
So in 2012, we came with our three young children and set to work. We cleared the land, which had been more or less untouched for 30 years, and re-fenced. We bought breeding stock and entered the farm into organic conversion.
In the Summer of 2014, the Drumanilra Dexter Burger was born. In the early 1980s, Liam spent several Summers touring Ireland with a group of friends. They served BBQ burgers to hungry audiences at music festivals from an old transit van. In 2014, our small, pedigree Dexter herd had grown enough to give us some product. So, as a first step to selling direct to customers, we bought a “Shepherd’s Hut” style catering trailer. Throughout that Summer, it was Justina’s turn to tour shows and festivals around Ireland, selling Drumanilra Farm Dexter Burgers. We were delighted to win a McKenna Food Guide Award at Electric Picnic for our efforts.

In that same year, we bought an old house in an over-grown garden plot in the centre of Boyle, next to Supervalu. We landscaped the gardens and a year later, in 2015, just a few months after achieving our full organic status from the Organic Trust, the Shepherd’s Hut became the Drumanilra Farm Kitchen. Initially, we served burgers and hotdogs for take-away and to eat at picnic benches in the garden. Over the next fifteen months we renovated the old house on the plot, adding an in-door dining room, a small farm shop and eventually moving the kitchen inside too. We also developed our menu, adding breakfasts, soups, sandwiches and salads made with our own ingredients, French fries made with organic potatoes, and fantastic, locally roasted coffee.

Back at the farm, we experimented with outdoor pedigree pigs and poultry, built up a flock of rare breed Jacob and Shetland sheep and continued to grow our Dexter herd. We built polytunnels to grow our own salads and vegetables. We built relationships with other organic farms that could help with supply when our own product ran low. All the produce from the farm was sold direct to our customers, via the café and farm shop.
The Drumanilra Farm Kitchen was a huge success. Our loyal and enthusiastic customer base grew steadily and we quickly became listed as Trip Advisor’s number one place to eat in County Roscommon. Our local producer network grew too and now includes organic beef farmers, chicken producers, and vegetable growers, raw milk producers, tea blenders, coffee roasters, artisan cheesemakers and real bread bakers.
We were delighted to receive several notable awards in 2017 and 2018, including Restaurant Association of Ireland Awards for Customer Service, Best “Free-From” Menu, Best Emerging Irish Cuisine and Local Food Heroes for the Connacht region. In 2019, we were staggered to win our first national award – Georgina Campbell’s Natural Food Award.
We have been over-whelmed by the enthusiasm and support from local people and travellers from all over Ireland and beyond, for the local, organic food we now produce and sell. Fortified by the success of our Boyle based café and farm shop, we are ready to take the next steps on our journey…