Farm Visits

Hi all. My wife and I are visiting ireland for 3 weeks this June - our flights are booked so that hurdle is complete. We live on a small family farm  in Canada and love nature so we are interested in visiting a couple of Ireland  farms and anything to do with nature. We are interested in both old and modern ways of farming and fishing.  Of course we are also visiting  some of your wonderful cities as well.   I added a few pics of my farm and the different season it experiences. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated - not for our farm but our visit, LOL! Have a wonderful day!
 

Hello Hilary
Wow, you certainly get extreme seasons on your farm! I would say you would be very interested to meet our neighbour here in Doolin, Pat Sweeney.  Pat is a farmer and a local historian, who is passionate about his land and heritage.  He was the main driver behind creating the beautiful Cliffs of Moher Walking Trail, which crosses over several different farm lands between Doolin, the cliffs and the next village of Liscannor.  He is an absolute mine of information and a real character. 



Pat and his wife Mary run a farmhouse B&B, Doonagore Farmhouse so you can spend time with the family while you visit.  


The Garrihy family who own Doolin2Aran Ferries joined forces with Pat to combine his guided walk along the cliffs with our Cliffs of Moher Cruise and a visit to the cliffs centre, so you get the best views from all angles - if you would like more information on the 360 Cliffs of Moher tour you can follow this link.


Hilary I hope you enjoy your visit to Ireland, if you need any further information, please let me know.
All the best
Joan

I love the two black sheep! 😃
But how can you deal with so much snow?

Joan had a great suggestion as usual!
The idea of Farmhouse seems to be the perfect option for you. B&B Ireland has a section on their website listing all the farmhouses around the island. This would be a great place to start your research.

As you mentioned fishing, you could also check those accommodations listed on our website. There, you will be able to go fishing and find out more about the tradition and new ways first hand.

Do you have an idea of itinerary you would like to follow during your trip? 

Hello Hilary

Here is a link to working farms and fisheries all over Ireland which should help you plan your trip.

http://bit.ly/2GgHJZL

We have a lovely historic city you should try to visit when you're in the North also
www.visitderry.com

By the way who is looking after the farm when you are on holiday?

Best wishes 

Bronagh

Hello Hilary

B&B Ireland have homes that specialise in Farmstay holidays. We have farmhouse Bed and Breakfasts located throughout the Emerald Isle.  They also act as the perfect base for exploring the delights of the region. With delicious food, the warmest of hosts, picturesque landscapes, a farm-stay captures the very best of country Irish life.

Farmstay Bed and Breakfasts

B&B Locator Map
(click on the activity link for 'Farmstays' and you will see the farmhouse B&B locations appear on the map, so you are able to see what county / region in Ireland they are located in. So easy to use and fun!

Staying at a Farmhouse B&B

I hope this information is of help to you Hilary. Enjoy your Farmstay holiday, you will experience the genuine warmth and friendliness of an Irish family home, whilst surrounding yourself with the sights and sounds of the beautiful Irish countryside.

Kind regards
Claire
B&B Ireland

Thanks for the great suggestions Joan, Elodie, Claire and Bronagh. That is exactly what I am looking for! We were planning to go to the cliffs of Moher and to one of the Aran Islands as well so the walk with Pat would just top off the experience. I would love to hear about family histories from Pat. I come from a family of lighthouse keepers who were fishermen and subsistence farmers. Not sure when the Costellos immigrated from Ireland but the first records I could find were brothers in my home village in 1785 and we have been there since. Unfortunately due to the downturn in the fisheries I had to move away for work. I am a guy by the way, with the name of Hilary I am often confused for a lady! Not usually in person though. LOL. 

As for the snow each year is different but it is the cold that is the worst. Over Christmas we had a stretch of weather for 2 weeks where the daytime high was -14C, throw in the wind and it felt at least -20c with the nights often near -40c with the windchill. My wife Maryann and I both work full time outside the farm so there is not much free time in the real cold weather. Below is a pic from last February! I love snow but I don't have that much love for it! 



As for itinerary we fly into Dublin on the the 9th of june and depart on the 27th from Dublin. We are going to send a few days in dublin and the area. We have points of interest we want to hit after that but we haven't finalized our route as of yet!  

Thanks for the great suggestion again. 
Hilary

You're very welcome Hilary.  Definitely take in one of the islands, I'd recommend Inis Oirr - the lighthouse there is spectacular


And there are stunning views back to the Cliffs of Moher as well!



Call and see us when you are here :)
Joan

Hi Hilary,
You have received some great suggestions so far. Regarding the fishing part of your holiday, I have been contacted by Gary from 'Angling Northern Ireland', who said he would be able to help.
His e-mail address is: gary@anglingni.com and the organisation's website address is: http://www.anglingni.com/

I hope this helps. Let us know how you are getting on with your plans and come back after your trip to tell us all about it!

You should also consider visiting some of the amazing apple orchards around rural Armagh. In this area we grow approx 4,500 acres of apple orchards, producing 35,000 tonnes of apples annually. Our bramley apple has Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) giving it special standing. Take the opportunity to meet the farmers, tour the orchards and most importantly sample some of the award winning ciders produced in the area.

We also offer food tours of the area, which allow you see just how abundant this area is

Have a look at our website www.visitarmagh.com for everything you need on this beautiful destination

Hi Hilary,

You live in a beautiful part of the world, thank you for sharing your photos with us!

I would like to tell you a little about the beautiful Causeway Coast and Glens region.  It is located on the northern coast of Ireland, about 50 miles from Belfast.  Along the coastline you find rugged, rocky cliff faces interspersed with long golden sandy beaches and inland the fields, hills and glens (valleys) are green, providing excellent grazing for livestock. To learn more about the region please visit: www.visitcausewaycoastandglens.com 

There are plenty of attractions in the area such as the Giant's Causeway a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Dunluce Castle, Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge and Bushmills Distillery where you can get guided tours of the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery. They also do tastings. The nearby cities are Belfast and Derry/ Londonderry.

You mention that you would be interested in visiting a couple of farms when you are in Ireland and here are a couple of options should you come up to the Causeway Coast and Glens.

Broughgammon Farm in Ballycastle is proud to be part of the Économusée, or ‘working museum’ network in Northern Ireland.  As part of this they offer our hour-long ‘farm to fork’ tour to take you on a journey through their artisan food business. You can see the kid goats and bull calves on the farm and learn their story as to how they go from waste product to sustainable food source.
Broighter Gold in Limavady produce rapeseed oil and are also part of the Economusee network. They are very happy to give tours of their farm, pressing area and farm shop.

The River Bush Salmon Station in Bushmills will give tours if contacted in advance. They also sell fishing licences.  You also have a few options should you like to take a fishing boat trip out of Portrush or Portstewart Harbour, to see what you can catch!  Award winning Causeway Foodie Tours also do an excellent food and drink tour by bus accompanied by lots of sampling! 

I hope you enjoy planning your forthcoming trip.
Anne