Ackroyd & Harvey | Artists

Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey (b. 1959/1959 England) are internationally acclaimed for creating works that intersect art, activism, architecture, biology, ecology and history.  Referencing memory and time, nature and culture, urban political ecologies, the climate emergency and degradation of the living planet, their time-based practice reveals an intrinsic bias towards process and event.  Processes of germination, growth and decay (organic and inorganic) feature in artworks that often evolve through extended research in response to people and place, interfacing their profound interest in local ecologies and global planetary concerns.

They give high profile keynotes and public presentations and contribute writings and photographs to books and journals.  In 2019, the artists co-founded Culture Declares Emergency in response to the climate and ecological emergency.

At the Field Exchange festival, Ackroyd & Harvey will showcase an exploration of the intersection of history and ecology through photosynthesis artworks.

The Company of Trees | Music Performance Artists

The Company of Trees is a new music and spoken word production compiled by Michael James Ford and Philip Dodd. It is performed by Susannah De Wrixon, Michael James Ford, Kyle Hixon and the Delmaine String Quartet, and also features photographic and video images by Brendan Keogh.

The Company of Trees celebrates our long and complex relationship with the forest world through literature and music. Using some of the great poetry, prose, music and song that trees have inspired over the centuries, the show explores their emotional, aesthetic, environmental and philosophical impact on our daily lives.

By exploring the natural cycle from planting to maturity, the piece offers an opportunity to reflect on our long and complex relationship with the magnificent and endangered forest world. 

All the performers share an interest in the natural world and a deep concern for its future in times of unprecedented threat. We sincerely hope that The Company of Trees will entertain, inform, provoke and, above all, raise awareness of a relationship that cannot be taken for granted.

Elements of Action collaborates with the Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland | Designers + Craftspeople

Esther Gerrard from Elements of Action collaborates with the Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland on moss + stone installation Moss Bench that blends nature with architecture.

Trish Taylor Thomas | Interviewing Field Exchange Artists

Originally from Dublin and now living in Terryglass Co. Tipperary, Trish is a former presenter on RTE Radio 1 and RTE lyric fm and a graduate of the Limerick School of Art & Design. Her debut radio role was as a children’s book reviewer on 2FM’s Poparama in the 1970’s. In the late eighties she migrated to Nevada deejaying on Sunny 106.5 KRLV in Las Vegas before returning to Dublin to present Rising Time and Late Date on RTE Radio 1. In 2005 she moved to Limerick to present Daybreak, The Music Box and the early morning Breakfast Show on RTE lyric fm. A radio head at heart with an indefatigable love of nature, she could be found at Bloom each year interviewing Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D. Higgins, multi award winning garden designer Paul Martin, sculpture garden curator Ruth Liddle, as well as the many musicians and composers who feature on lyric fm.

Now a full-time artist, (following a mid-life return to LSAD to undertake a fine art degree) she paints in oils, acrylics and glass inks creating unique images that exude life, energy and colour. Whether depicting the delicacy of the cherry blossom or the elusive bloom of the cannonball tree, her flower paintings radiate a world of beautifully illustrated botanicals within their own habitat or against a signature abstract backdrop. With a unique palette, informal structure and distinctive style, TTT’s work is instantly recognisable and collectable. The vulnerability of botanicals threatened by climate change informs her current work.

 

Country Choice Nenagh and Clive Clarke | Food 

Country Choice celebrates local and national artisan producers by sourcing and using the best and most natural ingredients found locally. Even better - they pay their producers a fair market price for foods that are good, clean and fair.

Ashgate Farm butcher Clive Clarke supplies free-range chickens, turkeys, and pigs to customers all over the country. He will be supplying a pig for our local food celebratory dinner on Saturday, August 31st!

Ella McSweeny | Speaker

Ella McSweeney is a journalist and reporter based in Ireland.

Ella is focusing on food, farming, human rights and environmental issues. She has worked for the BBC, RTE, The Irish Times and the Guardian.   In 2015, she was part of a Guardian investigative team which published a year-long investigation into the use of migrant workers in the Irish fishing industry.

Ella has a degree in science, specialising in zoology, from Trinity College Dublin and a masters in Food Policy from City University, London.

 

Creative Farming Ambassadors | Community of Practice

 

Maurice Deasy

 

"On our farm, we have been using a conventional plough-based system, however for the last three years we have been adopting conservation agriculture, cover crops, crop rotation and reduced tillage. The process hasn't been easy so far as we have learnt from our mistakes. We have been working with heritage grains and populations to preserve genetic diversity in the field while also trying to push the boat out with intercropping.

Inspiring customers to buy this locally produced food and shifting the mindset away from "Irish flour isn't good enough" and pulses being "poor people food" will require creative minds around messaging. To me it’s a crucial step in realising sustainable agriculture."

