This is a subscriber-only article
If the power of positivity can get a business through the COVID-19 pandemic then there’s no fear for the future of Glen Keen Farm. This is one of Ireland’s largest hill sheep farms and is located about 10km from Louisburgh on the Leenane road in Co Mayo.
It’s the farm that Catherine O’Grady Power grew up on before heading for the bright lights. “As a teenager I couldn’t wait to get out of the place. I worked with Ryanair in sales and marketing when it was a startup,” she says. She also worked with Royal Brunei Air and lived in the US where she worked in public relations, handling global brands. It was here she met Jim, an airline pilot who she went on to marry.
The call home
However, when her dad took ill, the call home was too strong to ignore. While she hadn’t intended to remain in Mayo, Catherine gradually got drawn into the potential of Glen Keen, which has been in the family for six generations, not just as a sheep farm but as a unique visitor attraction.
About 70% of my business is US-based and these visitors really connect with the experience. It can be quite emotional for them.
The farm with its 1,700ac of commonage is Mayo’s front door to the Delphi Valley and Killary harbour. There are waterfalls on the farm and the Carrowniskey River forges a path through the centre of the property. It is bound by the Sheeffry and Mweelrea Mountains and is an EU designated special area of conservation (SAC) for its natural beauty, heritage, unique habitats and wildlife.
How to achieve viability
After inheriting and investing in the upgrade of the farm Catherine realised that her 430 Blackface ewes and Hilltex lambs (mountain ewe crossed with a Texel ram) were not enough to make the farm viable into the future. “The Hilltex breed suits this farm. They are good to go in lamb, produce twins and stay fleshy at any weight. But sheep farming alone just wasn’t viable.”
By 2014 Catherine was investigating other paths to sustainability and came down in favour of agri tourism. This pathway was reinforced by her experience as a child when tourists would stop to take photographs of her dad and uncles cutting turf and doing the ordinary jobs around the farm.
She put time into attending pre-planning clinics with Mayo County Council. “They were great and gave me really good guidance on what to do and how to do it right. I would advise anyone to take advantage of these clinics.”
An authentic and innovative experience
So Catherine set out to create a traditional rural experience for her visitors who book in advance. Sheep dog demonstrations, traditional turf cutting, wool spinning and Irish coffee making are some of the demonstrations. There are music, bodhrán and dance lessons. Private hiking tours explore Bronze Age ring forts and cillín burial grounds, then there are sensory landscape walks on the potato ridges and visits to a pre-Famine cluster village.
Linking the visitor experience with everyday farm life means the day-to-day running of the farm business can work alongside the new tourism business and provide an authentic and innovative Irish farm experience.
Touching 60,000 visitors
In her first year, Catherine received one confirmed tour from CIE Tours International (one coach per week) rising to almost 60,000 visitors in 2019 and a satisfaction rating of 97.8% from CIE. She also got on the books of EF Tours, an online specialist in “escape” tours.
“About 70% of my business is US-based and these visitors really connect with the experience. It can be quite emotional for them.
“Just before COVID-19 hit we had three coaches of 130 people from the Boston police department and they had a great day here.”
She has built her business by adding a visitor centre and restaurant with seating for 98. Up until COVID-19, she was employing eight local people while the visitor centre was a hub for the sale of local foods and crafts.
Along the way South West Mayo Development Company supported Catherine with a €149,000 grant (50%) for the visitor centre. She has also received support for online trading.
New ways
While COVID-19 has depleted many businesses, Catherine has used the opportunity to develop tourism contacts in China and beyond and build an ecommerce site. She has developed her own ale brand – Glen Keen Blonde Ale, which is brewed locally and Glen Keen Whiskey.
She is a member of the Calling Sheds project, which is a documentary on the lives of four female shepherds, Catherine is the only representative from Ireland and they discuss the issues they face in weekly video calls.
As to the future Catherine says the tour bus model which she had focused on may not return. “I can’t see the coach business returning. But I believe there is an opportunity for virtual farm tours for people who do not live in this country.”
glenkeenfarm@gmail.com | 087-6167 396
SHARING OPTIONS: