Mayo mum plants the perfect potato in Australia
By Tom Gillespie
POTATO farmers Peter and Mary Corcoran, with Mayo and Westmeath roots, are showing Australians how to grow the perfect spud.
Each year they plant 1,000 acres on their 7,000-acre holding at Robinvale, four hours from Melbourne, Australia.
Mary, fondly known as ‘Tootsie’, is daughter of Joe and Rose Freeley from ‘Rosmarine’, Hazelhill, Ballyhaunis.
She went to Australia 10 years ago for a year after finishing college, and ended up meeting Australian native and potato farmer, Peter Corcoran, whose great-grandparents originated from the Multifarnham area of Co. Westmeath.
The couple came back to Ballyhaunis nine years ago to get married. They now have four children - Rose, Cillian Pearce and Ollie.
Tootsie’s father, former taxi driver Joe Freeley, now renowned for his wedding doves release service, said: "The family live 20 miles south of Robinvale, which is an hour south of Mildura, Victoria.
"They have Irish people working with them all the time. In Australia, if you work 12 weeks in an agricultural area you are then entitled to extend your visa for a further 12 months.
"Tootsie gets requests all the time from people looking for the 12 weeks farm work, mainly through people who have been with her in the past.
"This is the busiest time of the year when they pick, grade and make chips of their potato crop."
Mary, an environmental scientist, said: "Our socials have been pretty quiet these last 12 months, but we have been exceptionally busy behind the scenes. As they say, potatoes don’t take holidays.
"We have some exciting new projects coming up in the next few months. We look forward to sharing our substantial farming and soil revitalisation methods."
Commented Peter: "It’s pretty handy having an environmental scientist as a wife."
He added: "Farming is in the blood being a third generation farmer. Every year I grow 1,000 acres of potatoes. I have got four children now and I have a child for every aspect of the business and they eat a lot of potatoes.
"The bulk of the Platinum Potato crop go to Smyth Chips in Red Rock Valley. I plant in a three-year rotation. I grow one season only and then grow some cereal crops."
During the Covid lockdown, three Mayo back-packers stranded in Australia were ‘rescued’ by the Corcorans.
The trio arrived in Melbourne just two days before the introduction of the coronavirus emergency measures.
The girls from Ballyhaunis, Tooreen and Bohola found themselves without work, no flights home and their cash reserves were running low from staying in Airbnbs.
After they had isolated for two weeks, the visitors were employed by the Corcorans on their farm.