by Niamh Cooper, Melissa Byrne & Gillian Hegarty

We know them as something we get in our local takeaway. But making your own spring rolls is actually so easy – and fun – a four-year-old could do it! It’s actually the perfect food to make at a party.

Spring rolls are one of those dishes that look amazing and are surprisingly simple to put together. They are incredibly nutritious, bursting with nutrients and so full of flavour. Everyone gets to make their own, with ingredients they love. Perfect for a party or playdate. Kids love them and it encourages everyone to try new foods.

Fresh Spring Rolls

You will need:

• 8 rice paper wrappers*

• 1 carrot, peeled, cut into matchsticks

• 1 small red or yellow pepper, thinly sliced

• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced

• 4 leaves of butter-head lettuce, torn

• 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced lengthways

• 1 mango

• 1 avocado

• 100g vermicelli rice noodles, cooked and cooled

• Fresh herbs: mint, basil, coriander, chives 

• Edible flowers: chive flowers, marigold, cornflowers

• 1 chicken breast**, cut into 1cm pieces

• 2 tbsp soy / tamari* sauce

• 2 tbsp mirin*

* Most supermarkets have these in the oriental foods aisle.

** You can use tofu, prawns, beef, or any other meat you fancy, too. 

Place the tofu/meat in a bowl with the soy/tamari sauce and the mirin, and leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes. Cook slowly in a bit of oil in a frying pan or oven until cooked through, then leave to cool completely.

Slice all the vegetables you have chosen to use into thin batons, no longer than the width of the wrapper. Lay them out on a plate.

Fill a large bowl with water. Submerge one rice paper wrapper at a time for a few seconds until it softens and becomes flexible. Lift it out carefully and place it on a damp tea towel.

Lay a few pieces of lettuce horizontally across the centre of the wrapper, leaving about an inch free on each side. Add your chosen fillings on top: a little of everything, or whatever takes your fancy.

To roll: gently lift the bottom of the wrapper up and over the filling, pull it snug, then fold in the two sides and continue rolling until your spring roll is fully wrapped. The tighter you roll, the better it holds together.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

• ½ cup peanut butter

• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp soy or tamari sauce

• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce

• 1 small clove garlic, finely grated

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together with one-third cup hot water until smooth. Add a little more water if you prefer a thinner consistency.

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)

• 3 tbsp lime juice

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1 small chilli, sliced (optional)

• ¼ cup water

Stir all ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust, depending on your taste.

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Hair loss can happen for a variety of reasons, as herbalist Rosarie Kingston explains, looking at the different types of hair loss and approaches to preventing or treating this condition

Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss, and it can occur due to family history, autoimmune conditions, hormonal changes, lack of certain nutrients in the diet, some medications, scalp problems, and stress. It is often more helpful to think of alopecia as a sign that something else is going on in the body, rather than one single condition, because the way the hair falls out can point to different underlying causes.

Hair grows in a repeating cycle with three main stages: a growing phase (anagen), a short transition phase (catagen), and a resting phase (telogen) during which the hair stops growing and eventually sheds. After shedding, the follicle rests for a while before starting a new growing phase and producing a fresh hair strand. If there is a disruption in this cycle we get hair loss.

The most common type of long-term hair loss is called androgenetic alopecia, often known as female-pattern or male-pattern hair loss. This type runs in families and gets worse slowly over time. It is the kind of thinning that many women notice as they get older.

Another common type is alopecia areata, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicles, leading to patchy hair loss. Hair can also shed more than usual after an illness, very high stress, childbirth, surgery, rapid weight loss, or if there are low levels of iron, zinc, vitamin D, or B vitamins.

Hormonal changes are another major cause, especially during pregnancy and menopause. Certain medicines, scalp infections, very tight hairstyles, and harsh hair treatments can also weaken the hair follicles and lead to shedding.

Oestrogen plays an important role in keeping our hair healthy by helping it stay in its growing phase for longer. When oestrogen levels drop, hair can begin to shed more easily and may take longer to grow back. This is why many women notice thinning hair during times of hormonal change, such as after childbirth or during menopause.

During menopause in particular, the hair follicles (which produce each strand of hair) are quite sensitive to changes in oestrogen. Lower levels can affect not just how much hair grows, but also its thickness and texture. However, it is not always as simple as ‘low oestrogen’ causing hair loss. In some women, hair follicles are more sensitive to other hormones called androgens, even when these hormone levels are within a normal range. This means that hair thinning can also be influenced by genetics and how the body responds to its hormones, which is why blood tests do not always show a clear cause.

Stress can lead to hair loss in two main ways. First, it can trigger a condition called telogen effluvium, where many hairs move into the resting phase too soon and then fall out a few months later. Second, stress may help bring on alopecia areata in people who are already prone to it, possibly by affecting how the immune system and inflammation work.

This does not mean stress is always the only cause. More often, it acts as a trigger on top of something else already going on, such as a family tendency, hormonal changes, illness, or a lack of certain nutrients. In everyday terms, stress can ‘tip’ the hair cycle out of balance, because the tiny structures that grow our hair are very sensitive to what is happening inside the body.

Nutrition is important because hair grows quickly and needs protein, iron, zinc, vitamin D, and several B vitamins to build strong strands. If these nutrients are low, hair can become thinner, more brittle, or fall out more easily. A Mediterranean-style diet, enough protein in the diet, and fixing any confirmed nutrient shortages are often the most sensible place to start if you notice hair thinning.

Among herbs and plant oils, rosemary is one of the better-known options, with studies suggesting it may support hair growth through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions. Pumpkin seed oil is another promising remedy, with clinical and preclinical evidence in pattern hair loss, possibly through effects on 5-alpha-reductase and support for the hair follicle. Nettle and horsetail (equisetum) are also traditionally valued for hair health, as they are rich in minerals that support strong, resilient hair.

For rosemary, a simple and effective use is as a rinse: simmer a handful of dried rosemary in water for 15-20 minutes, strain, and use the cooled liquid as a final rinse after washing your hair. Pumpkin seed oil is best taken internally, typically as a supplement (following the dose on the product label). Nettle can be used as a daily tea (steeping dried nettle leaves in hot water) or as a rinse made from a strong infusion. Horsetail is most commonly taken as a tea or tincture, though it can also be used as a rinse. Do not plant horsetail in your garden. It is very invasive and will take over in a short space of time. 

The best approach really depends on what’s causing the hair loss. If you’re noticing sudden shedding after a period of stress, illness, or a big life change, it often improves on its own once that trigger settles down. On the other hand, pattern hair loss and autoimmune-type alopecia usually need a more targeted plan.

