A hard sheep’s milk cheese made on a family farm in Terryglass, Co Tipperary, is among the Irish farmhouse cheeses available in the Dunnes Stores Simply Better range.
Produced by husband-and-wife team Barry Cahalan and Lorraine Davis, Cáis na Tíre is matured for six to eight months, developing a firm texture and distinctive flavour, similar to Italian Pecorino.
“It’s a hard sheep’s cheese, matured for about six to eight months,” Barry says. “The milk comes from our own family farm.”
The sheep are grass-fed and milked twice daily during the season, with the couple overseeing everything from farming to the finished cheese.
For Barry and Lorraine, it is a business built on family and a shared ambition that stretches back to their schooldays.
“We went to secondary school together, then onto college together,” Barry tells Irish Country Living.
The couple graduated from University College Dublin in 2010, having always hoped to make their living from farming. Barry grew up on the family farm in Terryglass, which had traditionally been a mixed holding.
“We always wanted a farm,and we were lucky to be able to take over my family’s” he says. “It was a mix here originally; so a bit of sheep, a bit of cattle. We always liked sheep.”
With around 100ac of land, the couple decided to lean into sheep farming rather than conventional dairy farming.
The idea of milking sheep came about almost by chance, following Lorraine’s work experience with another farmhouse cheesemaker.
“We were just chatting at the dinner table about milking sheep and getting into goats or whatever,” Barry continues.
The conversation planted a seed, and the couple decided to give sheep’s milk cheesemaking a try.
They began by rearing lambs, eventually building up to 50 milking sheep. Initially, they brought their milk to another cheesemaker, who made the cheese for them.
“We got it back, but we still didn’t really know what we were doing,” he recalls.
“We didn’t know the market. We didn’t know how anything worked. But we started small and kind of made mistakes and went from there.”
Rooted in Tipperary
Those early experiments gradually developed into Cáis na Tíre, a business rooted in the place where both Barry and Lorraine grew up-
beautiful and tranquil Terryglass. Located close to the shores of Lough Derg, remains central to the couple’s lives and work.
“It’s everything really, because it’s where we both grew up,” Barry says. “It’s hard to imagine doing anything else.”
He believes the local landscape plays an important part in the quality of their cheese.
“Grass, climate, soil, they all probably have a huge impact on the cheese. And the milk is number one, which is probably the most important thing.”
Milk production peaks around April and May, when cheese is made approximately every second day.
Although both are involved in the business, they have naturally settled into different roles.
“Lorraine is the main cheesemaker. I’m more of the farmer,” says Barry.
A typical cheesemaking day begins around 6am, with fresh milk transferred from the milking parlour into the adjoining cheese room.
The milk is pasteurised before cultures and rennet are added to separate the curds from the whey. The curds are then placed into moulds and pressed into 5kg wheels.
The cheese then matures for six to eight months before it is ready to enjoy.
While Barry and Lorraine do most of the work themselves, family support is never far away.
Their three children, aged eight, five and two, are still too young for cheesemaking duties, although they are already showing an interest.
Barry’s father also remains a familiar presence on the farm.
“I took over from him, but he still does the same thing he always does,” Barry says. “He’s down every day. He also does a bit of babysitting.
“Otherwise it’s just kind of the two of us,” he adds of himself and Lorraine. “It really is a family-run job.”
Seeing their cheese stocked as part of the Dunnes Stores’ Simply Better range has been another welcome development.
“It’s lovely to see it on the shelves in Dunnes,” he says.
He is particularly pleased to see Cáis na Tíre alongside other established Irish farmhouse cheese producers, “standing up beside them”.
Mature cheese
As a mature, firm cheese, Cáis na Tíre works particularly well grated over pasta or incorporated into cooking, much like Parmesan. It can also be enjoyed on a cheeseboard.
“When our cheese gets mature, it’s probably best for grating,” Barry says. “It’s dry and strong.”
At home, the family use it in all sorts of everyday dishes.
“We have it with everything really,” he said. “Bread, toast, pasta, onions, whatever.”
And after years of producing and eating their own cheese, does he ever tire of it?
“No, never,” he says, laughing. “We just grate it on.”
Dunnes Stores Simply Better Irish Farmhouse Cáis na Tíre, 160g, €5.99.
