Richard started growing at only 3 years old with his dad and since then has accumulated over 40 years of growing experience. He studied for a BSc in Horticulture at Reading University and an MSc in Organic Farming at the Scottish Agricultural College. In addition to the UK and Ireland, Richard has grown veg all over the world, including Central America and Africa.
Mick is founder of GIY, a social entrepreneur, author, TV presenter and hacker grower. He worked in the IT industry for 10 years before starting GIY in 2008 after a chance encounter with a bulb of Chinese garlic in a supermarket. He co-presented/produced 3 series of Grow Cook Eat for RTE which is now watched around the world on Amazon Prime. He also presents and co-produced the 6-part series Food Matters on RTE 1.
Mick is an Ashoka Fellow, a member of The Irish Food Writers Guild and a board member at Common Knowledge. He has written 5 books, the latest of which The GIY Diaries was nominated for an Irish Book Award in 2022. He has written columns on food for The Irish Times, The Irish Independent and Food & Wine Magazine. He was Local Food Hero in the Food & Wine Awards. He lives in Dunmore East with his wife Eilish and two teenage GIYers.