Michael Kelly returns to TV in new series 'Our Farm – A GIY Story'

Mick Kelly, founder of GIY (Grow It Yourself), returns to Irish television this March with a powerful new six-part documentary series, Our Farm – A GIY Story, airing weekly from March 3 for six weeks on RTÉ 1.

For over a decade, GIY has helped people reconnect with where their food comes from, empowering tens of thousands across Ireland and beyond to grow some of their own food, understand the food system, and make more sustainable choices. 

What began as a grassroots movement has grown into a national organisation delivering education programmes, community initiatives, food literacy campaigns and practical supports for households, schools and communities.

At the heart of GIY is a simple belief: that even small acts of growing food can lead to big changes — for personal wellbeing, for communities and for the planet. 

GIY’s work has always focused on making food growing accessible, realistic and relevant to modern life, whether that’s on a windowsill, a balcony, a schoolyard or a community plot.

Now, Mick and his team take on their most ambitious challenge yet: proving that a community-based, regenerative local food system can work at scale in Ireland today — not just as a passion project, but as a viable, resilient and economically sustainable model for the future of food.

With GIY HQ in Waterford having outgrown its land, the team secured an extraordinary new site — a vast, derelict, overgrown walled garden on the historic Curraghmore Estate, just outside Waterford City. 

What follows is an emotional, high-stakes journey to transform this forgotten space into a working farm capable of feeding a community, supporting livelihoods and reshaping how local food is produced, distributed and sold.

The rationale behind the series is both urgent and hopeful. Ireland, like much of the world, faces mounting challenges around diet-related ill health, food security, climate change, biodiversity loss, rising food costs and declining trust in industrial food systems. Our Farm – A GIY Story sets out to explore whether a different model is possible — one rooted in transparency, regeneration, seasonality and community connection — and what it really takes to build that model in the real world.

Rather than presenting a glossy, idealised version of farming, the series offers an honest, unfiltered look at the pressures, contradictions and complexities of modern food production. Viewers see the emotional toll, the financial risks, the operational realities and the constant tension between values and viability. At the same time, the series celebrates the human stories, the small victories and the deep sense of purpose that comes from working the land and feeding people well.

Mick Kelly says, “Creating this small farm was important because we wanted to prove that local food systems can genuinely work — not just in theory, but in the real world. But it was just as important to bring it to air. We want people to see what goes on behind the scenes with a small farm trying to bring local, seasonal, whole foods grown in living soil to customers, and to see the real power and influence they have with their food choices.

“We also want to show that eating seasonally isn’t about sacrifice — it can actually be more affordable, healthier and more satisfying than people expect. This series is about giving people the confidence to make small, but powerful changes to their food choices.” 

Across six episodes, viewers follow the team as they battle weather, pests, funding setbacks, staffing pressures, animal welfare challenges, market realities and the brutal economics of farming — all while trying to stay true to GIY’s values of transparency, sustainability and community.