If hair loss is ongoing, it’s sensible to take a close look at things like your iron levels, thyroid function, vitamin D, zinc, your diet, any medications you’re on, and whether you’re going through menstrual or menopausal changes, or showing signs of an autoimmune condition.

A  realistic approach might include fixing any nutrient shortages, easing up on stress where possible, using well-studied herbs like rosemary or pumpkin seed oil, and addressing any hormonal or medical factors at play. This kind of combined approach is often far more helpful than focusing on just one cause.

In Italy, a Dublin Bay prawn is a scampo (plural scampi). Here in the 1970s, scampi tails with chips became a popular dish, but it was not cheap, so sometimes restaurants used substitutes such as monkfish. At the time, monkfish was thought too hideous and unfamiliar for our tastes, but cut into small prawn-shaped pieces and deep-fried, it could be served up, dishonestly, as scampi. No restaurateur would do that today, because their customers have learned that monkfish itself is delicious too.

But what exactly is a monkfish? The word is as ambiguous as prawn. In Alwyne Wheeler’s definitive Key to the Fishes of Northern Europe, the monkfish is Squatina squatina, an angel shark; it was the same in the Irish Specimen Fish Committee’s annual report. But in a restaurant or at the fishmonger’s, a monkfish is Lophius piscatorius, the anglerfish, something completely different.

The monastic connection goes back to 1546 when a creature called a ‘sea monk’ was captured in the Øresund, that narrow stretch of water between Sweden and Denmark. The sea monk was said to be a fish that resembled a monk dressed in his religious habit. It appeared in several serious scientific books of the time; those of Guillaume Rondelet in 1554 and Pierre Belon in 1555 both had, among relatively accurate drawings of fish and other marine animals, pictures of a beast with scaly tunic, spiky limbs and the tonsured head of a monk. It was thought by some to be either a badly-drawn giant squid, a merman or perhaps a Jenny Haniver – one of those fanciful creatures that sailors used to construct out of various dried animals. Renaissance academics were still inclined to believe in sea monsters – Rondelet’s book also has a drawing of a ‘sea bishop’, which had a vaguely human torso and head (plus bishop’s mitre) all covered in scales, but bare legs, like those of an ostrich.

Rondelet and Belon both knew the difference between the sea monk, the angel shark and the anglerfish. They called the angel shark Squatina (the name used by Linnaeus over 200 years later); Belon also named it ‘angelot de mer’, or angel of the sea – the large pectoral fins of the fish could be said to resemble angelic wings. The anglerfish, he called ‘grenouille de mer’ (sea frog) and ‘diable de mer’ (sea devil), both names applied today to certain types of anglerfish.

An angel shark does, with a little imagination, resemble a cowled monk, an anglerfish really doesn’t, so quite why and when sea monk, angel shark and anglerfish became conflated, I don’t know.

The anglerfish order, Lophiiformes, is made up of fifteen families, including the common anglerfish, the batfish, the frogfish and the truly bizarre deep-water anglerfish. There are hundreds of species. They are so named because of their method of catching prey – they all have a fishing rod, actually modified dorsal fin rays, the first of which has a fleshy knob, the lure, at its end. They are unique among bony fish in having their gill openings behind their pectoral fins instead of in front; also, they have depressible teeth, extensible stomachs, and no scales.

In Irish waters we have two species – the common anglerfish, Lophius piscatorius, and the smaller and rarer black-bellied anglerfish, L. budegassa, though other species live in very deep water. If you order monkfish in a restaurant here, it is the common anglerfish that you will be eating. It is very ugly; most of its body seems to be head, and its enormous mouth is armed with sharp, backward pointing teeth. For this reason, you will usually see only the tail on a fishmonger’s slab. It is found from shallow water down to 600 metres or more, where it lies buried in sand or gravel, waving the fishing rod in front of its jaws to entice a potential meal. When a fish approaches, thinking the lure is something edible, the angler opens its huge mouth, and the smaller fish quickly becomes the prey instead. Anglerfish eat all kinds of bottom-dwelling species and anything else they can catch, even rising to the surface to take sea birds.

Other members of the order are still uglier, and some quite extraordinary. The many species of frogfish include the Sargassum fish, a small angler which is camouflaged to resemble the clumps of Sargassum weed in which it floats in tropical seas. The batfish have their pelvic fins modified into leg-like structures with which they can walk on the sea bed. The weirdest of all the anglerfish, however, are the deep-sea species; some are quite terrifying to look at. The names of the different families give clues as to their grotesque appearances: football fish, whip-nosed anglers, wolf-trap anglers, black sea devils, warty sea devils. They are the fish of nightmares.

Deep-sea anglerfish live in mid-water, down to depths of 3,000 metres, where there is no light. So they have two big problems – finding food and finding a mate. They solve the first difficulty by having a lamp on the end of their fishing rod; the bioluminescence is produced by bacteria. Other fish see something shining in the dark, they swim closer to investigate, the huge open mouth snaps shut and the backward pointing teeth ensure no escape. As food is so scarce in their bathypelagic habitat, they must be able to swallow whatever they find, hence their enormously stretchable stomachs.

Reproduction is even stranger. They lay millions of eggs which hatch into planktonic larvae. The female grows normally, but the male becomes a dwarf with special biting jaws and no fishing rod. When he finds a female, guided by her luminous lure, he bites into her skin, and there he stays. In some species, their body tissues actually fuse, and the male becomes a parasite, getting his nutrients from the female’s blood, and releasing sperm whenever she wants to reproduce. Sometimes, one female will have several parasitic males attached. Males who never find a female will die because they can’t fish for themselves. The warty sea devil, Ceratias holboeli, is one of the largest species; the female grows up to 120 cm, but the male is never more than 6 cm long.

The other fish called monkfish – the angel sharks – also have flattened bodies for life on the sea bed, but that is really the only similarity to anglerfish. Being sharks, they have cartilaginous skeletons – no bones. Their gills open to the exterior via five slits on either side of the head, and their skin is covered in dermal denticles, like tiny teeth, which give all sharks their rough feel, as any fisherman will know who has been grazed by a dogfish. They live in relatively shallow waters, lying concealed in sand or mud until an unsuspecting fish passes by, and then the shark lunges up and grabs it.

