Series 33, Programme 12 – 7:00pm Thursday 5th February, 2026
RTÉ One – Repeated Sunday 8th February, 2026
Sheepdog Trials
Over a wild and wet July weekend, Stephen Robb attended the Trials of the Glen Sheep Dog Trials near Letterkenny to see some of Britain and Ireland’s top dogs compete for the honours.
Held over three days, only the best dogs managed to make it to the final day. But on a high mountain course in heavy rain and poor visibility, it became impossible to predict the eventual winner as it came down to the survival of the fittest.
Blackwater
Stretching over 170km, the Blackwater is renowned as one of the best salmon and trout rivers in the country.
But, in August of last year, a major pollution incident took place and a reported 32,000 salmon and trout were found dead at various points along the river.
A subsequent multi-agency investigation failed to find the culprit or the reason for the pollution itself. Which has left the community wondering, could all of this happen again?
Farmdroid
Cork man Brian Mc Carthy is well known for his Roof Top Farming enterprise, but now he’s come down to earth and leased a 60 acre farm in order to grow his veg growing business.
Darragh Mc Cullough finds out more about Brian’s farm and his belief in the future of horticulture in a time when some growers are leaving the sector every year. While also learning more about “Farmdroid” – the new technology Brian is introducing on-farm which helps reduce labour and remove some of the more back breaking work.
Ear to the Ground is produced by indiepics for RTÉ.
