Liam Ryan

Liam Ryan is a 4th generation farmer, farming 95 acres on the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford. The land is fragmented into smaller parcels, some of which is bordered by coastline and salt marsh, giving the farm a distinctive character.

The farm is a mixed enterprise including around 25 cattle (mainly forward stores) and approximately 70 breeding ewes. The land is sandy and largely permanent pasture. Hay is made rather than silage, taking advantage of the peninsula’s relatively dry microclimate. Sheep play a key role in keeping meadows clean before closing for hay, while farmyard manure is favoured over slurry to maintain grassland health.

Nature is central to how Liam manages the farm. Hedgerows are left tall, wide and diverse, and simple measures — such as installing perching posts for buzzards or planting snowdrops along the roadside — are done purely to enhance habitats and bring small moments of joy to Liam and his local community. The farm supports rich biodiversity, including ringed plover, stonechat, kestrel, short-eared owl along with some rare saltmarsh plants such as perennial glasswort.

Beyond farming, Liam is deeply embedded in community life — publishing local history books, contributing to parish journals and sharing the natural and cultural heritage of the peninsula with pride and generosity.

Nomination (Hannah Denniston, DAFM):
Liam Ryan is the 4th generation on the farm overlooking the Bannow Bay SAC and SPA in south Wexford. The farm is mixed enterprise with approximately 40 dry stock cattle and 70 ewes with some early and late lambs. Liam is passionate about nature, a keen bird watcher and hugely knowledgeable about the habitats and species in his local area. He uses his tractor as the perfect hide for bird and wildlife photography.
Using this interest and knowledge the farm is farmed sensitively for nature in every way with hedges cut minimally to attract and support bird species. The farm is not certified organic but follows many of the principles with no pesticide spraying used.
The Bannow Bay SPA and SAC area is a spectacular wetland habitat rich in both Atlantic and Mediterranean Saltmarsh habitat, over wintering wader and shore bird populations, along with the only area in Ireland with Perennial Glasswort Habitat. In 2007 Liam got involved with the work of CoastWatch Ireland and became even more aware of the impacts of agriculture on his local habitat, learning about the loss of sea grass and other rare and protected species. Liam made conscious changes to his farming management practices, particularly in fields adjacent to the SPA boundary and switched from chemical fertiliser to manure in the hay field upstream of the shoreline.
Wider habitat improvements were also seen in 2019, from the efforts of a Coastwatch and Wexford Co.Co. farm stream project to reduce fertiliser inputs. In 2021 Liam made the discovery of the return of eel grass to the area and has since had it return to the shoreline of this farm. He is actively involved in the care-taking of these sensitive plants and habitats on the land, checking and clearing seaweeds from the perennial glasswort after storms to ensure the best chance for them to continue to grow and recover.
Liam is also an author and expert on local history and archaeological sites often involved in sharing his knowledge with schools and the local community.
The knowledge and interest Liam brings to his own farm and the local area are invaluable to this corner of Bannow Bay and the habitats and species that it supports.