There are 26 species of angel shark, all in the genus Squatina. Many of them are in trouble because of fishing, deliberately or as by-catch; the three species found in the eastern Atlantic, including S. squatina, the common angel shark, are all critically endangered. S. squatina was once plentiful in Ireland, and frequently caught by human anglers, especially in places such as Tralee Bay and Clew Bay. In the 1970s, like flapper skate and blue sharks, they were all killed, just for fun and photographs, and dumped back in the sea – there was no market for their meat here. But then anglers began tagging them, and they might have been all right but for the introduction of the tangle net. These death traps, set primarily for crayfish, also catch anything that swims into them, including angel sharks.

Much of the angel shark’s territory in Kerry is a designated national park, and last year Tralee Bay was declared an ‘important shark and ray area’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, yet fishermen still use tangle nets in these places. Ireland is one of the last refuges of the common angel shark, a fish whose ancestors swam in Jurassic seas and outlived the dinosaurs. What an absolute disgrace it would be if, whether due to politics, economics, or because the government just didn’t care, this shark was to become extinct.

This month, branch committee member Andrea Reichstein travels up to Rathlin Island, off the northern coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, to experience its birdlife and so much more.

After visiting Cape Clear for the very enjoyable week-long ‘Seabirds to Songbirds’ course held by Dick Coombes for Birdwatch Ireland two years ago, I once again felt drawn to visit one of Ireland’s many stunning islands. This year I decided to travel across Ireland to Rathlin island. It is a fairly epic journey, especially if done by public transport, which gives an added sense of adventure and the feel of travelling somewhere very exotic.

I went for a week at the end of April and was extremely lucky with the weather; the sun was splitting the rocks every day and it was very difficult to eventually leave this paradise.

Similar to Cape Clear, Rathlin is a great place for bird and nature lovers: Cape Clear has the bird observatory and Rathlin has the RSPB Rathlin West Light Seabird Centre – both are great for walking and exploring. But be warned, do not bring along someone who is a fan of quick walks; they won’t like it, as you will be stopping constantly – there is just so much to see and watch.

It is difficult to pick my highlights of the stay, but the following are definitely some. On my first morning, walking the ca 7km Rathlin Island Trail up to the seabird centre (there is also a bus, aptly named Puffin bus running between the ferry and the centre), I was perhaps 1km away from the centre when I spotted a massive bird. It came out of nowhere, flying low overhead, chased by crows. This was my very first sighting of a (juvenile) white-tailed eagle and it was something else! I was amazed to see such a big and powerful bird being chased by crows. I learned that juveniles do pass through, either from Scotland or the south of Ireland, but so far none of them have ever settled here. Hopefully this one has made its home here, as by the time I left, it had stayed around for five days, so maybe!

I decided to do the Kebble South Trail on the day I was due to leave the island. It’s a beautiful walk along the cliffs with great views onto some more cliffs where seabirds perch and you can look down on seals in the water below. I spotted two birds in the distance perched on a rock. At first glance, they looked a bit like gulls but then I realised that I was looking at Northern Ireland’s only breeding pair of great skuas! I had a few more encounters with them. From all directions, I could see them sitting on their elevated stone and they treated me with some flyovers, displaying their beautiful wing markings.

Rathlin is of course famous for the Golden Hare with its blonde fur and blue eyes, which is a result of a gene defect and only occurs on Rathlin island. There are only a handful of them born each year, out of 600-800 hares in total. So, if you love hares, you will love Rathlin. Throughout my visit, I kept a close eye out for the elusive golden hare. I saw plenty of hares, some noticeably brighter than others, but I was never quite sure whether I had actually found one. When I mentioned this to locals, they all gave the same response: if you see a golden hare, you’ll know it.

On my last evening I headed out onto the Ballyconaghan Trail, which numerous sources had told me is the best spot to spot one. That evening, with the sun hanging low in the sky, I turned a corner and saw them: two hares. One was a typical Irish hare, but the other was unmistakably a golden hare. The moment I saw it, I knew. I could hardly believe my luck. Its coat was a striking blend of pale blonde and white, and its vivid blue eyes made it look truly magnificent.

Then there were the seabirds. During the first two days of my stay, the cliffs around the seabird centre were teeming with life. Every available rock face seemed to be occupied by guillemots, while ledges were packed with razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes and, of course, puffins. The sheer volume of birds was incredible, and the constant chorus of calls created an unforgettable atmosphere.

I had expected the colonies to come with a strong smell, but there was surprisingly little scent at all. Perhaps I had arrived early enough in the season to avoid it – I suspect things will be very different later in the summer.

As the week went on fewer and fewer birds were on the cliffs and it fell almost silent. Some visitors to the centre did not see a puffin so they were understandably disappointed.

Therefore, my top tip is this: don’t just visit Rathlin for the day. Stay for several nights, visit the seabird centre more than once, and take time to explore the rest of the island. There are several stunning walks and, even after five days on Rathlin, I didn’t feel that I had seen everything – or heard everything. Unfortunately, I was too early for the corncrake, or perhaps the corncrake was late; either way, we missed each other.

But the puffins! It is a joy simply to watch them. Even when they are not doing very much, they are somehow endlessly entertaining, whether waddling seemingly aimlessly about or trying to pull up vegetation, only to discover they are not quite strong enough and becoming visibly frustrated.

The seabird centre is also an excellent spot for watching whales, dolphins and other marine life. While I didn’t see any myself, several pods of dolphins had been spotted passing by in the week before my stay. I did, however, see seals, including both grey and harbour seals.

Rathlin Harbour is home to plenty of eider ducks, which were a real treat for me, especially because of their unusual and distinctive calls. They sound as though they have just heard a particularly juicy piece of gossip! It was to this sound that I fell asleep each night, and I have to say it has become one of my favourite bird calls.

I will definitely be back, not only to Rathlin, but also for a few days on Cape Clear.

BirdWatch Ireland
West Cork Branch News

Our next event is:

June 6 – Courtmacsherry Community Biodiversity Action Plan walk

June 24 – Swift walk in Clonakilty

Visit our website www.birdwatchirelandwestcork.ie for more information about these events. To receive news and reminders about our events join our mailing list by sending an email to mailinglist@birdwatchirelandwestcork.ie.

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c @ birdwatch_ireland_west_cork

by Naomi Fein

Many of my clients tell me they have been showing up consistently – posting regularly, trying different platforms, doing the things you are supposed to do. But it costs more than it gives back. The time it takes. Two hours disappear between deciding to post and actually posting. “I feel like I am shouting into a room where nobody is listening,” someone said to me recently. “And I am exhausted.”

What strikes me is not the exhaustion. That makes sense. It is the assumption beneath it – more platforms, more posts, more visibility is always the answer. We have inherited this belief. And I think it is time to question where it came from.

