Deirdre Verney

2 weeks ago | farmersjournal.ie | Deirdre Verney

The best deal when you take out your mortgage may not be the most competitive for the lifetime of your loan. Mortgage rates are falling – the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its seventh cut last month, so now is certainly a good time to see if there is a better rate out there. There is also increased competition in the market with the recent entry of MoCo, owned by Austrian bank BAWAG, and the fact that over 70 credit unions now have a mortgage offering.

1 month ago | farmersjournal.ie | Deirdre Verney

Every evening the contents of their inbox is the main topic of conversation for the Whyte family in Co Westmeath. How many orders have landed into whyteagri.ie, and from where? This is the first thing transition year student Jack Whyte checks when he gets in from Moate Community School. The agri-website, up and running since November of 2023, is a quintessential family business with everyone playing a part in its success.

1 month ago | farmersjournal.ie | Deirdre Verney

Question: I recently undertook a full refurbishment of my kitchen, including buying all new integrated electrical appliances. While I got a good deal from my retailer after buying all of the goods in the one store, my oven stopped working over a month later. Since then, I feel like I’m being passed from pillar to post by the shop with no satisfactory outcome. What can I do? Answer: Sometimes problems arise after you buy or are gifted electrical items, goods or services.

1 month ago | farmersjournal.ie | Deirdre Verney

Hot smoke billows in the air and a lantern is lighting around an old hayshed in the tranquil Meath countryside that once housed round bales on a beef farm. Nowadays, it is the entrance to the forge of An Gobha, aka Tom King, the blacksmith of the Boyne Valley. He sets Irish Country Living to work at the anvil, hammering a sun pendant, just like the ones he will bring to the Bealtaine Fire Festival at the sacred Hill of Uisneach, in nearby Westmeath, on 10 May.

1 month ago | farmersjournal.ie | Deirdre Verney

In the shadow of the sun-kissed Slieve Bloom Mountains, a traditional custom that stretches back thousands of years was kept alive on Sunday by a merry band dancing around the May bush to the sound of a traditional tune. And this year I was privileged to be among them. Cadamstown village in Co Offaly was en fête as members of the Slieve Bloom Association gathered to mark the ancient festival of Bealtaine with a May bush to welcome summer and a community gathering.