 

Derry O Donnell

 

"Our farm, called Fairy Fort Farm, is located just outside Borrisoleigh and is currently an animal hobby farm which guests of our self-catering accommodation (and our kids) can enjoy. We have a number of ponies, hens, pet lambs, a donkey, a rabbit, and my brother also keeps about 20 bee hives.

For the past 3 years I have been working with Energy Communities Tipperary Cooperative (ECTC), a citizen led home retrofit organisation, and was instrumental in securing funding under various schemes such as the Just Transition Fund, the Community Climate Action Programme, EU LIFE Project and various other smaller grants. Following on from my work in energy, waste management, reuse and the circular economy I want to turn my attention to agriculture, biodiversity and nature based solutions."

 

Katie Gleeson

 

"I'm farming alongside my husband on our 6th generation family dairy farm. The Gleeson family has deep roots here with the dairy farming traced back to pre-famine times and we currently milk 110 Holstein-Freisian cows. Coming from a "conventional" dairy farm, it’s important that we tackle the challenge of climate change while maintaining a viable farm enterprise to raise our young family. That’s why we have adopted sustainable practices such as improving our herd quality over increasing the herd size, participation in various sustainable dairy programmes with the Department of Ag, Bord Bia and Centenary Co-op. We are also adopting tech such as AgNav to reduce our "hoofprint" as much as we can. I am happy to participate in Field Exchange because peer sharing is the key to change."

 

Brendan Guinan

 

"Fiorbhia Farm is the only 100% Biological agroforestery farm in Ireland. We farm true biodiversity with our pigs, poultry, beef, bees and fruit all chemical free. We provide minimum processed nutrient-rich food directly to local families. Using forested land in collaboration with nature, our animals contribute to the health of the soil and forest. Our farm captures carbon and increases bio-diversity. Our animals forage outdoors all year round. We are committed to 100% chemical free farming. This means no chemicals on the land, in the animal’s food, or in medication. We are shortening the food supply chain ensuring you have access to nutrient-dense meat you can feel good about. I want to connect consumers to their food and empower them with the knowledge to grow their own."

 

Janine Kennedy

 

"I am a chef, journalist, mum and farmer who wants to take steps in the right direction. As a chef I believe food is the ultimate social connector. On our farm, we milk 75 cows in a completely conventional system. I would love to go organic but my husband and father-in-law disagree. I want to find a way to bring positive change to our farm without damaging any relationships."

 

Kirsten Bayly-Parker

 

"I returned back to Tipperary and our home farm in 2018 and have been working alongside my father who has always been interested in sustainability and innovation and has passed this interest onto me. We are a mixed farm; tillage, a small suckler herd, changing to dexter cattle, and forestry. We tried agroforestry in the 1980's and I would love to try this again, alongside our grassland organic conversion. I welcome any chance to meet other farmers and learn from what others are implementing."

 

Sean Fletcher

 

"I’m a part-time farmer with sheep and cattle. I’m willing to learn and diversify. At Field Exchange I want to learn more and implement changes to my farming practices as a result."

 

Margaret Edgill

 

"Mount Briscoe is an organic farm in County Offaly. I run a beef suckler herd and produce shorthorn cross weanlings off a grass fed system. Animals are grazed in groups and rotated during the grazing season with grassland management being at the core of our enterprise. Mount Briscoe has been farmed to organic standards since 1998 licenced by the Irish Organic Association (IOA).

I followed with interest the Field Exchange programme last year and attended some of the exchanges and thought they were brilliant. It provided a haven to meet other farmers, artists, non-farmers and subsequently the opportunity to engage in dialogue, share thoughts, concerns and indeed hopes and aspirations."

 

Tom Starr

 

"Our farm is primarily grassland but some acres have been rewilded with local acorns. We also have a small apple orchard, vegetable garden, free range laying hens, and 10 beehives. I'm interested in showing my peers the benefits of organic farming, even on a small scale, and learning from other farmers at Field Exchange."

 

Declan Houlihan

 

"Our farm is mostly tillage, but also has laying hens, free ranging pigs and recently we added a beef enterprise. The main focus is on direct selling. This year we hope to add a micro dairy, and also start to develop some agroforestry.

I am very interested in sustainability and efficient use of energy on the farm. I would like to share what we have learned since converting to organic in 2006, and to get the opportunity to learn from other like minded farmers."

 

Niall Heenan + Inez Heenan

 

"We are passionate about how we, as a farming family, sustainably and proactively adapt to climate change and biodiversity loss. We see Field Exchange as an exciting way to engage with others through art and agriculture on this journey.

Our vision is to continue the ongoing development of Fuchsia Lane Farm, as a regenerative destination, with nature at its core, to be a leading sustainable visitor experience and a model of custodianship for future generations."