We keep 300 ewes and 20 suckler cows.”
Studies: “I’m currently in third year of the Bachelor of Agriculture degree in University of Galway. We were the second year to start the course, with the first graduates of it coming out this year.”
Placement: “I was always going to do something in agriculture. At the minute, we are on placement for 12 weeks. I had been tempted to go abroad to do a lambing season, but with football commitments I stayed in Ireland for it.
I’m completing mine with dairy farmer Christopher Tuffy, where we are just finishing up the last few cows to calve. I’m not from a dairy farm, but I really enjoyed my placement and learned a lot from it.”
Home farm: “I live in Co Leitrim, close to the Glencar waterfall. I farm alongside my father and two brothers, and between us we calve down 20 suckler cows and 300 mid-season ewes.”
Cows: “The cows are mainly continental-cross types, with the ewes being a mix of lowland crosses and some hill types for the hill ground. Calving is nearly finished up at home, and we are at the tail end of lambing as well. The weather has been excellent for both. When I get home from placement, I try to give the lads a dig out with the farming when my sporting commitments allow.”
Sports: “Aside from farming and college, I have some sporting commitments in the form of Gaelic and soccer. I’ve played with the Leitrim senior ladies football team for the last two years, winning the intermediate All-Ireland with them last year. I also play with the Sligo Rovers ladies’ team.”
Training: “I take a Wednesday evening off, and the rest of the evenings I would have training or a match between the two sports, with a match on Saturday or Sunday. I travel back [when in college] on Tuesdays and Thursdays for soccer training, and Fridays and Saturdays are with the Leitrim ladies.”
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