Person to Person: 'We've allowed ourselves to become incredibly deskilled'

Tell us about yourself;

I come from a little village in County Laois, called Cullahill. Laois is absolutely having it’s moment, at the moment, by the way.

I’m the eldest of nine children. My father was a village merchant, so to speak, and sold everything that was needed in the local community. We had everything from a grocery to a pub, to a post office, undertakers, auctioneer... anything the local community needed, my father, and grandfather, for that matter, would provide it.

I was brought up running in and out of the shop for this, that, and the other. I remember a journalist asking me years ago, ‘where did this entrepreneurial streak come from’ and at the time I had to ask her what the word ‘entrepreneurial’ meant. It was about 40 years ago, and I suddenly realised it was just from running in and out of the shop and doing whatever had to be done and so on.

Where were you born? I was born in a nursing home in Dublin, but I come from Cullahill.

Where do you live?

I live outside the village of Shanagarry in East Cork, close to the sea.

Family? Four children and 11 grandchildren.

Best friend? I had a best friend when I was in boarding school for five years in the Dominican [College] in Wicklow. She’s coming down to see me in a couple of weeks time. 

She’ll stay for a couple of days, and it doesn’t matter if we don’t see each other sometimes for months or years, we can just pick up from exactly where we left off.

Your earliest childhood memory? I always remember my auntie Florence showing me how to make raspberry buns at the kitchen table.

The person you most admire? I really admire Obama’s integrity and intelligence.

Your most memorable holiday?

When we were younger, we had no money to travel anywhere, but in later years, I’ve had the opportunity to travel quite a bit... possibly the most memorable holiday was in Romania. There you have these villages, in the Carpathian Mountains and they are medieval… so you have medieval and 21st century, side by side. It’s just extraordinary.

Your favourite TV programme?

We don’t have a TV. At one stage, the television in one of the students' cottages broke down, so our television went out, and then we didn’t bother to get another one again.

Your favourite radio show?

Well, I’m such a nerd. I’d have to have a choice between Farming Today on radio or the BBC food programme.

Your signature dish?

This is quite difficult because it just depends on what’s in season at the time. I’ve just come up from the demonstration kitchen where the 12-week students are, and I demonstrated the Ballymaloe brown yeast bread to them... the iconic bread with no kneading and only one rising involved. That’s a really brilliant recipe, and it’s like giving somebody a present for life, really, to show them how to make that bread.

Favourite restaurant?

I have several....[When we were going] to Clare to the Burren Slow Food Festival, I got a table at the Homestead Cottage. We kind of stumbled on it a few years ago, without realising how good it was. There is a restaurant in Dublin that I love for lunch. They only have two tables. It’s called Assassination Custard.

The last book you read?

Courage To Be You: Love, Identity and Healing in a Changing India by Rashna Imhasly-Gandhy.

Best book you read?

My Father’s Glory And My Mother’s Castle: Marcel Pagnol’s Memories Of Childhood (Picador Books).

Last album/CD/download you bought?

I haven’t bought an album or a CD for... 40 years.

Favourite song?

I love Leonard Cohen. So many of his songs are so beautiful, really. I think Hallelujah. I also love Imagine by John Lennon.

Do you have a pet? Not at the moment.

Morning person or night owl?

I was definitely a night owl, but now I’m much more of a morning person.

Your proudest moment? When I was made Laois Woman of the Year in 1993.

Would you describe yourself as a spendthrift or a saver?

A bit of both. I’m well able to save, but I can spend when I want to choose.

What is one thing you would improve in the area in which you live?

I’d love the entire area to be an organic farming area and producing really nutrient dense food. And can we get free food?

What makes you happy?

I’m generally a glass-half-full person very much. I’m so lucky to be teaching cooking, and now also the organic farm school, because, you know, when you teach something to somebody; how to make a loaf of bread or a bowl of soup, you’ve given them a gift for life... something that can enhance their life and so on. I feel very fortunate.

How would you like to be remembered?

Maybe somebody that gave lots of people some skills, practical life skills that help them. You can spread joy through your food, and that enhances their life, and gives them the opportunity to enhance other people’s lives around them. The way to everybody’s heart is through their tummy. And also, for being generous with my information. Anybody who asks for a recipe or anything like that, I’ll give it to them.

What else are you up to at the moment?

My main focus at the moment is on the Ballymaloe Organic Farm School – this is my kind of semi-retirement project, which runs concurrently with the Ballymaloe Cookery School. I kind of hoped it would be a success, but I had no conception of the craving that is out there to relearn forgotten skills. People are flying from Australia, from America, from the Nordic countries, France, the Netherlands, searching for courses. It’s really amazing. I’m really, really interested in farming and growing things.

Through the organic farm school, I have the opportunity to pass on the skills from the farm and the garden. I know it sounds a bit paranoid, but I’m absolutely convinced that unless there’s some kind of minor miracle, we’re going to have food shortages before the end of this year. 

I feel very strongly about passing on farming skills, encouraging people to grow some of their own food to become more self-sufficient, to take back control over their own lives again. There’s a lot of people who want to do it, but we’ve allowed ourselves to become incredibly deskilled. Many people in their busy lives are scarcely able to make toast.

We don’t know when the Strait of Hormuz is going to be opened… If you can’t cook, if you can’t grow anything, you’re totally at the mercy of other people from the one thing that keeps us alive, which is food.

I’m really looking forward to the Farming for Nature Festival in County Laois in June. It’s the first event of its kind. There will be farmers from all around the country, real farmers who can see that we can’t go on with business as usual, and they’re sharing their knowledge. It’s a really good thing to come along to see.

I feel really honoured to be asked to participate in that. I’ve been a Farming For Nature, Ambassador for many years.

The Farming for Nature Festival 2026 takes place at Ballykilcavan Farm and Brewery in Stradbally from June 22-23. It aims to give attendees space for conversation, peer-to-peer learning and practical action.See www.farmingfornaturefestival.ie.