10 years of Rock Farm Slane. From Bon Jovi to Harry Styles and an Environmental Award from the Irish Food Writers Guild

10 years of Rock Farm Slane. From Bon Jovi to Harry Styles and an Environmental Award from the Irish Food Writers Guild 

Alex and Carina Conyngham

Ten years ago, on 15^th June 2013 Rock Farm Slane opened the glamping doors just in time for the Bon Jovi concert at Slane Castle across the River Boyne. A decade on, superstar Harry Styles will take to the same stage, marking the date almost to the day. Rock Farm were true pioneers in the area of glamping and ecotourism; in 2013 just one other glamping site existed – Tea Pot Lane in Leitrim.

 

“I remember it all so clearly, I can’t believe how quickly the years have passed,” says Carina Conyngham, an eco-minded entrepreneur who established the ecotourism destination with her husband Alex, Earl of Mountcharles, “Alex and I were cooking breakfast for the glampers while the helicopters whirred overhead. Our visitors were so busy trying to spot Jon Bon Jovi in the sky, they wouldn’t leave to go over to the gig.”

 

Rock Farm initially opened with a modest offering of yurts and shepherd huts in a welcoming woodland glade, along with a small strawbale eco-lodge evocatively named Swallow’s Nest. In 2015, just in time for the Foo Fighters concert, they launched Lime House, the six-bedroom strawbale self-catering house sleeping 22 people, and a collection of bell tents. Lime House was built using their own barley straw and local clay for plaster. The result is a unique collection of glamping and self-catering options ideal for big parties with different requirements. Lime House is generously designed so large groups can share it without feeling hemmed in. The yurts and huts offer glamping with a luxurious edge and the bell tents suit the more adventurous looking for a genuine camping experience. The entire site can now accommodate around 80 people.

 

The team at Rock Farm don’t rest on their laurels and upgrades and constantly work to improve the experience for visitors. “Recently we’ve replaced the original bell tents with Lotus Belle tents,” Carina Conyngham said, “These are lovely tents with an innovative design so there’s lots of head space and living space inside.” More additions are planned for later this year.

Rock Farm is a working organic enterprise on 90 acres using permaculture principles with rare breed cattle, pigs and poultry as well as a thriving vegetable section. They operate an agro-forestry system combining trees and livestock in the same area. Rock Farm grows several varieties of barley which are used for the whiskey made at Slane Distillery – ensuring top quality grain and keeping food miles to a minimum. Farm tours run regularly throughout the summer.

 

The parkland surrounding the glamping is a designated Natural Heritage Area and Special Area of Conservation teaming with wildlife including kingfishers, herons, cormorants, egrets and otters as well as a thriving population of Irish hares. A natural pool and integrated constructed wetland complete the picture. In terms of a sustainable approach to water, waste and energy on-site, there’s a grey water management plan, natural sewage systems and extensive composting practices in place. Eco-friendly products are used throughout, as well as a commitment to “Leave No Trace.”  

 

“Currently we have 19 hectares in a National Parks and Wildlife Service Wilding plan,” explains Carina Conyngham, “We are lowering the stocking density of livestock (pigs and cows) and creating a Wilding area near the river, running alongside the glamping to create a habitat for ground nesting birds and other species. Our plan is to have glamping in the middle of the Wilding so visitors can have a totally immersive experience of nature, less than an hour from the city centre.”

 

Local community life is central to the Rock Farm Slane story and they are active in Boyne Valley Flavours and Slane Food Circle, as well as being members of Sustainable Travel Ireland and Organic Trust. Rock Farm received an Environmental Award from the Irish Food Writers Guild in 2022.

Two Green Shoots Showcase Garden Of Re-Imagination For 2023 Summer Season. Tour. Dine. Stay. Glengarriff.

press release

Two Green Shoots Showcase Garden Of Re-Imagination For 2023 Summer Seasoê

Welcome to the garden: Kloë and Adam

 

Two Green Shoots are re-opening the gates to their beautiful and bountiful Garden of Re-imagination in Glengarriff, Co. Cork for the 2023 Summer season and showcasing their private plant-filled paradise to visitors by offering a range of immersive new Edible Experiences and Escapes.

Edible Experiences:

Throughout June, July, August, and early September, Designer, Forager & Upcycler, Kloë Wood Lyndorff, and her partner, RHS-trained Horticulturalist & Head Gardener, Adam Carveth, AKA Two Green Shoots, invite guests to explore the haven they’ve created at the foot of the beautiful Beara Peninsula. 

