Ploughing a new furrow in the beautiful Burren

Lifestyle – Cathal and Bronagh O’Rourkes’ 500-acre farm on the shores of Lough Bunny in the Burren encompasses fertile grassland, alluvial woodlands and the vast limestone pavements for which the area is renowned. Now they’ve inviting guests to share in the treasures of this unique place, with family tours, hiking and food trails, and wellness days as they tell JUDY MURPHY.

A bit of forest-bathing on a warm Saturday afternoon in August in an idyllic location just outside Boston– sure what else would you be doing in a summer of staycations?

We are on the 500-acre farm owned by Cathal and Bronagh O’Rourke and the Boston in question is the tiny village just a few miles from Gort in the magical landscape of the Burren.

It’s here that Cathal – the fifth generation of his family to work this land – and Bronagh have set up Burren Farm Experience, giving visitors a special insight into living and farming in this unique landscape with its stunning views.

In a world where social distancing is so important, it’s an ideal way to spend a day, with packages for families, groups and couples, as well as a monthly group walk around the shores of the Burren’s only freshwater lake, Lough Bunny. Bronagh also co-hosts monthly Wellness Days which incorporate yoga and forest-bathing – this is basically spending time in the woods, reconnecting with the natural world. We sampled it on their food tour, Feast on the Farm which was run in conjunction with Devin O’Sullivan of FEAST Ireland, who specialises in cooking local and foraged foods. It included travelling in a vintage jeep as well as well as gorgeous food and drink at stops along the way.

The O’Rourkes’ farm, which is part of the UNESCO-designated Burren National Park, incorporates alluvial woodlands, green fields and vast areas of limestone pavement, explains Bronagh, who’s originally from Cavan. She and Cathal met at the Galway Races a decade ago and for a long time, she had no interest in moving from Cavan to the West of Ireland.

Cathal, who worked in the bank and also farmed with his dad, John, commuted between Clare and Cavan in those years before Bronagh made her decision to relocate. That happened six years ago after her mother died. “It wasn’t the same at home with both my parents gone,” she explains adding that her father had already passed on.

She loves Boston, both for the strength of community as well as for the natural environment.

John O’Rourke died two years ago, Bronagh explains, and Cathal became the fifth generation of his family on this farm.

He’d never doubted where his future lay – farming is his passion and the superb condition of the whitehead and Hereford cattle on the fertile fields are a clear illustration of his animal husbandry.

Meanwhile, Bronagh, who had been working for a pharma-nutrical company, decided to change paths and take advantage of their unique location.

“We’re in a National Park where we get lots of people in camper vans looking for direction and visitors asking for things to do,” she explains.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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