Gerry Daly (gardener)
Gerald "Gerry" Daly (born 1953)[1] is an Irish Horticulturist, garden designer and media personality[2] and editor of The Irish Garden magazine.[3] He has featured, over a period of nearly 40 years, on multiple radio and television programmes on RTÉ and BBC Northern Ireland channels,[2] and has contributed, as he still does, regular columns for Irish newspapers and magazines, over more than 30 years, including the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and the Farmers Journal.
Personal life
[edit]Daly grew up in Enniscorthy, County Wexford.[2] His father, John Daly, was an agricultural instructor,[4] horticultural advisor and commercial fruit grower,[5] and both his parents were keen gardeners at the family residence at Bohreen Hill,[5] in Enniscorthy. All of his grandparents were farmers.[5]
Education
[edit]Daly took a First Class Honours Degree in Horticulture at University College Dublin (UCD) in 1977, and a master's degree in Agricultural Economics at the same institution in 1978.[6]
Career
[edit]Daly joined Irish national broadcaster RTÉ as a senior producer in 1979, and designed the Ask About Gardening radio show.[6]
Described by the Irish Independent as "the doyen of Irish gardening experts",[7] and by the Irish Times as the "popular personification of Irish gardening,"[5] Daly is one of a small number of popular Irish gardening writers and media figures, along with, for example, Helen Dillon, Dermot O'Neill and Diarmuid Gavin.
In 1989, Daly set up a private garden design consultancy, working from his home in Co. Wicklow. He also launched a nursery producing trees and shrubs.[6]
Daly led the panel on Ask About Gardening,[6] a live[8] "phone-in" questions and answers radio show, from its inception, for over 20 years, and also took listener questions on shows like Marion Finucane's on weekend mornings, and on slots with Keelin Shanley and others.
Daly appeared on RTÉ from 1984[9] to 1995, leading the Room Outside programme team. From 1991 to 1995, he was also lead presenter of Greenfingers for RTE and BBC Northern Ireland.[10][11] Both programmes achieved high audience figures.[6] Co-presenters on Greenfingers included horticultural scientist and weed specialist David Robinson and Crosbie Cochrane.[10]
Daly has made many appearances at shows and festivals, from the national horticultural show, Bloom,[6][12] to the annual Rose Festival at St Anne's Park[13] and a range of local events.
Daly was a co-founder of the Garden and Landscape Designers Association of Ireland, and remains a member.[6]
Writing
[edit]In late 1991, Daly co-founded the magazine The Irish Garden with Mary Davies and Nick Maxwell. As of 2018, it is the highest-circulation gardening magazine in Ireland, with a readership estimated at over 60,000.[14] Daly was joint editor with Mary Davies until 2006, before becoming sole editor in 2007. He is also the editor of the associated website, garden.ie, launched in 2001.[15]
Daly is gardening columnist for the Sunday Independent, for more than thirty years, as well as the Evening Herald and the leading agricultural newspaper, the Farmers Journal.[6]
Books
[edit]- Gerry Daly's Garden Book, 1986 (new edition with added material, 1992)
- Children's Gardening Book, Gerry Daly, 1988
- Gerry Daly's Garden Style, 1990
- A Gardening Year, 1992
References
[edit]- ^ "Gerry Daly catalogue search results". National Library of Ireland. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ a b c "Gerry Daly, GLDA site". Garden and Landscape Designers Association. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ "Garden.ie - Ireland's go to garden club and resource!". garden.ie. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ "Robinson Garden at Earlscliffe Dublin (Official site of Earlscliffe Garden)". earlscliffe.com. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d Jane Powers. "Get your weekly dose of Daly". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Bloom (in the Park) - Garden Expert Stage speakers - Gerry Daly". Bloom in the Park. Bord Bia (Irish Food Board, statutory body promoting food and drink, and horticulture). Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ "Virtual green fingers with Ask the Expert at garden.ie". The Irish Independent. Independent News and Media. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ Note: the format is focused on spontaneous audience questions; many similar programmes rely on advance submission and review.
- ^ "Room Outside - still photo with Gerry Daly". RTE Stills Library. Radio Teilifis Eireann. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Greenfingers, season 2 (1992) - team photo with three named presenters". RTE Stills Library. Raidio Teilifis Eireann. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ "Greenfingers - promotional photo, Gerry Daly, 1994 season". RTE Stills Library. Raidio Teilifis Eireann. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ Ryan (agribusiness corres.), Ray (1 June 2009). "Talent for Style Blooms at Garden Show". Irish Examiner. Examiner Publications. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
{{cite news}}:|last1=has generic name (help) - ^ "Sweet smells abound at Rose Festival". Irish Examiner. Examiner Publications. 14 July 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ "ABC certified circulation - The Irish Garden". Magazines Ireland. Magazines Ireland (trade body). Retrieved 7 August 2018.
ABC paid circulation 14,787, readership c. 60,500
- ^ "Ask Gerry". Garden.ie. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