When I look at the roots of ‘more is better’, I keep arriving at the same place: the Industrial Revolution. The shift from handmade, agricultural societies to automated industrial ones brought a big promise: we could produce more for less time. And with that came a whole belief system. More output equals more value. More money brings more power. And power – finally – feels like the path to the thing we are all actually craving underneath: safety. If I can control enough – my income, my visibility, my reputation – I will finally feel secure. I can stop bracing.

Except control doesn’t deliver that. It can’t. Because life is not controllable, and the more we try to hold it, the more energy it takes. So the safety never arrives. ‘More’ is a horizon. You move toward it, and it keeps moving. We end up time-poor, money-poor, energy-poor – not because we actually are, but because our eyes are permanently fixed somewhere ahead.

This belief runs straight through how most of us think about marketing. If you are not on Instagram AND Facebook AND LinkedIn AND everything else, you are missing your audience. Post every day, or the algorithm will forget you. Even people who are consistent in their efforts carry an inner voice that the outer pressure has installed: this is not enough. You need to do more.

What if that voice belongs to a map that no longer fits the territory?

If your identity and business are rooted in CARE, not MORE – if you wish to mind our planet, our people, and have a viable business – then the old marketing rulebook may not just be exhausting – it may be the wrong map entirely.

So what does the right map look like?

I came to this through an unusual back door. I started in community development – working with migrants, youth, women – before moving into design and business consulting. For the past decade, I have been finding a visual way to map human ecosystems: businesses, teams, organisations. Seeing the whole picture in one view unlocks something unexpected. Time and again, my clients find clarity they couldn’t access through Excel sheets and text-heavy marketing strategies.

To make such a map, I start by asking: “Who are the people who help you achieve your goals?” “Who are your best clients?” Nine out of ten clients stare at me blankly. And I understand why. Most of us skip the question entirely. We go straight to doing – a new platform, a post, a campaign that takes weeks to build. We invest time, money, and hope, and watch it land quietly in the void. We were never clear on who we were talking to. We just kept moving.

Once we gain clarity on who our people are, a second question follows: “How many can we actually know well enough to tend?”

This is where something shifts. Your core – the people who already believe in what you do, who come back, who refer others, who will tell you honestly when something isn’t working – is smaller than you think. And that is not a limitation. It is a gift. A small, well-tended group of people who genuinely believe in you will do more for your business than a thousand followers who scroll past. The number will be different for every business. What matters is whether you know who they are and whether you have real, sustainable ways of staying connected.

Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist at Oxford, found that humans have a cognitive limit of roughly 150 stable relationships – now known as Dunbar’s Number. Beyond that, we lose the ability to really know people. The Romans understood something similar: their basic military unit was eight soldiers – the contubernium – who shared a tent, ate together, and fought together. Trust scaled through that small unit, not through mass co-ordination.

Around your core, a wider community – people connected to you but not yet as close. Beyond that: the public. These three circles are not a hierarchy of importance. They are a map of where your energy goes. If you look after your core well, they hold the golden key of how to reach your wider community. And your wider community, over time, reaches the public. That is not a shortcut. It is how communities have always worked.

The question to ask yourself is not: “How do I reach more people?” It is: “Do I know who my people are, and am I actually tending that relationship?”

In practice, this changes what marketing looks like entirely.

Instead of producing content for the algorithm, you design experiences – events, conversations, writing, small gatherings – that feed the ecosystem around your work. You are not trying to fill an ocean. You are tending a garden.

And you choose the channels and activities that give you energy rather than drain it. If you love writing, write. If you come alive in a room with people, create the room. The right marketing is not the one that works in theory. It is the one you can actually sustain.

You do not need to talk to everyone. You need to talk to the right people. You probably already know some of them. Go and talk with them – that is a good starting point.

What excites me most right now is more of this: mapping ecosystems with clients and watching unexpected doors open, gathering where solutions emerge from the group, experimenting together rather than each of us figuring it out alone. A place to belong, as much as a place to work.

If you want help finding your people and building a marketing approach that actually fits your business, I would love to talk. Contact me on 086 3743132 or pop me an email naomi@thinkvisual.ie. You can also find out more about me and my work at www.thinkvisual.ie.

I’m taking a break for July but will be back for the August issue with more visual models that may help you grow your business. 

We spoke in detail last month about the new windows and doors grant, recently launched under the Individual Energy Upgrade Grant. First of all, I need to make a correction to one of the grant rules, which has been clarified by SEAI in the meantime. My understanding was that, in order to be eligible for the window or door grant, all your windows or doors in the house would have to meet the minimum SEAI specification (a U-value of 1.4 W/m2K or lower). This was always the rule for window and door grants under the One Stop Shop Scheme and would normally mean replacing all the windows or doors. I have since been informed by SEAI that they will offer the grants towards a partial window or door replacement, but that it is a one time grant, you can only make the claim once. Obviously you still need to meet the minimum insulation standards we discussed last month, which may be harder to do if only changing a few windows. 

This month we are continuing on the glazing subject, discussing sunrooms. Sunrooms or conservatories are great spaces for capturing heat when the sun comes out and making the most of a site with a good view. These glass-walled retreats are a common architectural feature on both old and new houses across West Cork. However, as we move toward higher insulation standards for retrofits and new builds, the humble sunroom is coming under the microscope. While they feel warm on a sunny April afternoon, they can often be the ‘weakest link’ in a home’s thermal envelope. There are also complications regarding how they are treated in BER assessments.

Firstly, let’s look at efficiency. I’m sure we have all experienced fully glazed sunrooms that get roasting hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. This is simple physics: glazing allows for solar gain. While this ‘free’ heat can be useful, it can quickly lead to overheating, and the heat loss during nights and winter usually outweighs the gains. In terms of heat loss, a wall built to modern standards will be almost 4.5 times better at retaining heat compared to the best triple-glazed window. Finally, the ‘form factor’ of these spaces is often inefficient. They are usually three-sided structures attached to the main house, often with vaulted ceilings. This creates a high proportion of heat-loss area; glazing, walls, floor, and roof, in comparison to the useable floor area.

If you are designing a sunroom from scratch, my advice is to reduce the proportion of glazing. Aim for a solid roof with a few rooflights and no more than 30 per cent glazing on the walls. This provides ample solar gain while minimising heat loss. If you are clever with the design, this shouldn’t restrict how the space captures views or connects to the surroundings. To be fair, most sunrooms on new-build homes already follow these principles; in fact, it would be nearly impossible to meet current building regulations with a fully glazed space that is thermally part of the house.

