Eamonn Dinnegan, Ballymahon, Co Longford
I live on a farm outside Ballymahon, in Co Longford, and work the farm with my parents. We're a cattle farm, really; most of our cattle go to the factory in Moyvalley. A lorry comes fairly often to pick them up. Some of our cattle go to Ballyhaunis, in Co Mayo. We have very regular days, I suppose. We have to get up early for the cattle. Lunch at two, dinner at five; you get very used to it. The best part is when I go driving the tractor around the farm, which is great. Rover is also a big part of our farm - he's our red setter, and wouldn't be happy if I didn't mention him.
There's a big cattle fair every Thursday. Lots of people are about, and you see a lot of friends and neighbours. Ballymahon has a big wide street, and it fills up when there's a big mart on. We have a good few neighbours around us; a lot of them are farmers, too.
I prefer Westmeath to Longford in some ways. I follow the local football, but there's more going on in Mullingar. Ballymahon is kind of quiet, and getting quieter. The pubs are struggling; some have closed down because a lot of the young people are moving away. Everybody prefers going to Mullingar. The Greville Arms Hotel has a really good atmosphere; that's where I go for a few drinks with my friends and family. We're closer to Mullingar than to Longford town. Joe Dolan is from Mullingar. He'd be about the most famous person from nearby, but I've only seen him on the telly. Albert Reynolds, of course, is from Longford. I used to see him a lot. He'd often be around, looking for votes. I'm a member of a club that meets up every second Friday, and we do activities such as karate, and play pool, too. About 20 of us meet up. We go to the dog track in Mullingar. I also do some pottery and a bit of carpentry. I make bookcases and things like that for friends. It's a good way of doing things we wouldn't otherwise be doing here in Ballymahon.
I have four sisters and one brother. One sister is a teacher in Longford town. Another is living in the US; she really loves it there. It's very different to Ballymahon; maybe that's why she likes it. My brother is working on a farm in the outback in Australia. I think he's driving a tractor, tagging sheep. It's funny, though: he's travelled all that way around the world, and he ends up doing the same thing he grew up doing here.
In conversation with Davin O'Dwyer