‘I’m in complete lockdown, it’s a disaster – the only people I see are the milkman and my farm worker’
Farming is considered to be one of the loneliest occupations. Many farmers often go days without seeing anyone, with the possible exception of a vet or a milk lorry driver.
But this week, with the outbreak of Covid-19, social isolation is vital for Meath farmer Tommy Tallon.
Tommy, from Duleek, has suffered from epilepsy for almost 40 years. Epilepsy Ireland say in relation to Covid-19: “The development of any fever, virus, flu etc can lead to increased seizure activity for some people.”
Tommy’s epilepsy began in 1982, during the heavy snow, when walking home from his mother’s house he slipped and cracked his skull. It didn’t have much effect at the time, but it soon began to take its toll.
“I worked on perfect for some years but I was probably working too hard. I was working in a coal yard, and I bought the farm and got married as well. Pressure began to come on and I began to have bad turns,” he says.
“I went to different GPs, was given different tablets which didn’t agree with me. I eventually got a GP who said I might have epilepsy.”
Eventually, Tommy had an operation but he’s still on medication for it and has to mind what he’s eating, avoid drinking too much and smoking, and he has to listen to his body. And Covid-19 has had a massive impact on his life.
“I’m in complete lockdown, it’s a disaster,” says Tommy, who lives on his own.
“The only people I see at the minute are the milkman and a workman I have that comes in and does tractor work for me and the occasional bit of milking, but I stay well away from them both.
“I have an outfarm a short drive away from the farm on a public road which I go to every day so at least I get to see a little bit of what is going on outside in the real world.
“I’ve been shut off for about a week from everyone. I used to go to my mother’s house every Sunday morning for breakfast but I can’t do that now, because she’s isolating herself as well.”
Tommy has also taken several extra steps around the yard to make sure good hygiene is kept to minimise the spread of the virus.
“I’ve gotten three or four footbaths in. There’s also soap dispensers and paper towels in the dairy and calf shed and I’ve gotten face masks in as well.”
Despite the extra precautions and increased isolation, Tommy’s working routine hasn’t changed that much. “I still get up and around half five every morning, milk, feed the calves etc. The only difference is I don’t see anyone,” he says.
When he isn’t farming, Tommy is a keen fiddler. Before the outbreak, he could be found every Thursday night playing a trad session in his local pub Bennetts. Now, he’s left to play at
Taking no risks:
Tommy Tallon, who has an underlying illness, is isolating himself at his farm in Duleek, Co Meath;
Tommy’s farm worker Welder Raphael is keeping things ticking over. home on his own.
“I’m playing it for over ten years and thank God I started it. I picked up the fiddle there recently and played a few tunes and it really lifted my spirits,” he says.
“A lady who I went to for music lessons told me that it would do me a lot of good and she was right. It really is a beautiful instrument.”
Despite not being a traditional Fine Gael voter, Tommy is quick to praise the Government’s handling of the crisis, especially how they keep the country informed.
“Simon Coveney, Leo Varadkar, Simon Harris and Tony Holohan (the Chief Medical Officer) are doing a fantastic job, they really needed to step up to the mark and they really did so,” he says.
But he says farm representative bodies need to do more for their members in a time of crisis.
“The IFA is supposed to be my union and I don’t know if they’re doing anything for us. IFA needs to be more proactive, they’ve done some good in the past, but they need to offer more support in the current climate.
“At the best of times, farming is a hard job but this coronavirus has really doubled that.”
I picked up the fiddle there recently and played a few tunes and it really lifted my spirits