Aisling Hussey- Journalist with Irish Farmers Journal Posted on April 15, 2023 by planirl

Aisling Hussey is a journalist for Irish Country Living, a weekly supplement that appears in the Irish Farmers Journal. Originally from Ballyheigue, Co. Kerry, the 22-year-old studied Journalism and New Media in the University of Limerick and graduated in August. She now resides in Dublin.

Aisling currently covers the careers, recruitment and education section of the paper but also writes features on anything from food and farming to fashion. She also writes about some more serious issues that affect rural people, such as adult literacy problems in the farming community.

She was the runner-up winner of the Vincent Doyle Award for Investigative Journalism in 2012 for her final year project, which focused on health services in Kerry. Aisling was also shortlisted for Smedia Journalist of the Year and won ULSU Journalist of the Year in the same year.

• Because I am a Girl I ask … a lot of questions! This comes with being a journalist, but I’ve been questioning anything and everything since I learned how to talk. I think we all need to be more inquisitive and not accept all we are told as the truth.

• Because I am a Girl I believe … that an education is the most important thing a woman can possess. We should also be more confident and believe in our talents and abilities. My mother was determined that I would go to college despite the fact she did not complete the Leaving Cert – it was very important to her that my siblings and I would receive an education.

• Because I am a Girl I hope … to live a happy and fulfilling life, and live in a lovely house in the country with lots of dogs.

• Because I am a Girl I wonder … what the world will be like when I’m older.

• Because I am a Girl I dream … about all the parts of the world I’ve yet to see.

• Because I am a Girl I remember … never being treated differently from my younger brother and sister. Some of the happiest memories from my childhood are summer days with my siblings on the farm – even if my father made us pick stones!  On a more serious note, I can vividly recall the impact a book called ‘Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia’ had on me as a teenager. The narrator was born to astounding wealth, but had no value other than as a bearer of sons and had little control over her own life. This story, which I read at the age of 12, taught me that not all women around the world are allowed the freedom and opportunities that we can sometimes take for granted.

• Because I am a Girl I like … learning, mainly useless facts that come up in pub quizzes. I also like being a journalist – I can’t imagine doing anything else and I feel privileged to live in a country where I can pursue my career.

• Because I am a Girl I dislike … women being nasty about each other.

• Because I am a Girl I feel … lucky to live in a country where I can live and work independently and to have a mother who always encourages me to reach my potential.

• Because I am a Girl I celebrate… our differences. The world would be a very boring place otherwise!