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St. Tola Irish Goat Cheese - Co. Clare
Brought to you from the West of Ireland, near County Clare’s wild Atlantic coast, St. Tola Irish goat cheese has achieved exceptional critical acclaim since its launch over twenty-five years ago.
From young, fresh crottin through to mature, year old Gouda, all our cheeses are handmade and matured to suit their customers’ individual requirements. As such, cheese from the St. Tola range is now among the most sought-after artisan produce in Ireland.
St. Tola Irish Goat Cheese is known as one of the premium artisan products in Ireland. It is the finest, gourmet goats cheese and has been hand-made in the townland of Inagh just south of the Burren in County Clare since the early 1980s.
The cheeses were originally made by Meg and Derrick Gordon who developed the fine quality of the cheese and helped establish a gourmet cottage industry in a rural area. In the late nineties, they were keen to retire and the business was taken over by their neighbour Siobhan Ni Ghairbhith in 1999.
Over time Siobhán and her dedicated team have made significant developments to the family farm. Siobhán has developed the business from a local industry to an internationally recognised brand. Their cheese is still handmade in small batches however, as the artisanal quality of their cheese is paramount.
St. Tola Irish Goat Cheese is made by Inagh Farmhouse Cheese Ltd. which is a member of CÁIS (The Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers Association) and the Irish Slow Food movement. They are also part of the Burren Food Trail and are just a few miles from the Wild Atlantic Way.
Connemara Smokehouse - Co. Galway
Family owned and run by the Roberts Family since 1979, Connemara Smokehouse is the oldest smokehouse in Connemara and one of the oldest in Western Ireland. They are one of the few remaining smokehouses still specialising in smoking wild Atlantic Salmon.
Using only the freshest and finest natural ingredients and following traditional smoking methods handed down through generations. Wild, Organic, or Farmed, their smoked salmon and smoked seafood offer a succulent, mouth-watering taste and delicate texture like no other.
Since 1998, they have also made ‘organically grown’ Irish salmon an important part of their production. Graham and Saoirse Roberts personally manage every aspect of the business, from selecting and obtaining the best quality Irish salmon and seafood, to preparing, smoking, packaging and delivery.
Graham hand-fillets each fish, a treat to watch, and has become a fervent and passionate crusader of just how delicious smoked salmon, done properly, can and should be.
Dominick Kelly’s Butchers Shop - Co. Mayo
A mainstay of Newport’s Main Street since the 1930’s when it was opened by Seán Kelly's father, Dominick. It was and still is, a small family business with a strong commitment to the local area. A lively local trade is evident from the bustling atmosphere in the shop and the good natured banter with regular customers.
Kellys produce and sell award winning black and white puddings and sausages. They also produce the ‘Putóg’, a traditional black pudding originally put in a sheep’s stomach casing.
As the sausages and puddings gain a ‘following’, other customers are migrating to Kelly’s from far and wide. The butchers and the award winning products have been featured in many magazines and newspapers around the world and tourists with a gastronomic interest make a point of finding their way to Newport. Sean loves to meet them and enjoys nothing better than explaining the secrets of his success. Not too many secrets though, the precise recipes remain classified information!
The shop was founded by Seán Kelly’s father, Dominick Kelly and his brother Michael, in the 1930’s. Since 1982 it has been run by Seán, his brother Seamus and Sean’s two sons, Kenneth and Cormac.
Kelly’s operate their own licensed abattoir where they slaughter all their own locally sourced lamb and beef. Seán sources animals personally from farmers and buys directly. They have been dealing with local farmers for 40 years.
Goatsbridge Trout Farm - Co. Kilkenny
The Story of Goatsbridge begins over 800 years ago back in 1180, when the Monks of Jerpoint Abbey near Thomastown, Co Kilkenny fished in the fast flowing waters of The Little Arrigle River in the heart of The Nore Valley.
In 1961 this river gave life to the creation of the Kirwan Family's first fish ponds, running through their lands it now forms the heart of one of Ireland's best known trout farms.
In 1990 the second generation of their family continued to develop the farm and in 2010 a state of the art processing and packaging facility was added to the farm to further ensure the quality of the trout produced on the farm. Now they are the market leader in fresh trout and are constantly working to produce innovative and tasty new products, like their Trout Caviar, using their own fish.
Today, husband and wife team Mag and Ger Kirwan are at the center of the Goatsbridge story. They live on the farm with their family and work together to carry on the proud tradition of purity and sustainability. Each daily catch comes directly from the crystal clear Irish waters of The Little Arrigle to your table. They have a passion for trout, which comes across in the excellent quality of their product.
Harty Oysters Farm - Co. Waterford
Established in 1985, Harty Oysters near Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, is one of the most successful oyster farms in Ireland, supplying high quality Gigas Oysters to the French market for the past twenty five years. The Harty family’s prime dairy land adjoins Dungarvan Bay and the family has lived and worked there for over six generations since 1835.
When you taste an oyster, you are experiencing the very place it was grown, bringing new meaning to the phrase: “The world is your oyster”!
Harty's oysters score highly in their salinity, sweetness and texture. They are both meaty and tender and have been described as a “dessert” oyster. They are well-balanced salty pistachios from the sea. Some of the oysters have a lovely citrusy note, with a subtle and clean cucumber finish.
Blath na Mara Seaweed - the Aran Islands
Blath na Mara Seaweed was set up by Máirtín O Conceanainn in 2002. It is based on Inis Mór which is the largest of the Aran Islands in Co Galway, Ireland. He was born on Inis Mór and has lived there most of his life with his family. Máirtín has an in depth knowledge and passion for harvesting and processing seaweed.