This leads to my second point: existing sunrooms that are more or less fully glazed. I’m currently sitting in one while writing this article. It’s a slightly overcast April day; about 16 degrees Celsius outside and 28 degrees inside with the door open! We don’t have any heating in this space, and the door into the living room is an external-grade door. We don’t use the room much in the winter; it’s great in spring and autumn, if we have sunshine, but as soon as it gets dark, it’s very cold. In the height of summer, it needs all the doors open to stay cool. Despite this, it is still a useful space, and I’m glad we spent the time and money repairing it when we moved in rather than demolishing it. My advice if you have this type of sunroom is to treat it as a seasonal space: don’t try to heat it, and ensure it is thermally separated from the rest of the house when temperatures drop. You could also consider closing in part of the roof and walls with insulated panels; I have seen some very effective examples of this.

How sunrooms are treated in your BER (Building Energy Rating) roughly follows the principles above:

Separated: If it is thermally separated from the rest of the house (e.g., by an external-grade door), is mainly glazed, and has no fixed heating, it is not counted as part of the house’s internal floor area.

Included: If these criteria aren’t met, for example, if you have a radiator in there, the room is counted as part of the heated envelope. This generally leads to a poorer BER rating because of the high heat loss through the glass.

This classification becomes important when looking at the SEAI window, door and heat pump grants, which all require a certain level of insulation of the home. If your sunroom is classified as part of the house, it is likely to negatively impact your Heat Loss Indicator (HLI). This is a critical metric, as the heat Pump Grant requires an HLI of 2.3 or lower. It is  also one of the routes to grant compliance for windows and doors.

Sunrooms are not necessarily a bad thing; they can be very useful spaces. It is simply important to be aware of their impact on your energy use, BER, and grant eligibility.

Heads up: For those planning a BER soon, from May 24, 2026, the BER scale is being simplified from 15 categories (A1, B2, and so on) to a basic A to G scale. This is part of wider changes to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) at a European level. We will dive into this in more detail next month.

As always, if you would like to get in touch about anything in this article or your own retrofit project, feel free to reach out: ruairi@retrofurb.ie.

We have all seen the price of petrol and diesel soar over the past month, with blockades at pumps, slow moving haulier convoys and tractor protests. Some garages have limited fuel supplies per vehicle and some pumps have run out of fuel. The cost of home heating is reported to have increased by up to 20 per cent since the start of the Iran war.

Some countries have been much less affected by global threats to the supplies of energy. Iceland, for example, runs entirely on renewable energy. Approximately 75.5 per cent of the country’s electricity comes from hydropower, which is their primary source of electricity, the other 24.5 per cent coming from geothermal energy. As early as 2022, 60 per cent of vehicles in Iceland ran on electricity, and electricity costs remain stable and low.

Paraguay produces all of its electricity from hydropower. Nepal uses hydropower for 98.6 per cent of its total electrical output, solar energy producing the remaining 1.4 per cent. Nepal is about 2.11 times the size of Ireland in area and has a population of 29.6 million people, compared to Ireland‘s 5.3 million people.

Ethiopia, which is about 16 times bigger than Ireland, with a population of 135 million, produces 96 per cent of its electricity from hydropower, with wind energy making up the remaining four per cent.

Certainly, energy independence is not only a possibility but can be demonstrated in countries across the globe to be a reality. 

Electricity prices in Ireland are among the highest in Europe, with further increases of four to nine per cent warned for summer 2026. This is due to the reliance on imports of gas and oil to supply electricity and the global pressures on supplies of those commodities. 

Ireland’s government has however committed to ensuring energy is affordable, sustainable, and secure and that Ireland will move from an oil and gas-based energy system to an electricity-led system, maximising renewable energy and being linked into Europe’s energy systems.

EirGrid, a Private Limited Company owned by the Irish Government is responsible for planning, managing and developing Ireland’s high-voltage electricity grid. This high-voltage grid is connected to the low voltage distribution system managed by ESB Networks who are also government-owned and who supply power directly to homes and business around the country. 

Despite objections from rural Irish residents, the transition to sustainable energy is focused almost entirely on large wind farms feeding into the already existing centralised electricity grid. Research shows however that decentralised energy systems are the most efficient solution available to enable low-carbon energy transitions. 

Decentralised energy systems use several different technologies such as small-scale wind turbines, geothermal, hydropower and solar, giving flexibility to meet energy demand from industries, households, and state enterprises such as hospitals, universities and public buildings. 

Almost all countries achieving close to 100 per cent renewable energy supply do so by using digitalised, smart, decentralised supply systems that operate at building scale or block scale.

Decentralisation creates hundreds or thousands of tiny, localised electricity-generating systems attached to homes, communities or businesses. Taking advantage of localised environmental conditions to share power, they provide electricity locally feeding excess back into the power grid for distribution elsewhere.

To do this however would require that Ireland rethink the policy that favours a centralised system which suffers a five per cent loss of power, as that power is transported long distances. Decentralisation would need a greater mix of energy production technologies to be used and businesses that are extremely heavy on energy, such as data centres, would have to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. 

Currently data centres use about 23 per cent of Ireland’s total energy consumption. This is expected to rise to 35 per cent by 2030; however they also provide considerable financial support to Ireland’s green energy sector, by underpinning the development of new renewable generation that will help to achieve the target of 70 per cent electricity from renewables by 2030. 

The Irish Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) created a policy aligning data centre growth with decarbonisation. It requires planning applications to demonstrate on-site or nearby renewable energy generation. New data centres connecting to the electricity network are required to provide electricity generation and/or storage capacity either onsite or in local proximity. This electricity generation and storage must match the requested data centre maximum demand capacity and will be required to participate in the wholesale electricity market thus supporting the overall system.

An article on science direct.com ‘Ten questions concerning decentralised energy systems governance’ states that “If we are to succeed with achieving the ambitious low-carbon energy transition targets embraced by many nation-states, cities and corporations, electrification and development of more decentralised energy systems will have to play a large role, and their governance is bound to become a matter of increased attention and interest. A decentralised energy system implies fundamental changes in electricity sector governance towards devolution of control, planning, and operation of electricity system functions (production, sales, distribution, and grid balancing) from a few central actors to include also a great many small-scale actors at more localised levels Typically, decentralised energy systems involve shorter-distance supply from small generation units owned by active consumers (individually or as energy communities that may share a microgrid, constitute a positive energy district (PED) or positive energy neighbourhood (PEN), and may also assist in solving local grid operation challenges by offering flexibility in supply and demand. A prerequisite for detecting and tackling local grid congestion challenges and flexibilities in consumption and production towards solutions is the provision of fine-grained information based on digitalisation of the grid through grid company installation of smart meters and sensors.”

