A Laois business owner is set to appear on RTÉ’s Irish langauge series, Saol na Feirme.
The show returns to RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Monday, February 24, and will runs for six weeks.
Laois will be represented by David Walsh-Kemmis, the 13th-generation farmer who runs Ballykilcavan Farm and Brewery in Stradbally.
While the farm traditionally focused on growing barley, David recognised the need to diversify in order to sustain its future.
Today Ballykilcavan brew their own beer using their own homegrown barley, with the both the beers and the business winning numerous awards in recent years.
David converted many of the old buildings on his farm into a fully-functional, self-sufficient brewery which is now home to the Ballykilcavan Farm and Brewery visitor centre.
The producers of the show put out a call through the Irish Green Growers Association in search of an Irish-speaking tillage farmer, which is where David saw his opportunity.
“I haven’t used Irish very much in the 30 years since I finished my leaving cert, so a lot of this for me was to have an excuse nearly to go and use a bit of Irish,” David told LaoisToday.
“I haven’t actually seen any of the programme yet; I suspect (my Irish) is going to be a bit of a struggle in the early months, but my Irish definitely did improve over the course of the filming.”
David gave us a glimpse into what we can expect from his appearance on the show:
“It’s called ‘Saol na Feirme’ – Farm Life – so it’s looking at what’s happening on the farm, but particularly what are farmers doing with their free time – if they have any free time.
“The cameras were here filming when had a food producers meeting here in the brewery and also when we had the glamping for Election Picnic.”
David also brought the RTÉ cameras to Stradbally GAA where he is part of the Dads and Lads team, with his teammates more than a little surprised to see him arriving with his own personal film crew.
Saol na Feirme explores the lives of seven Irish farming families managing tillage, dairy, beef, sheep, and vegetable businesses as they try to navigate the unpredictable challenges of the past 12 months.
Along with Laois, the series is also set against the backdrops of Armagh, Antrim, Clare, Galway and Roscommon.
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