The shape I'm in: Farm fresh with Darragh McCullough

RTÉ’S Ear to the Ground is back on our TV screens and its presenter Darragh McCullough promises the rural affairs series will deliver an eclectic mix of country characters, food journeys and farming news.

Darragh and his wife Aoife live on his family farm in Gormanstown, Co Meath. “Our house is near my parents’ house,” he says. “It’s out of shouting distance but close enough to be useful.”

As well as pursuing his journalistic career, Darragh is also actively involved in running the family farm. “I don’t know if I’d say the same about Aoife though. She’s from Dublin and still a real townie,” he says.

He turned 40 three weeks ago and celebrated by holding a big bonfire for all his friends on the farm. “We had a Polynesian pit roast where I buried seven legs of lamb in embers and cooked them for hours and hours,” he says.

“There was no such thing as finger food or gluten-free this and vegetarian that at this party. It was all rustic, harvest party grub. We had the lamb, which was fantastic, baked potatoes, hunks of brown bread and home-brewed beer.”

What shape are you in?

I’m pretty good although I have had the first hints of arthritic twinges. I took up triathlons 10 years ago and while I don’t do them anymore, I think they gave me a great base level of fitness. They also changed my eating habits for the better and that’s stuck with me. I was around 12 stone when I left college and I’m still about that today so I must be doing something right.

What are your healthiest eating habits?

I eat three decent meals a day. I’m horrible to be around when I’m hungry and often snarl if I have to miss a meal on shoots. So, I make sure I eat regularly.

I also make sure I eat a good breakfast and I love porridge. It’s the good stuff that you add to it — such as cinnamon, coconut and dried fruit –— that makes it tasty and good.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

I drink a glass of red wine after dinner every evening. Aoife thinks I’m terrible but I know I’m not an impulsive person so I have no need for the second glass. At least not usually!

What would keep you awake at night?

Stressing over work keeps me awake, my farming work especially. There’s the weather, worry about retailers and the fact that I employ people and that I’m responsible for them. But I think that if you take anything seriously and if you’re passionate about it, it’s bound to keep you up at night sometimes.

How do you relax?

Swimming is the most relaxing thing I do. The immersion of it is like nothing else and I always feel better afterwards.

Getting a wetsuit was a revelation for me. I’m as big a wimp about the cold as anyone else but being in a wetsuit allows you to swim in Irish waters for at least six months of the year and now I get into the water any chance I get.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

I’d invite Jon Ronson who wrote Staring at Goats and Frank because he’s such a great writer; Michelle Obama because she’s really kicking ass right now; Usain Bolt because I think he’d be a fun guy and could play a few tunes on the decks afterwards; and Tommy Tiernan for a bit of madness.

What’s your favourite smell?

Good quality silage has that sweetness about it. It also triggers complex emotions in me; a sense of satisfaction and a job well done. It’s funny because it makes my wife retch.

What would you change about your appearance?

I’d give myself a neater nose and more hair.

When did you last cry?

I mortify my wife by blubbing at the drop of a hat. I cry at stereotypical moments in movies and I even cried during an episode of Home and Away. That was a new low for me.

What trait do you like least in others?

Disingenuousness or any kind of falseness.

What trait do you like least in yourself?

I’m a bit disorganised and often too enthusiastic. This means I take on a lot of things because I’m so excited about them and then find myself sinking under all I’ve got myself into.

Do you pray?

I don’t pray. I don’t go to mass either. I go to church for occasions such as baptisms and weddings but I’m one of the many who has fallen away from the church and I don’t turn to it for spiritual comfort anymore.

What would cheer up your day?

The fastest way to my heart is through my stomach.