Ireland has doubled wind energy capacity over the past 10 years and solar is now Ireland’s third largest source of indigenous electricity generation. It just squeezes in to the list of top ten countries leading the way with wind and solar penetration. 

If, like the Danish government, Ireland required all new wind projects to be between 20 and 50 per cent community-owned, citizens, especially those in rural areas, would immediately benefit financially from the shift to renewables. If this shift also focused on decentralised systems, then community acceptance could facilitate a rapid transition to energy independence and security pushing towards renewable energy targets for 2030 and minimising the threat that comes from geopolitical events triggered by other countries. The Irish government has after all, committed to ensuring energy is affordable, sustainable, and secure.

West Cork-based farms, enterprises, and parks featuring as part of the tour include: Drimoleague’s Glenilen Farm; Gougane Barra Forest Park located in the Shehy Mountains; Macroom Buffalo Farm; Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM)’s ARC (Aquaculture Remote Classroom) mobile unit; West Cork’s Gurteen Share Farm; and Clonakility Agricultural College, Clonakilty.

Led by Nuffield Ireland, as part of the global Nuffield International network, encompassing over 1,700 scholars from sixteen countries, this unique event will bring together a global cohort of Nuffield leaders alongside a substantial gathering of senior figures from agribusiness, policy, and economics. The summit will be one of the most significant global agriculture forums of 2026, attended by more than 300 delegates and featuring top level speakers from Ireland and overseas. 

Internationally-renowned economist David McWilliams has been confirmed as the headline speaker. An Adjunct Professor of Global Economics at Trinity College Dublin, author and podcaster, Mr. McWilliams is widely respected for his incisive analysis of global economic trends and their effects on societies and industries. His address will offer a macroeconomic perspective on food security, trade dynamics, and global responsibility.

The summit programme will also feature a distinguished line‑up of Irish and International speakers and panelists, including: Simon Coveney, former Tánaiste and former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Ksenija Simovic, Senior Policy Advisor, Copa-Cogeca, Brussels; Marie Donnelly, Chairperson, Climate Change Advisory Council; Professor Rogier Schulte, Chair of Future Farming and Food Systems, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

 Speaking ahead of the event, newly appointed Chair of Nuffield Ireland and Ireland’s first ever female Nuffield Scholar, Gráinne Dwyer said: “Hosting the Agri-Summit is a defining moment for Ireland. As a small nation with a global agricultural footprint, we sit at the intersection of innovation, responsibility and opportunity. The challenges facing global food security are immense, but so is our capacity to shape real solutions.

 This Summit will confront the toughest questions facing modern agriculture with voices that challenge convention and demand serious reflection. Expect rigorous debate, uncomfortable truths, and a speaker line-up that goes beyond the usual agri circuit. Our Agri-Summit is designed to test assumptions and sharpen leadership thinking, to forge together a sustainable path for global agriculture in an uncertain world.”

 Chair of the FBD Trust, Michael Berkery, added: “As founder Investor of Nuffield Ireland we are delighted and proud to sponsor the 2026 Nuffield Agri-Summit, a groundbreaking event in Ireland’s agricultural calendar. We have long taken the view that Nuffield Ireland, and the Nuffield global agricultural leadership development programme it brings to Irish farmers and other agri-professionals, are perfectly aligned with the values and mission of the FBD Trust. We look forward to welcoming international alumni and Irish agricultural stakeholders to this exceptional event.”

 Under the theme ‘Feed the World – Our Responsibility?’, the summit will address the urgent and complex pressures facing global food systems including: the responsibilities of food‑producing nations; the balance between domestic sustainability targets and global needs and obligations; the role of multinational agri‑food corporates; how geopolitics are reshaping agri-food, as food security is increasingly recognised as integral to national and global security; and the impact of managing geoeconomic risks such as migration, labour markets, and demand patterns.

The event will conclude with a gala banquet featuring the 4th Earl of Iveagh, Edward Guinness, a significant figure in the agricultural sector, particularly in regenerative farming practices, in conversation with broadcaster Seán O’Rourke.

The Agri-Summit is the flagship event of the 14th Nuffield Triennial, which runs from May 18-26, 2026. Held every three years in a different member country, the Triennial fosters collaboration among Nuffield Scholars worldwide. 

Tickets for the 2026 Nuffield Agri-Summit, including the gala banquet, are €175 and are expected to sell quickly. To register your place, visit www.nuffield2026.com.

The 2026 Nuffield Agri-Summit is kindly supported by FBD Trust.

Every year International Dawn Chorus Day celebrates the natural wonder of birdsong and in particular the dawn chorus, a phenomenon that takes place every morning during the breeding season and starts even before the sun rises writes Branch member Nicholas Mitchell. This year it is on Sunday, May 3 and you can tune in to RTÉ Radio 1 that morning, shortly after midnight, or you can enjoy it in your own garden, local park or surrounding countryside.

Avian spring migrants started leaving their over-wintering grounds in Africa many weeks ago and have been arriving at their northern hemisphere breeding grounds, including Ireland, since April. These summer visitors, like Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat, have all added to the chorus of birdsong that began with our resident birds as far back as February. This means that, by the time we get to May, the volume and variety of the chorus has increased manyfold, especially at dawn and dusk.

That is why the West Cork Branch of BirdWatch Ireland hosts a dawn chorus event most years during May. However, every so often, we run a Dusk Chorus event instead. And this is one of those years. The birdsong at this time of day does not have quite the same impact that it does at dawn, in that the chorus does not build to a crescendo. However, it is not without its benefits. There is the obvious bonus of not having to set an alarm clock at some unearthly hour. Another is that the birdsong is more ‘spread out’ and less of a wall of noise. This allows different birdsong of each bird to be separated and highlighted more easily for the audience. Also this time of day makes it more appealing as a family event.

The event will start at 8pm in the Long Strand car park, Castlefreke. We will gather there for a while and then probably walk up into the woods behind. It will last an hour or so and, as with most Branch outings, it is free of charge and open to everyone. Any walking will be on good paths and appropriate footwear is recommended, as is warm clothing and, most importantly, midge repellent!

BirdWatch Ireland West Cork Branch News

Upcoming outings being held by the Branch are:
Sunday May 24: Dusk Chorus at Long Strand, Castlefreke
Sunday May 31: Cape Clear Island

Visit our website www.birdwatchirelandwestcork.ie for more information about these events. For more information about the Branch, contact Fiona O’Neill at secretary@birdwatchirelandwestcork.ie.