Máirtín has spent much time perfecting the machinery which enables him to uniquely mill the seaweed to a fine powder, which gives Blath na Mara a high quality and unique seaweed product. Milled seaweed offers an easy way to start using seaweed in everyday cooking, by just adding a sprinkle in almost any meal. Blath na Mara has grown from strength to strength due to the increase in demand for quality hand harvested seaweed both here in Ireland and internationally.
The seaweed is harvested in a sustainable way in order to minimise any effect on the environment. This is achieved by harvesting the macro algae sparingly and in rotation from any one site. The marine macro algal flora of the Aran Islands, is rich and diverse.
Clear clean Atlantic waters continuously bathe the shores of the islands providing an ideal environment for these macroalgae, commonly called seaweed or in Gaelic -"feamainn". Seaweeds grow profusely on the long gently sloping limestone platforms of the north facing inlets of Inis Mór . They have been exploited by the islanders for a very long time and have been used in a variety of ways.
Cáis Gabhair Arann - the Aran Islands
Gabriel Faherty produces milk from his own herd of goats, making cheeses that are clearly identifiable as being produced on the Aran Islands.
His beautiful nubian and saanen goats graze on the unique pastures of the Aran Island. The climate is perfect for the grass herbs as the island is served by the Gulf Stream. The unique diet of the goats gives the cheese its unique,delicious flavour.
Gabriel is famous for his delicious gouda, feta, boilies and mature goats cheese and along with his day job and family juggling, his life has just got a whole lot more hectic with the arrival of his fourth child!
Tastefully Yours - Co. Waterford
Audrea Hassett and Norbert Thul are artisan producers of gourmet Chutneys, Relishes and Pickles and are based in Waterford.
Tastefully Yours was born out of a passionate conversation about food. The idea of designing good quality, delicious and somewhat different chutneys has been their goal for a long time. Product development is their strength and they are designing products to clients’ requests and specifications.
Tastefully Yours was established in October, 2009 and all of their chutneys, relishes and pickles are developed and handmade in their kitchens in Dunhill Ecopark located in the beautiful village of Dunhill, Co. Waterford.
They care deeply about the provenance of the fruits and vegetables that they use in the creation of their products. They use fresh produce as soon as it comes into season and source all of their raw materials locally where possible, including their chillies which are grown in the polytunnels located within Dunhill Ecopark.
Dungarvan Brewing Company - Co. Waterford
Dungarvan Brewing Company was launched in April 2010 after a couple of years spent researching, planning and developing by the four founders, brothers-in-law Cormac O’Dwyer and Tom Dalton along with their wives Jen and Claire, with a view to offering the Irish beer drinker a greater choice in craft beers, with an emphasis on quality, craft and tradition.
They always start with the best quality ingredients including Maris Otter malt, full leaf hop cones and the limestone rich water of West Waterford.
Head brewer, Cormac believes that it takes quality ingredients, time, care and attention to detail to create the perfect brews and this is the methodology that he employs when brewing.
All their beers are traditionally brewed and bottled on-site in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford made using only four ingredients – barley, hops, yeast and water. No chemicals are added to the beers, they are unfiltered, unpasteurised and vegan-friendly.
Oldfarm Free Range Pig Farm - Co. Tipperary
Meet Alfie and Margaret O'Farrell on their farm in Tipperary which was the first to receive a Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) Quality Assured mark for Free-Range Pork & Bacon. Their animals have access to the outdoors at all times, they get plenty of exercise, they forage and root eating a natural diet.
The animals that they grow at Oldfarm are all from hardy, outdoor rare breeds. Over the past few years they have crossed Saddleback with Landrace (the traditional pink pig) and then further crossed this crossbreed with a Duroc. Their boar Polonius Hogworth (pictured above) is the result of that cross. This chap stands 1 metre high at his shoulder and is 2.1 metres from nose to tail and they reckon he must be about 450 kgs!
To supplement their diet their pigs are also fed a selection of locally grown barley (with no gm additives), excess vegetables from a local market gardener and whey from Mossfield Organic Cheese. So natural rooting about, organic whey, vegetables and barley…. how’s that for a healthy diet? It naturally produces delicious free-range pork.
All their beers are traditionally brewed and bottled on-site in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford made using only four ingredients – barley, hops, yeast and water. No chemicals are added to the beers, they are unfiltered, unpasteurised and vegan-friendly.
Oldfarm Free Range Pig Farm - Co. Tipperary
Meet Alfie and Margaret O'Farrell on their farm in Tipperary which was the first to receive a Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) Quality Assured mark for Free-Range Pork & Bacon. Their animals have access to the outdoors at all times, they get plenty of exercise, they forage and root eating a natural diet.
The animals that they grow at Oldfarm are all from hardy, outdoor rare breeds. Over the past few years they have crossed Saddleback with Landrace (the traditional pink pig) and then further crossed this crossbreed with a Duroc. Their boar Polonius Hogworth (pictured above) is the result of that cross. This chap stands 1 metre high at his shoulder and is 2.1 metres from nose to tail and they reckon he must be about 450 kgs!
To supplement their diet their pigs are also fed a selection of locally grown barley (with no gm additives), excess vegetables from a local market gardener and whey from Mossfield Organic Cheese. So natural rooting about, organic whey, vegetables and barley…. how’s that for a healthy diet? It naturally produces delicious free-range pork.
And their free range pork is very different from that supplied in supermarkets. Once you have tasted their delicious pork you will certainly go looking for more!
These are just a sample of our partner Irish Food Producers - More are being added all the time!
These are just a sample of our partner Irish Food Producers - More are being added all the time!