A carefully curated approach over the last six years has ensured that every flower and shrub the pair have painstakingly planted has an edible function. As a result, their 2.5 acre Garden of Re-imagination is now home to over 200 varieties of rare and unusual plants, providing the most magical of settings for guests to discover, dine, and delight in this summer.

Two Green Shoots’ 2023 Summer Edible Experiences include a new Guided Foraging Trail & Fireside Lunch Feast, a Breakfast Tour, an Afternoon Tea Tour, and a feast for all the senses - an immersive Garden Tour & Three Course Lunch Feast, freshly prepared by Kloë and Adam using seasonal botanicals from the gardens and surrounding landscape.

Edible Experiences

Guided Foraging Trail & Fireside Lunch Feast (Duration: 2.5 hours)

Available dates: 16th, 23rd, 30th June / 7th, 28th July / 4th, 18th August / 1st September

Taste the wild side of West Cork as you’re taken on a multi-sensory botanical adventure of flavours, aromas, sights, and sounds with Two Green Shoots’ immersive new Foraging & Fireside Lunch Feast. Led by Co-Founder & Forager, Kloë Wood Lyndorff, you’ll begin by being taken through temperate rainforest on an hour-long guided walk of the Garden of Re-imagination’s stunning new 300m long foraging trail. Guests will then gather around a crackling campfire on log seating for a demonstration from Kloë on how to prepare the wild botanicals gathered along the way into a delicious two-course foraged feast, before enjoying an al fresco picnic lunch together. 

Dishes on the day will likely include Nettle & Wild Garlic Soup with Bread Rolls freshly baked on the campfire and filled Wood Sorrel, Bramble Tip & Hawthorn Pesto, followed by Nettle & Honeysuckle Muffins topped with Woodland Blooms. A choice of Sparkling Spruce Tip Cooler, or a cleansing brew of Nettle & Water Mint Tea with Local Honey for refreshment will further enhance each diner’s connection with the surrounding landscape.

Two Green Shoots’  two and a half hour-long Guided Foraging Trail & Fireside Lunch Feast Experience takes place on selected Fridays weekly, from 11am to 1.30pm, between 16th June and 1st September 2023. Tickets are priced at €89.75 per person. Places can be booked online at www.twogreenshoots.com. 

Garden Tour & Three Course Lunch Feast (Duration: 2.5 hours)

Available dates: 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th June / 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th July / 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th August / 2nd September

The Garden Tour & Three Course Lunch Feast experience includes admission to, and an informative in-depth one hour tour of, the Garden of Re-imagination, led by Two Green Shoots’ RHS-trained Horticulturalist & Head Gardener, Adam Carveth. Guests will then take a seat to enjoy a nourishing three-course long table lunch feast, freshly prepared using rare and unusual seasonal botanicals from the gardens and surrounding landscape comprising a starter, hearty main course, pudding and accompanying drinks (one cold, one hot). 

To start, you’ll be served Smoked Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese & Nasturtium Potato Cakes topped with Buttered Wild Greens & Ramson Capers, followed by a Fuki Risotto with Caramelised Dahlia, and finish with a refreshing and palate cleansing Apple Mint & Sorrel Sorbet.

Two Green Shoots’ two and a half hour-long Garden Tour & Three Course Lunch Feast Experience takes place on Saturdays weekly, from 11am to 1.30pm, between 3rd June and 2nd September 2023. Tickets are priced at €89.75 per person, with a minimum of x4 persons required per booking. Places can be booked online at www.twogreenshoots.com. 

Breakfast Tour (Duration: 1.5 hours)

Available dates: 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th June / 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th July / 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th August / 2nd September

What better way to begin your day than with a mini 30 minute-long tour of Two Green Shoots’ Garden of Re-imagination led by RHS trained Horticulturalist & Head Gardener, Adam Carveth. 

Guests will then be served an al fresco Kitchen Garden Cooked Breakfast and a hot or cold drink celebrating the very best of fresh flavours, hand-picked less than half an hour before you eat and served under the comfort of a canopy as you sit back and take in the serene surroundings. 

Breakfast consists of your choice of Eggs from the garden’s own roaming free range hens served with a Mini Homemade Sourdough Loaf still crackling from the oven, Tomato Hummus, and a Salad of Freshly Picked Leaves and Edible Flowers with a Herbal Vinaigrette Dressing. 

Special dietary requirements can be accommodated as long as tickets are booked more than 24 hours in advance.

