Countrywide Full Episode 04/07/2026

Nitrate leaching

A Dáil Committee heard this week that the things farmers whose land is free draining are being advised to do will catch phosphate but won’t stop nitrate from polluting rivers. Pat Dillon from the agricultural research agency Teagasc is an expert in nitrate leaching spoke to Philip on this morning's show.

Blackwater River Fish Kill

The Blackwater River Fish Kill last August was the largest fish kill ever in Ireland, and the person or people were never found. This week, Timmy Dooley, Minister with responsibility for fisheries published a new set of protocols to address which investigative agency should do what from now on when there is a fish kill.

Pollardstown Fen

The amount of water we are taking out of our underground aquifers and rivers is increasingly an issue, but what happens when a well suddenly runs dry for 6 months, and then reappears? Betty O’Shea has devoted a considerable chunk of her life to tending to Father Moore’s Well, and she tells us more.

Countrywide Full Episode 04/07/2026

Countrywide Full Episode 04/07/2026

Fish Kill

Professor Fiona Regan, Director of of DCU's Water Institute reacts to and discusses the protocols being outlined by Minister Dooley.