Facebook @BirdWatchIrelandWestCork

Instagram @birdwatch_ireland_west_cork

Gerard Shannon, author of ‘Rory O’Connor: To Defend the Republic’, writes on the connection between Dick Barrett and the subject of his new book, Rory O’Connor

The public memory of the Irish republican and revolutionary Dick Barrett looms large over Cork, especially the west of the county, during the revolutionary period of the early 20th century. Born in 1889, in Hollyhill, Ballineen, Co. Cork, Barrett, by the time of the Irish War of Independence, would emerge as a prominent leadership figure in the Cork No. 3 Brigade that encompassed West Cork. He would be the brigade’s quartermaster and later would ascend to the staff of the First Southern Division under General Liam Lynch. His comrade Peader O’Donnell later remarked how Barrett had once been close to Michael Collins, on the pro-Treaty side, and recalled Barrett as “a keen, searching mind with strong conspiratorial genius.”

Barrett remains best known for the circumstances of his death at the height of the Irish Civil War, when Barrett was opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, regarding it as a betrayal of the Irish Republic as declared in 1916. On December 8, 1922, Barrett was executed before a firing squad along three other prominent republicans and anti-Treaty IRA leaders: Joe McKelvey, Liam Mellows and Rory O’Connor. All four had publicly opposed the Treaty and creation of the Irish Free State, a British dominion consisting of twenty-six counties of Ireland (the remaining six counties encompassing Northern Ireland). The National Army had imprisoned all four shortly after the defeat at the anti-Treaty IRA’s Four Courts garrison, of which Barrett was part, at the beginning of the Civil War. 

Their execution was an illegal reprisal, and on the instruction of the Irish government at the time headed by WT Cosgrave. Of particular cruelty was the fact the four men were put to death for an incident none of them had a part in: The assassination of pro-Treaty TD, Seán Hales, by members of the anti-Treaty IRA, the day before. Hales, in a great irony had been a close friend and comrade of Dick Barrett in the West Cork Brigade prior to the split over the Treaty. Hales’ family would even publicly condemn the executions of Barrett and the other three men.

Hales had been shot on Dublin’s quays because of orders issued by the anti-Treaty IRA leader, Liam Lynch. Lynch strongly opposed new government legislation that had allowed for the executions of republican prisoners, which had included the leading figure Erskine Childers. However, the executions of Barrett and his three comrades were illegal and outside the parameters of this. Their deaths were intended to demoralise the anti-Treaty members still fighting and prevent further shootings of pro-government TDs. In one of his last letters, addressed to his fellow prisoners in Mountjoy, Barrett wrote: “I hope you will all live through to the Faith of our National Fathers and when called on to do a great thing for Ireland, you will face it manfully. Do not bear ill will or dream of reprisals, the cause is too holy for ignoble deeds.”

Among the men executed with Barrett, most ambiguous today is undoubtedly the popular memory of Rory O’Connor. Ironically, at the time of his death at the age of 39, O’Connor was perhaps the best known of the four men. His background suggested an unlikely revolutionary, the son of a wealthy, prominent, Dublin-based solicitor. O’Connor had risen in the ranks of the Volunteers and became the IRA’s Director of Engineering. He also masterminded several high-profile prison escapes of republicans and IRA operations in Great Britain. O’Connor was also the first of the IRA’s General Headquarters Staff to oppose the Treaty. In April 1922, O’Connor would direct members of the IRA’s Dublin Brigade to seize the Four Courts complex on Dublin’s quays in defiance of the new pro-Treaty government. The Four Courts would be where Mellows and O’Connor would be arrested several days after the fall of the garrison at the start of the Irish Civil War on 28 June 1922. 

Most poignantly, one of those ministers that approved their executions months later was Kevin O’Higgins, then Minister for Home Affairs. Only over a year before, Rory O’Connor was the best man at O’Higgins wedding – several weeks before the signing of the Treaty. Both men shared a genuinely warm and close friendship. Days after O’Higgins wedding, he wrote to O’Connor and referred to him as “the bestest best man that ever rounded up a bridegroom”.

Over a year later, O’Higgins agonised over the decision to execute the four men. There was no signing of a death warrant as persists in popular lore, but O’Higgins was without question part of the collective cabinet decision, and the death of the four men became a central component of his legacy. Nearly five years later, and four years after the end of the civil war, O’Higgins was assassinated by members of the IRA’s Dublin Brigade while walking the streets of south Dublin – a particularly violent result of the executions on December 8, 1922. 

Gerard Shannon is the author of ‘Rory O’Connor: To Defend the Republic’, now available from Merrion Press.

We spoke back in February about the significant changes to several SEAI grant schemes. As of February 3, 2026, heat pump grants have increased to a maximum of €12,500. This total now includes a new €4,000 Renewable Heat Bonus (essentially a boiler scrappage scheme) and a €2,000 Central Heating Upgrade grant, alongside existing supports. Crucially, this level of funding is now available through Better Energy Homes individual grants – which previously capped out at €6,500 – as well as the One Stop Shop, (OSS) route. Grants for attic and cavity wall insulation have also seen an uplift.

At the start of March, the highly-anticipated Windows and Doors grant launched under the individual measure scheme, previously only available under the OSS grant route. This rollout included higher supports for households receiving certain Social Protection payments and new attic insulation grants specifically for first-time buyers. Additionally, homeowners who previously received a grant for cavity or internal wall insulation may now qualify for a second wall insulation grant.

From what we’ve seen through our own business, the window and door grant is causing the most confusion – which isn’t surprising. The rules and application process are more complex than most other measures, and the full details aren’t always clear on the SEAI website. This month, I want to dive deeper into the intricate details of these new grants.

First, let’s cover the straightforward requirements:

Property Age: Your house must have been built and occupied before 2011.

Performance: New windows and doors must meet a U-value of 1.4 or better (a U-value measures heat loss; the lower the number, the better the insulation).

Contractor: You must use an SEAI-registered contractor.

Timeline: You must apply online via the SEAI Better Energy Homes portal before you start the work.

Payment: You have the work completed, pay the contractor, have a BER assessment completed afterward and then claim the grant back.

The complexity lies in the ‘fabric-first’ criteria specific to windows and doors. To qualify, your home must meet one of the following:

Heat Loss Indicator (HLI): You must achieve an HLI of 2.3 or lower after the windows/doors are fitted. This is the same metric used to determine heat pump readiness.

Advisory Report: Alternatively, your BER Advisory Report must show your walls and roof as being rated ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’.

Confirming eligibility is tricky and depends on the age of your home and your current BER status.