Two Green Shoots’ one and a half hour-long Breakfast Tour Experience is available on Saturdays weekly, from 9am to 10.30am between 3rd June and 2nd September 2023. Tickets are priced at €42.50 per person, with a minimum of x 4 persons required per booking. Places can be booked online at www.twogreenshoots.com.

Afternoon Tour & Tea (Duration: 1 hour)

Available dates: 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th June / 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th July / 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th August / 2nd September

As part of the Afternoon Tour & Tea experience, visitors will spend half an hour exploring rare botanicals from bubblegum berries to Dahlia yams, and giant celery with a mini tour of the Garden of Re-imagination led by RHS-trained Horticulturalist & Head Gardener, Adam Carveth. Then, picture the scene as you sit down in the serenity of Two Green Shoots’ beautiful canopy covered outdoor dining space to enjoy afternoon tea and a generous slice of freshly baked homemade cake - think Japanese Quince & Sweet Cicely Drizzle Cake, topped with Calendula and Fuchsia petals washed down with a Linden & Whitethorn Blossom Tea  - showcasing freshly picked ingredients from that day’s harvest.

Two Green Shoots’ hour-long Afternoon Tour & Tea Experience is available on Saturdays weekly, from 4pm to 5pm, between 3rd June and 2nd September 2023. Tickets are priced at €24.75 per person. Places can be booked online at www.twogreenshoots.com. 

Attendees of all of the Edible Experiences can avail of a discount on their admission price as part of Two Green Shoots’ Ocean Plastics Project, in partnership with Clean Coasts, by simply collecting a beach clean kit from Two Green Shoots in Glengarriff and returning it filled for a 10% refund on their ticket. 

Those that don’t have time to beach clean themselves needn’t worry - 10% of all ticket sales generated by the various different Experiences will go towards funding a creative arts programme, working with a local artist to transform the ocean waste gathered by others into a piece of functional art for display in Two Green Shoots’ showcase gardens. 

This year's exhilarating new experiences see Two Green Shoots beginning to move beyond the garden, giving visitors the opportunity to connect with the wider landscape and taste flavours of the wild as well as learning bushcraft skills and natural navigation techniques. Founders, Kloë and Adam, plan to expand on these in the months and years ahead with lots of exciting plans in the pipeline.

The Botanical Tent

Private Paradise Escapes:

The highly creative couple are also giving guests the chance to make their haven your home this summer, offering luxurious Edible Escapes at their boujee botanically-themed B&B and a Botanical Bell Tent private glamping experience. Nestled in the unique edible paradise amongst delicious planting and stunning scenery, both gourmet getaway options include hearty signature morning feasts to start your day, with every morsel served homegrown and/or handmade.

The Botanical B&B

The Botanical B&B sits inside Two Green Shoots’ edible paradise, The Garden of Re-imagination, looking out towards Bantry Bay, with four beautiful botanically-themed rooms to choose from - Fern (Double), Willow (Double/Twin), Lichen (Single) and Silver Birch (Single) - each handcrafted with its own unique character. 

Guests savouring summer escapes here will have access to their own private entrance, a dining room, living room complete with tea making facilities, fridge and microwave, a wood burning stove with wood supplied, and use of the surrounding garden for the duration of their stay. And, to make your signature stay even more memorable, you’ll start each day with a morning feast showcasing freshly harvested botanicals from the surrounding gardens and landscape.

The Botanical B&B sleeps four to six people for stays of between three and ten nights priced at €328.00 per night including breakfast and can be booked online via Two Green Shoots’ listing on www.airbnb.ie.

The Botanical Bell Tent Private Glamping Experience

What could be more idyllic than drifting off to sleep in the luxury of Two Green Shoots’ Botanical Bell Tent with its warming wood burning stove creating a dancing light show inside, and the sounds of the trees rustling overhead? 

Sitting in a forest clearing along your own private woodland track, it comes beautifully furnished with a king-size bed, indoor and outdoor seating, feather cushions, wool blankets, cosy coir flooring, and decorated with handcrafted bunting and solar lights twinkling in the surrounding forest. Glamping guests also get their own private bathroom with a walk-in shower, an outside fire pit complete with wood, a welcome hamper of homemade and local treats, and awake to a freshly prepared signature feast each morning of their stay. Everything and more you could want from a summer escape and an experience like no other!

The Botanical Bell Tent sleeps two people for stays of between two and five nights priced at €169.00 per night per couple sharing including breakfast and can be booked online via Two Green Shoots’ listing on www.airbnb.ie.

