It’s showtime for the kids taking first steps in farming

IT is said that you should never work with animals or children, but television production company GMarsh TV did just that for its new programme, Showtime.

The programme, which is due to air on RTÉ Junior, follows children and their farming families as they prepare to enter their beloved sheep, ponies and calves in the local agricultural show.

Episode one is set to be broadcast on October 30 and will kick off with seven-year-old Zara Sharkey introducing us to her adorable pony called Powder.

It will follow her and her family’s preparations over five episodes as they get Zara ready for the Headford Show.

Later in the series, Cork brothers Shane (9), Ronan (6) and Samuel Kingston (4) must pick out their show calves for the Ballygarvan Show. And Sligo siblings, Caoilfhinn (8) (pictured above) and Usna (6) Geoghegan hope their sheep can take home some rosettes from the Eniscrone Show.

Eimear Healy from Co Sligo is one of the producers who worked on Showtime. She says it was a pleasure to work on and that it’s important to broadcast series’ that show what kids lives are like “outside of the M50”.

“Kids are interested in animals, nature and farming and Showtime really gets across the excitement and the nerves kids feel when they are entering their animal in a fair. You need to show children’s experiences outside of Dublin and the M50,” she says.

Based in “the middle of nowhere” outside Crossmolina, Co Mayo, Gmarsh TV was set up by producer Gillian Marsh in 1997 and is the brainchild behind some of Ireland’s most popular rural shows from Vets on Call to Living the Wildlife. It’s no surprise then that GMarsh TV decided to produce Showtime.

“We came up with the idea because we are based in rural Ireland and rural life is our life. We are well aware of farming families preparing for shows like the Crossmolina Fair each year and how important it is to them,” says Eimear.

Eimear adds that the children they worked with were “a joy” and “very natural”, while the parents were helpful in the process.

“We were very lucky that the kids were so great and we were very much guided by the parents. We have filmed a lot on farms so we’re well used to it.”

While broadband and giving directions are some frustrating aspects of GMarsh’s rural location, Eimear adds that the “benefits outweigh the negatives”. “It’s so beautiful here. We are in the heartland surrounded by wild deer and horses. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Showtime will run on RTE Junior, Monday-Friday at 9.30am and 4.25pm from Monday, October 30