WiFi password: farmfreshmeat” declares a blackboard at Market House in Ennistymon. (Sure why stop at farm to fork, when you can have farm to Facebook?)

And it’s clear that the family farm is the foundation of this craft butcher shop, food hall and café, established by father and daughter team, Sean and Fiona Haugh, in 2015.

But it’s just the latest example of how the family – who farm at Knockroe, on the cliffs near Kilkee– have diversified in recent years, with Sean setting up not only his own abattoir on the farm in the early 1980s, but also a butcher shop in Milltown Malbay.

“I was lucky. I kind of came in with a new style,” says Sean, who explains how he had to borrow money from his mother and his aunt to get going when the banks were not forthcoming, but sold out of meat on his very first day in business.

“I’m still here,” he smiles.

BUSINESS IN THE BLOOD

Little wonder, therefore, that the business is in Fiona’s blood.

“It was like an extension of the house,” says Fiona, who grew up over the shop in Milltown Malbay. “I would have started on the counter at maybe the age of 12, 13.”

While she went on to study for a tourism and marketing diploma in Cork, Fiona was drawn back to the business when her dad decided to lease the shop and take over a Eurospar in Rathkeale, Co Limerick, with his brother Paul in 2002.

“The meat trade was very successful down there,” says Fiona, who went in as manager straight after college.

“At 21, I had 28, 29 staff, and then by the age of 23, I had 45 staff, so that was a big responsibility.”

In 2007, however, the Haughs decided to sell the shop in Rathkeale, with Sean concentrating on his wholesale meat business. Fiona, meanwhile, used the opportunity to go travelling, returning to Ireland in 2009 in the depths of the recession.

“There were no jobs,” she recalls, explaining how she went back to college to finish her degree – earning a first class honours – and from there moved to Galway to work as a buyer with Smyths Toys.

“And then this place came up,” she says of the former butter market in Ennistymon, which dates back to the 1860s.

Sean explains he had long sensed the potential of Ennistymon for a new business, but knew it would only succeed as a partnership.

“So I rang Fiona then to see if she would come with me,” he continues.

Luckily, she did not have to be asked twice.

“I feel like I always missed it,” says Fiona, who also saw the attraction of Ennistymon.

“There is a lot going on here,” she says. “It acts as a hub for the whole of North Clare.”

MARKET HOUSE

Using both savings and support from the bank to buy the building, Fiona and Sean set up Market House – which consists of a butcher’s counter, a deli, a café and a food hall – as a 50:50 partnership in 2015. As well as his own Angus and Hereford herd, Sean has been sourcing beef and lamb from farmers in north Clare for the last 30 years, finishing them on the clover- and salt-covered fields of the farm in Kilkee before processing at his EU-licensed abattoir.

“So he’s hand-picking every animal that he’s killing and he’s very careful, he’s a real perfectionist,” says Fiona of her father’s “immaculate” approach to his craft.

This gives Market House a unique selling point, not just as a butcher shop offering everything from traditional cuts to convenience, value-added products, but also as a deli and café serving breakfast, lunch and home-baked treats. Although Fiona has also sought inspiration further afield with healthy salads like her quinoa tabbouleh, as well as featuring other local suppliers like Burren Smokehouse salmon and St Tola goat cheese.

Open Monday to Saturday, Market House employs nine staff between full- and part-time, but the Haughs also supply their meat to restaurants, including the café at the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre, The Wild Atlantic Lodge in Ballyvaughan and Dodi café in Lahinch, as well as residential customers on Inis Oírr.

“It’s full-on now,” acknowledges the multitasking Fiona, who is looking forward to seeing the business “go to the next level”, with involvement in events like the upcoming Burren Slow Food Festival (see above).

And there’s no reason why they can’t with the farm – and family – behind them. CL

Visit www.markethouseennistymon.com

Be Burren Bound This May

As part of this year’s Burren Slow Food Festival, chef Trevis L Gleeson will be using beef from Market House during his “Food and Whiskey” pairing workshop on Sunday 13 May at 3pm at The Pavillion, Lisdoonvarna. Tickets cost €10.

It is just one of many events running from Friday 11 May to Sunday 13 May, with the theme “Taste the Atlantic – A Seafood Journey” taking centre stage.

Highlights include a ferry ride from Doolin to indulge in a seafood supper on Inis Oírr and the annual Burren Slow Food Banquet in Lisdoonvarna, alongside festival favourites such as a food and craft market, cookery demonstrations, an interactive talk with Kevin Thornton and a presentation by archaeologist Dr Bill Schindler on our culinary past.

The Burren Food Trail members, including Market House Ennistymon, will also host a coffee morning on Sunday 13 May to talk about their products and offer tastings.

Visit www.slowfoodclare.com for further details and to buy tickets online.