A Riesling of “great purity, ethereal and dry, a gastronomic grand vin” from Meyer-Fonné

 A Riesling of “great purity, ethereal and dry, a gastronomic grand vin” from Meyer-Fonné

Meyer-Fonné Riesling Katzenthal Alsace (AC) 2019, 13% ABV 

€29.95 Le Caveau, 64 Wine, Greenman Wines, Bradleys Cork

From the granitic slopes surrounding the village of Katzenthal comes this very distinguished and racy wine. The immense potential of these granitic soils of Katzenthal is realised time and again by Meyer-Fonné.

The colour of this 2019 Riesling is a beautiful gold with tints of green. Minerality and lime feature in the flavours on the complex yet easily accessible palate while the aromatics throw citrus notes, a floral flicker and the more or less usual hint of diesel. It may be “usual” but the diesel here is not a disturbing sensation as some examples can be and soon fades into the background. Rich and ample for sure with peach joining the lime as the wine, with a balancing acidity, heads towards a long and rewarding finish.

Very Highly Recommended.

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Check out our Top 2023 Wines here.

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Check out the Good Value Wine List here

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Meyer-Fonné is fast becoming one of our favourite winemakers; in the past, we have also Very Highly Recommended his Pinot Blanc Vieilles Vignes (twice), his Meyer-Fonné Gentil thrice (going for four with another one in the queue), and his Crémant d’Alsace (AOC) Brut Extra.

The maestro is rather proud of this one: “Originating from the granitic slopes of Katzenthal, this very distinguished, concentrated long finish wine carries the emblem of its terroir magnificently. Its mineral and floral character, great purity, ethereal and dry, make it a gastronomic grand vin. Ideal with all kinds of fish.”

The man himself, Félix Meyer, has come in for high praise.

"Félix Meyer is one of the more ambitious and successful young vignerons of Alsace.” Wine Advocate.

“ ... Félix Meyer still has humility, still has a sense of wonder, and is still capable of self-criticism. He is a seeker and a perfectionist. He is a terroirist, and when he speaks of a granitic soil, the wine in your glass tastes of it.”
Kermit Lynch, US importer.

McGill's Brewery From Kerry's Dark Sky Reserve

McGill's Brewery From 

Kerry's Dark Sky Reserve

I called to Joe McGill's Waterville microbrewery on a wet and windy day.
He and his Mom were busy on the bottling line, still had time for a chat though!

McGill’s Brewery is located in the Gaeltacht region of Murreigh, Waterville, in the south of Kerry. It is the first microbrewery on the Iveragh Peninsula. At this stage of its development, it is probably more accurate to call it a nano-brewery but it has a big heart, excellent beers and one of the friendliest brewing families you are likely to come across (not that I’ve come across any unfriendly brewer!)

Top black stuff from McGill, including the 13.1% ABV
An Coireán (the Irish for Waterville)

We met up with Joe McGill recently and asked him who started the brewery? 

I opened the brewery in 2019 but it was a few years in the making with trying to get a premises and all that goes with starting a new business. I'm the brewer and I get help from my mother, my wife, and my friends. 

Joe had been home brewing for years and was also educated in the process of starting his own brewery by the renowned German brewing company Spiedal. In addition, he has carried out extensive research into the business of Craft Brewing in Ireland and completed a two-part radio documentary entitled ‘Cheers to Craft Beers’ the story of Irish Craft Beer. 

A new attraction has been added to the South Kerry list!

Joe has a Masters in Business Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of Limerick and has completed the Bill Keating Broadcasting course. He also completed the prestigious RTE Doc on One Radio Production training at the RTE Radio Centre. He starred in Discover Ireland’s Go Campaign screened worldwide which showed Kerry as a unique holiday destination.

The Blonde

Joe is a presenter of the popular Saturday Supplement on Radio Kerry having previously managed West Limerick 102fm which is the largest community radio station in Ireland, from 2011 to early 2016.

What are your core beers? Which is your favourite?

We started with two core beers; Skellig Monk Irish Blonde Beer and Dark Sky Reserve Irish Stout and then we added two more; Maude Delap Irish Red Ale and Waterville IPA. This year we added two more. Puffin Island Imperial Stout and An Coireán Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. This is like choosing who is your favourite child?!! It changes week to week but I really love our Puffin Island Imperial Stout and our 13.1% Barrel Aged beer is so exciting, it knocks your socks off!!

What stands out about your brewery, your beers? Is there something unique about your beer? 

Our Barrel Aged series is very unique like our other beers, the first beer of its kind brewed in the area. We aged it over time in Oak Port barrels which had exquisite whiskey in them by Wayward Irish Spirits producers of Liberator Whiskey in Killarney and the results have been amazing.  

