TV: How a Cork goat venture broke loose

Cork man William Walsh spent most of his career in the food and pharmaceutical industries, despite having grown up on a small farm.

He was made redundant in 2018, and while helping to clean up a local woodland soon after, he came up with the idea of using goats in conservation projects in sensitive ecological areas.

His idea to rent out his herd of goats to keep overgrown areas in our towns and villages under control is featured on Nationwide on RTÉ1 on Wednesday at 7pm.

The programme spends the day with William and his herd along the banks of the Bandon River in Ballineen and Enniskeane, to see how goats naturally clear invasive species like Himalayan Balsam and Giant Hogweed without the need for harmful chemicals.

Wednesday’s programme also tells the story of a bog restoration project in Antrim, where the now almost extinct curlew is making a return.

Garron Plateau is the largest area of intact blanket bog in Northern Ireland, and this unique landscape supports a remarkable variety of plant and animal species, including a diverse population of breeding birds.

The Royal Society of Protection of Birds has worked with local farmers to restore and protect the plateau, resulting in the curlew’s return.

A Midleton man with an Iraqi father and an Irish mother, whose artwork has Middle East and Irish influences, features in Friday’s Nationwide on RTÉ1 at 7pm. Reporter Reem El-Hassany visits Basil Al-Rawi in East Cork to find out more.

That episode about Irish creatives also visits County Wicklow, to find out about a women whose books for children have been a success, and which was born from a project undertaken in her garden during the covid pandemic.

Monday’s episode of Nationwide focuses on the challenge of housing and the ongoing efforts to help people find a home.