For the Murdoch family, Hillsborough was more than a research station — it was home. As Hillsborough marks 100 years of agricultural research, they reflect on family life shaped by science, silage and the land itself
When Professor John Murdoch moved his young family from Reading in England to the green, rolling acres of ARINI at Hillsborough in the mid‑1960s, his wife, Joyce, freely admits she didn’t know quite what lay ahead.
“I had never been to Northern Ireland,” she recalls. “I didn’t know what to expect, but it was just a wonderful experience.”
More than half a century later, she and her daughter Alison returned to the research buildings at Hillsborough, sharing stories that weave together family life, pioneering agricultural science and a unique childhood lived within a research station.
From Reading to Hillsborough
The family arrived in 1966, when Professor Murdoch was appointed Director of ARINI Hillsborough, a role he would hold until his retirement in 1986. Three of the children – Jamie, Christine and Alison – were born in England, while the youngest, Heather, was born in Northern Ireland.
For the children, the agricultural research institution was both home and playground. Winters brought sledging down the sloping field; summers meant building houses from hay bales stacked high, to the mild despair of their father, whose research depended on those same bales. “Dad always used to give off to us because we played with the hay bales,” Alison laughs.
Hillsborough was also where Alison learned to drive. The long, quiet avenue up to the house, ending just before the security hut, became her private driving school. One day, attempting a three‑point turn in a Land Rover, she slipped the clutch and rolled back into a wooden fence. “I think it was the talk of the place,” she laughs.
The sturdy vehicle escaped unscathed – and Alison gained the kind of practical driving experience only life on a research farm could offer.
The children also enjoyed exploring the farm’s acreage and woodland on their ponies.
“It was a good life,” Joyce reflects simply.
A pioneering but humble director
Beyond the family circle, Professor Murdoch was widely respected as a pioneer of modern silage research, with his work underpinning the growing adoption of silage across the UK and beyond. After completing a PhD in Edinburgh, he worked at the research centre at Shinfield near Reading in animal nutrition, helping to develop the then‑new practice of ensiling grass for winter feed.
“It’s hard to believe that only 50 years ago, most farmers didn’t make silage,” Joyce notes. Articles written after his death in July 2015 described him as a research pioneer – something she says she only fully appreciated when she saw the tributes in the farming press.
He brought that expertise to Hillsborough in the mid‑1960s, at a time when Northern Ireland’s dairy and beef sectors were modernising rapidly. His work, and that of his colleagues, helped move farmers from hay and roots towards high‑quality grass silage, transforming winter feeding and productivity.
This research focus led to the establishment of the Long-Term Slurry (LTS) grassland experiment in 1970. The three‑cut silage, zero‑grazing study examined the long‑term effects of mineral fertiliser and varying applications of cow and pig slurry on grassland soils. Now over 50 years old, LTS is among the longest‑running grassland experiments in the UK and a lasting example of Professor Murdoch’s forward‑thinking scientific leadership.
Yet at home, he never traded on his reputation. “I don’t think I knew he was even clever,” Alison admits. “He was very down to earth. He would have spoken to anybody. He loved people, he loved it here, and he loved their stories.”
A busy man – and a nurse on the front line
The role of Director at ARINI Hillsborough, combined with his responsibilities at Queen’s University Belfast and within the Civil Service, made for a demanding schedule. Professor Murdoch also held the Chair of Crop and Animal Husbandry at Queen’s University Belfast and served as President of both the British and Ulster Grassland Societies.
From Hillsborough, his influence travelled far beyond County Down. He lectured widely, served as an external examiner, and travelled internationally – to Russia, Sudan and conferences across Europe – sharing knowledge about forage, animal feeding and farm systems in regions grappling with food security.
“He went to Sudan, connected with the University of Khartoum, to help them with feeding their animals so they would have food on their plate and be self‑sufficient,” Alison explains. He returned several times to Russia as well; part of a wider exchange that saw scientists and policymakers look to Hillsborough for expertise.
“He was a busy man,” Joyce remembers. “He travelled to a lot of the big shows – the Yorkshire, Reading and Harrogate shows – and abroad. It was quite tough with four children.”
Exam scripts often came home with him, spreading across the big dining table during the summer term. “There would just be papers everywhere. You knew it was exam time,” Alison recalls.
Yet the family remember a man who protected time at home, particularly in the summers when they escaped to Donegal for a month. Their house also doubled as an informal extension of ARINI, with visiting professors, external examiners and inspectors frequently entertained there.
“With four children, a job and ponies, we were very down to earth,” Joyce laughs. “But you still got out your best china and buns when the visitors came.”
Challenges on the Farm and Beyond
While Professor Murdoch was busy, Joyce was no less so, combining motherhood with working in the emergency department at Lagan Valley Hospital. “I was nursing all through the Troubles,” she says.
The contrast between work and home life could be stark. “It was lovely to escape the hospital and the trauma of that to come here.”
The peace of the ARINI grounds – the fields, ponies and familiar rhythms of farm life – offered an informal sanctuary after long, harrowing shifts in casualty.
As the conflict deepened, security tightened at both the research station and the nearby castle, then the Governor’s residence.
The entrance gates were locked at night, the village became a control zone, and barriers appeared on the approach roads.
For the Murdoch teenagers, it meant living with padlocks, curfews and gate keys – and the occasional panic when a key was forgotten.
Yet, as Alison points out, the family were largely sheltered. “Hillsborough remained a relatively peaceful corner. Behind the gate, you almost wouldn’t have seen the Troubles.”
Life on a research farm brought its own shocks through the years. The family remember the devastation of disease outbreaks, when the herd was lost to foot‑and‑mouth disease or brucellosis and the entire site shut down, disinfectant baths laid at the gate.
“He took it very hard,” Alison says quietly. “He was devastated when things like that happened.”
Looking around the conference hall where the interview is taking place, she reflects on the sensory memories that remain strongest. “This used to just be a feed store,” she says. “It would be the smells I remember too.”
A legacy rooted in place
The Murdoch family’s memories are steeped in the strong community around ARINI and Hillsborough village. Many staff lived locally.
“You used to know everyone working here,” Alison recalls. “Walking up the road from school, anyone who stopped to give you a lift up that hill was great.”
She can still list the names of farm workers, electricians and gate men. Like the Murdoch's, many of their children still live in or around the village. “It was a place where people knew people, people knew turns,” she says.
Today, as Hillsborough marks 100 years of agricultural research, Alison still walks in the park almost every day. Her father passed away over a decade ago, but his presence feels tangible in the landscape.
“I still have a great love of the park and it’s great that the work is still being done at Hillsborough. Research is necessary.”
For Professor John Murdoch’s family, the centenary is not just a celebration of scientific progress. It is a tribute to a man who, from humble beginnings and no farming background, helped shape modern grassland farming.
“He just was himself,” Joyce says. “He loved the people from here. He was very humble and just loved life.”