If you have a BER (Post-July 2021): You likely have the new-format Advisory Report. You can check this immediately to see your current HLI and wall/roof ratings.

If you have a BER (Pre-July 2021): These older reports don’t display this level of detail. The full data would need to be requested from the SEAI for review, which usually requires professional assistance.

If you don’t have a BER: You will likely need a pre-BER assessment to check eligibility and determine if upgrades to your attic or walls are required first.

Note on 2005-2010 Homes: Houses in this age bracket often meet the ‘Good’ wall and roof definitions by default due to the building regulations of that time.

In all cases, a final BER is required to claim the grant. If you are relying on an existing BER to check compliance, it makes sense to use the same assessor for the final BER to ensure consistency. If starting from scratch, most assessors, including ourselves, now offer a combined ‘pre-and-post’ BER service for these grants.

Finally, keep in mind that this is a ‘whole house’ upgrade. You cannot get the grant to replace just a few windows while leaving poor-performing ones behind. If you’ve upgraded some windows recently (within the last 10 years), they likely already meet the 1.4 U-value and can be retained, provided you can supply a Declaration of Performance from the original supplier.

As always, if you would like to get in touch about anything in this article or your own retrofit project, feel free to reach out: ruairi@retrofurb.ie.

Gardening By John Hosford

As April unfolds, the days are lengthening, and with the clocks having shifted forward to Summer Time at the end of March, we now enjoy those extra evening hours. This extended daylight offers a wonderful opportunity to catch up on various gardening tasks. There’s plenty to do this month, from seed sowing both indoors and outdoors to weeding, planting, and pruning.

Cut back evergreen shrubs

Start by cutting back evergreen shrubs. It’s an ideal time to prune Mediterranean shrubs such as lavender and rosemary; make sure to cut them back to healthy buds. Avoid trimming into old, lifeless wood, as this may not reshoot. Plants like Fatsia, Hebe, and Escallonia can benefit from a light trim, while Ceanothus, Choisya, Daphne, Mahonia, Rhododendrons, Camellias, Azaleas, and Sarcococca should be pruned after flowering, ideally in May or June.

Deadhead daffodils 

Deadheading daffodils and other spring bulbs is essential after the flowers have faded. This practice diverts energy back into the bulbs, helping them bulk up for an even better display next year. If you have water lilies that have outgrown their space, now is the time to divide them. Carefully remove the plant and use a sharp knife to cut the root ball into sections, ensuring each has at least one shoot and some roots. Replant these sections into pond baskets filled with aquatic compost.

Feed trees, shrubs and perennials

Feeding trees, shrubs, and perennials is also crucial this month. Specialised feeds are available for lime-hating plants like Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Camellias, Skimmias, Sarcococca, and Kalmia, which will thrive with an application. Roses should also receive their monthly feed with a special rose fertiliser, followed by another application in May and June. When applying fertiliser, spread it out at a distance proportional to the height of the tree or bush, as roots typically expand to a distance equal to the plant’s height.

Vegetable garden

In the vegetable garden, sow peas in a sunny, sheltered position, planting them in a flat-bottomed trench about 5cm deep and 15cm wide, spacing them 7.5 cm apart in a single row or in two rows 30 cm apart. Remember to support them with robust wire netting. For potatoes, plant out second early and maincrop varieties, ensuring second earlies are set 30cm apart in rows 30cm apart and maincrops 37 cm apart. Earthing up first earlies protects the stems from cold weather and encourages more tubers to form. This process can be repeated as later varieties emerge above ground. Protect young crops with a double layer of extra-strength frost protection fleece, cloches, or cold frames.

You can also sow carrots and cabbages in prepared beds, covering them with fleece or insect-proof mesh to protect against carrot fly and cabbage white butterflies, whose larvae can devastate brassicas like cabbages, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Additionally, sow courgettes, vegetable marrows, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, melons, sweet corn, runner beans, and both bush and climbing French beans in 10 cm pots in a heated, frost-free area indoors. You can plant one seed per pot or two and select the strongest seedling once they emerge. These can be moved outdoors at the end of May or early June after hardening off.

Tomato plants can be planted in their fruiting quarters this month, whether in greenhouse soil, grow-bags, or large pots. Trailing varieties are perfect for hanging baskets or window boxes but must be kept frost-free.

Fruit garden

In the fruit garden, mulch raspberry canes with organic matter such as well-composted garden compost or stable manure. If those aren’t available, the excellent Gee-up from Blarney, Co. Cork, is a great substitute and widely available in garden outlets throughout Cork County. Indoors, geraniums, pelargoniums, fuchsias, and streptocarpus should now start receiving regular weekly liquid feeds. A seaweed-based fertiliser works well, and these plants should be fed weekly until early October to encourage healthy growth and blooming.

Citrus trees should begin receiving special citrus feed. Once the frost has passed at the end of May, they can be moved outdoors, provided they have drainage holes. Houseplants will require more frequent watering, and it’s best to stand them in a sink while watering, allowing them to drain without standing in water for more than 30 minutes.

April flowers

April also brings a delightful array of flowering plants. Bergenia showcases white, pink, and red flowers on glossy, leathery leaves and serves as excellent ground cover for early colour. Brunnera, with its green and variegated varieties, offers dainty blue flowers. The profuse blooms of crab apples are followed by attractive autumn fruit, while dogs tooth violets present low, clump-forming bulbs for shade. Dicentra spectabilis, or bleeding heart, boasts tall, elegant foliage.

Exochorda produces profuse white flowers, while Fritillaria persica captivates with purple spires of bloom, best planted as bulbs in autumn. Flowering cherries offer a stunning display of pink and white flowers, and some varieties feature attractive polished bark. Pulmonaria provides early colour in low-growing shades of blue, red, and white. Many rhododendron varieties will be in bloom this month, thriving in lime-free, ericaceous compost and benefiting from annual feed with a specific Rhododendron/Azalea fertiliser. Tulips will also be in flower, presenting a variety of colours, so remember to protect them from slugs.

For bedding and patio plants, containers, window boxes, and hanging baskets can now be planted and established in a greenhouse. Use fresh compost and include a slow-release fertiliser. Ensure window boxes have drainage outlets before planting.

Lastly, keep your lawn in check by mowing regularly, starting with the blades at their highest setting. Gradually lower the setting by the end of the month. Feed established lawns, aerate to rake out thatch, and give your lawn a spring feed. If you’re establishing new lawns, prepare the ground properly.

April is a vibrant month in the garden, full of opportunities to nurture and enjoy your plants. 

Happy gardening!