Where do I start? How do I describe 460 acres of unspoilt farmland which includes an old native oak wood, new hard-wood forestry (maple, oak, beech, sycamore, birch to mention just a few), meadows and pastures sprawling across the landscape and up to the top of Knockshegowna, our 700ft hilltop, the highest point for miles and miles.   Or our walk down through callows to our lake, Loughnahince where you stand on the remains of a Crannog dating back to 500a.d. The whole experience of walking throughout such diverse and wonderful land is simply unique.

Fifteen years ago Fairymount Farm was under so much financial pressure that drastic steps were considered - and about to be taken. Cattle prices were falling, we didn’t have cows/milk, our land although very beautiful was not good enough for intensive tilling, our sheep were just about pulling their weight, and our breeding stock of horses (for steeple-chasing and sport uses) was at its embryo stage. 460 acres sounds like a lot but much of it was on the side of our hill of Knockshegowna and un-tillable. And then there were our woods… A beautiful old native oak wood, 30 acres and a 15 acre beech wood, some of the trees over 250 years old. So we sought advice . . and were stunned to hear that we were being encouraged to fell the entire woodlands which would not only make a considerable sum of money but we would could replant with pine and in X amount of years we’d have a valuable crop. It was never an option. If you stand amongst these trees now it’s like time has stood still and in some ways that can be said of our whole farm… Although we’ve progressed, we’ve also stood still and preserved our past and our heritage.

We looked at other areas of the farm and began to clear acres of tough, stony, scrub, hillside land and plant new forestry – hardwood – oak, ash, larch, beech, birch, maple, sycamore etc. Carefully considering the terrain about to be changed and the visibility aspect (the majority of the trees would grow up to be seen for miles around due to the hilly position), the various species were chosen and landscaped and over 100,000 trees were planted. Six years of tending, trimming, pruning and shaping followed and the bulk of all this work was done by our family members – our children, ourselves and our loyal yardman, Martin Kennedy. In 2001 we were delighted to win the RDS All Ireland Forestry Award given in recognition of planting, establishing and maintaining forestry in a manner that enhances the landscape, wildlife habitats and recreational benefits of the forest.

Again, fifteen years ago, we converted a ‘granny-flat’ into a two bed-roomed self-catering property and began our tourism venture. With the numbers of visitors increasing each year we decided to take things further and today we have three four star properties….. our original ‘flat’ which we extended to include three double bedrooms, sleeping six and adding a lovely conservatory; Oakwood, a bungalow, is on the far side of our farm, very fresh and bright, open plan with pine kitchen etc. and conservatory, sleeping six to seven; and then our latest, the Old Cottage – two years ago it was a derelict, a bunch of stones with a toppling roof - but with a history - it’s situated in a part of the farm that up to the famine had over 200 people living and working there and within a few crippling years only this one remained. Retaining the outside walls and keeping it ‘compact’ it now sleeps six with the interior having an old cottage theme but with every modern comfort. This year we won the Munster section of the All Ireland Self-Catering and Agri-tourism Awards.

Ten years ago we began the process of making our farm ‘organic’. This involved certain rules and criteria, namely the de-stocking of sheep numbers, stopping all artificial fertilising of the land, banning the use of chemicals and severely curtailing medical treatments i.e. anti-biotics given to ewes and lambs. It’s all about animal friendly farming practices and learning about the environment. We were shocked to find how very little difference in grass growth for instance since we have stopped putting out chemical fertilisers. In fact we also find that the fertility in our mares and sheep has improved due mainly to de-stocking and to the natural grasses and herbs throughout our pastures. We now have twelve brood mares, eight of which are pure bred producing racing stock which we either sell as three to four year olds or keep and break, train and race ourselves – John has a public trainers licence and also trains for other owners. Our half-bred mares produce strong sporting stock which we sell from three years upwards. With so many horses always on the farm at the one time it is necessary to house many of them in the winter months to prevent ‘poaching’ of the land – a rule of REPS…..
We are now in REPS three - (Rural Environmental Protection Scheme). REPS 1 and REPS 2, we believe, are the best things to happen to Irish farming as it made farmers so much more aware of the environment. Again it is moulded by rules and stipulations but it is all about keeping and preserving the countryside with it’s trees, hedges, streams, hills, meadows and it’s flora and fauna. It ties farmers into good farming and environmental practices especially REPS 3 where you are tied into compulsive environmental enterprises as in natural habitat for wildlife, for example, leaving our old beech wood to self-generate by keeping stock out of this area. All of these stipulations were totally in keeping with our ideals for Fairymount Farm and they go hand in hand with our tourism side of the business too.

Walking the farm had always been a necessary pleasure for us and now our visitors wanted to do the same so two years ago we began to make trails and pathways that would allow everyone to find their way and so evolved our Fairymount Farm’s Walks and Trails – over five miles of internal trails winding throughout the entire farm, no straight lines, natures curves and turns and twists and the result? A magical experience that has to be walked to be truly appreciated – walks throughout our 450 acres with spectacular views and natural wildlife. The trails take you past untouched archaeological sites (ring forts, fulachta fiadh, crannog), new forestry, an old native oak wood and to the lakeside. Our 700ft. hilltop of Knockshegowna overlooks at least seven counties. Well known author and walker Michael Fewer (who officially cut the tape on our Walks and Trails venture in 2004) has written about us in his many articles and kindly says that our "trails are impeccably set out" – and along the trails are fifteen numbered ‘stops’ – each of these is explained in our colourful booklet which walkers take with them.
Our Walks and Trails are now open to everyone (with a small charge) and we have walking groups, school and coach tours, tourists, families and individuals availing of this chance to walk throughout a working farm.
Opening up our land to visitors and to the public is almost pioneering stuff! Understandably farmers are nervous of litigation, and of people disregarding their property but, so far, we have found that people are so delighted to have the opportunity to step back in time and really absorb the gentle noises and the intense colours of nature and to feel roots – literally and metaphorically!

When you come to Fairymount Farm you experience life in the slow lane…….. you step back to a time when nothing is rushed, life and nature are revolving at the same pace they have for hundreds of years…… you can feel it the moment you arrive.

Linda Kenny, Fairymount Farm,
Ballingarry,
Roscrea, Co. Tipperary.
067 21139. 087 919 54 86
www.fairymountfarm.com