‘Ireland’s oldest active farmer’ Adolf Bader dies in Wicklow

Wicklow lost a stalwart of the local community in Annamoe on Thursday last week when Adolf Bader died in his 101st year.

He first moved to Annamoe in 1962 aged 40 having just purchased a 200-acre farm, and he continued farming well into his late nineties, and was christened ‘Ireland’s oldest active farmer’ during an appearance on RTE Radio’s CountryWide back in 2019.

Adolf soon became an integral part of the community and was held in high-esteem locally, providing the land required for the community centre and tennis courts in Annamoe. Adolf was the special guest of honour at the turning of the sod ceremony held in 2010 for donating the one acre site to the community.

Last year Adolf celebrated his 100th birthday on September 4 and passed on his thanks to everyone for all the cards and many good wishes he received to celebrate the day. He was also the guest of honour for the switching on of the Christmas lights in Annamoe.

He was born in Mannheim and always had a love of farming, which he credited to his mother, who came from a farming background and always had a great love for animals. His grandparents used to own ten acres near Freiberg and kept some cows and pigs at their farm where the young Adolf used to spend his summer months.

In 1940, after finishing secondary school, Adolf received a letter saying he had to join the German army. During the 2019 CountryWide interview on RTE Radio, Adolf recalled: “The war was already on so I had to become a solder for three years. I was two-years in Russia. The two years we were there, we were sitting there at the end of the woods and there was a field and then another woods and then there were the Russians. They were looking at us and we were looking at them. I got shot and they kept me in and out of hospital for another year.”

After the war he was offered the opportunity to take over a sheep station in Australia, where he remained for ten years. He then became interested in purchasing a farm in Ireland.

“There were lots of farms and they were selling at the time. I looked around at different farms and there was nothing I really liked. Then I came here and I saw the trees and the fields and I thought ‘that’s the place’ and I bought it.”

One of the first things Adolf did after purchasing the Annamoe farm was to buy a Deutz tractor, which he continued to use down through the decades, right up until very recent years.

His love of animals was clear right up to the end of his life, as his family have declined the offer of any flowers and instead asked for donations to be made in lieu to dog charities instead.

Adolf was the husband of Lore and father of Margrit, Christine, Jean and Heidi. He died peacefully on Thursday, January 18 surrounded by his loving family. His cremation took place privately on Saturday.

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