Mayo farmer talks about living well with bipolar disorder on Ear to the Ground
EAR to the Ground will be visiting Mayo this week where presenter Ella McSweeney meets a farmer who has learned to live well with bipolar disorder.
Martin Gavin, a sheep farmer hailing from picturesque Leenane, resides in one of Ireland's most breathtaking locales. Yet, for an extended period, Martin's health challenges overshadowed the beauty around him.
The depths of his struggles were profound, but equally distressing were his occasional peaks, which deeply concerned his family.
As an undiagnosed condition began to distance him from his loved ones, they watched with growing concern. However, a turning point came when his daughter stepped in, leading to the revelation that Martin was grappling with bipolar disorder.
In an insightful exploration, Ella McSweeney spends a day with Martin to shed light on the nuances of living with this condition.
Also on Thursday, presenter Maeve Dineen will be taking a trip back to last September when she spent the day with a Mexican woman who is now farming in west Cork.
When Sonia Viridiana crossed paths with an Irishman, John Kingston, at a wedding in Mexico, she couldn't have anticipated that their journey would lead them to manage a quaint farm just outside Dunmanway. Here, they nurture goats, tend to chickens, and cultivate an array of diverse vegetables.
Maeve Dineen immersed herself in a day with Sonia, John, and their budding family, gaining insights into their rural Cork lifestyle and the thriving enterprise they've carved out of a modest plot.
WHITETHORN
Whitehorn stands as a vital hedgerow species, gracing farms and roadsides throughout the country. However, a recent supply shortage has compelled farmers to resort to importing this native plant, inadvertently posing a significant risk of introducing diseases.
The programme delves into the matter with a comprehensive investigation in Carlow.
Ear to the Ground will air on RTÉ One on Thursday at 7 p.m., repeated on Sunday at 1.09 p.m.