Darragh explores home county

‘Ear to the Ground’ presenter Darragh McCullough is a Meath man through and through, born and raised in Gormanston, close to the Boyne river.
During the summer Darragh took the opportunity to explore the region and the surrounding countryside for ‘Ear to the Ground’, fascinated by the Neolithic settlement of Newgrange. There, at the designated World Heritage Site, he found out more about Ireland’s first farmers from guide, Clare Tuffy, and why it’s so important to carefully manage farming in the restricted area of the Cairn.
Along the way, he met the FBD Young farmer of the Year 2015, Jonathan Marry, a pig farmer on the side of the Boyne, and discovered what it’s like to farm intensively in such an ecologically and archaeologically sensitive area.
In the programme to be broadcast this Tuesday evening and repeated on Sunday, Darragh continues his travels to Dowth Hall, a 420-acre estate bought two years ago by Owen Brennan and his family who are attempting to save both the land and the crumbling house. Further along the Boyne at Oldcastle, Darragh meets Ross Kenny, an historian from Cork who designs boats for the TV series, Game of Thrones. Finally, the journey ends at the Estuary in Drogheda where Darragh learns a new technologically advanced way to catch, tag, and release salmon.