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Davy Crockett and the Irish Frontiersmen

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02/04/2018

BBC Radio 4 - Davy Crockett and the Irish Frontiersmen

Freya McClements meets those dealing with the uncertainty of life along the Irish border.

As Brexit negotiations continue, cross-border worker and writer Freya McClements, meets the people dealing with the uncertainty of working along and across the Irish border.

With the clock ticking on negotiations in Brussels, it's still unclear what the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will actually look like after Brexit, how it will work, or the effect it will have on those living along and across it on a daily basis. 

Cross-border worker and writer, Freya McClements, changes her money from Sterling to Euro for a journey to meet modern-day frontiersman, Davy Crockett - a distant relative of the eponymous hero of the Alamo - whose farm straddles both sides of the Irish border in counties Londonderry and Donegal. Davy lives down the road from school bus operator Don Reddin, who has spent £200,000 'Brexit-proofing' his business by building a back gate into Northern Ireland from his bus yard in the Republic. Then there's Bill McCann, pilot and harbourmaster, with responsibility for bringing cargo ships and cruise liners safely into port on both the EU and UK sides of Lough Foyle. Whatever happens after Brexit, Bill and his co-workers are already navigating through uncharted waters. 

As negotiations continue over the precise nature of a future Irish border, Freya asks if Brexit could bring unexpected opportunities to these border-dwellers, or if it could end up costing them their livelihoods.

Producer: Brian Kernohan.

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