Mom and Joe on the bottling line

I more or less stumbled on McGill’s Brewery as I travelled from Waterville to Ballinskelligs. I had heard of it, indeed I had enjoyed their Waterville IPA in The Lobster the evening before, and once I saw the sign I stopped and interrupted a bottling where Mom McGill was helping Joe. Joe filled me in on the story and I went off home with a bottle of that Barrel Aged, An Coireán, the first very bottle to have the proper label attached. It is indeed superb.

If you fail to land a bottle, then sign up for a tour and get a taste or look out for the second edition. Joe has gone public on it: “Our first Barrel Aged series worked so well, we’re on to our second!!! The imperial stout we brewed has been transferred to the oak barrels. The first beer of its kind brewed in the area. We will age this over the Summer months in Oak Ruby Port barrels which had exquisite whiskey in them by Wayward Irish Spirits producers of Liberator Whiskey in Killarney.”

Are you selling mainly in pubs or in off licences? Restaurants maybe? 

All of the above. We mostly supply within a 20-mile radius of the brewery. We supply kegs and bottles and are in most of the restaurants, pubs, shops, and off licences in the area.

How is your beer connected to the local area?

Each beer is unique to the area of South Kerry. They reflect our local heroes, culture, and history. To give you a few examples: Our blonde is named in honour of the famous Skellig Monks. Our Stout is named after the local Dark Sky Reserve which is one of only three gold-tier reserves for stargazing in the world. Our Red Ale is named after local woman Maude Delap who was the first person in the world to study the full life cycle of jellyfish in captivity. 

Danes on tour at McGill's

Water. Hard or soft? Is there much adjusting involved?

We don't adjust our water which is particularly suited to stouts. In our brewery tour audiovisual we actually show you the source of our water which is just outside Waterville village.

McGill's Dark Sky
Stout

What efforts do you make to be environmentally friendly?

Our spent grain goes to our horses and ponies on the farm. We also have a mule who absolutely loves it!! Therefore there is no waste. We also reuse our cooling water in the next brew after it passed through the heat exchanger, thereby cutting down on energy usage.

                 What’s your typical day like? No shortage of variety?

Definitely no shortage of variety!! Have a lot of hats in the business. I brew, clean the lines, bottle, keg, do the accounts, sales and marketing, social media, tours, and deliveries, and often I might conduct Zoom interviews for my radio programme at the brewery!! So every day can be a mixture of some or all of that!!

How do you choose which styles of beer to brew?

The beauty of having a small brewery is you can experiment a bit. At the start, I wanted to concentrate on making Irish-style beers like stouts and red ales. My thinking is that if you go to a wine country like France you want to taste the wine of that region. Likewise, if you are visiting Ireland you want to taste some Irish-style beers. Now we have branched out a bit with a very popular IPA and because our business is predominately seasonal we can age beer in barrels over the quieter Winter months and then release it in the busier Summer months. 

Joe (right) is collaborating again with Maurice O'Connell of
Wayward Irish Spirits on another barrel-aged stout!

Who does your artwork/design?

Our initial design was done with the help of my cousin Bobby McGill and I do a lot of the new designs myself.

Why have you not switched to cans?

There has been a big movement towards cans however we are slow to do so as we supply to a lot of restaurants where cans wouldn't suit and our bottles stand out on the shelves. It's a personal thing but there's something nice about pouring from the bottle.

Do you do tours?

Yes daily. We do a General Brewery Tour, a Barrel Aged Tour, and an Irish Experience Tour. Indeed, we had our first ‘Irish Experience’ tour early in May with a bunch of fine people from Denmark and it was a great success!!! This tour involves our barrel-aged tour and food pairing with local food in addition to learning about life and culture in the area and a bit of ceoil agus craic thrown in.

As you can see, tours at McGills are somewhat different. I’ve done quite a few tours and have never ended up in a sing-song. That’s what happens when you take the 2-hour McGill’s Irish Experience Brewery Tour. The tour is conducted by the brewer himself, with no shortage of beer for tasting, food pairings too and an Irish sing-song with stories and songs about the general area.

Links to my previous posts on Irish breweries

Mescan Westport

Ballykilcavan The Taste of Laois in your glass.

9 White Deer At Home In Ballyvourney. And On The World Wide Web

Whitefield Brewery Templemore

The Amazing BeoirFest

Tom Crean's Brewery Kenmare

An Irish Meaderie

Kinsale Mead Company