Go on, girl: the women to watch in food and farming

1. Molly Fitzpatrick

Baker and pastry chef – Hápi Bakery

If you’ve been following Hápi Bakery on Instagram, you will instantly recognise their sandwiches and cakes featuring fresh, local ingredients. Hápi is a sister business to Kai Restaurant in Galway, headed by Jess Murphy, and if you pop your head into the bakery kitchen, you will find chef Molly Fitzpatrick working her magic.

“I wouldn’t even be in the kitchen if it wasn’t for all the amazing female chefs in Ireland [and more specifically, Galway] who I saw and thought, ‘I can do that, too’,” she says. “I guess I would say that being a woman in Irish food means constantly being brought up and encouraged by the women around me. I’m really inspired by the seasons, and nothing makes me happier than when I feel like I’m truly reflecting the season in what we bake.”

@hapi_bakery_

2. Tara Gartlan

Pastry chef and chocolatier

Being a woman in a male-dominated sector is never easy, and chef Tara Gartlan has faced serious challenges in restaurants – including sexual harassment and workplace bullying – which have been especially difficult to overcome.

“Being a female chef, for me it has meant having to work harder than every man in the same kitchen to get a modicum of the same level of recognition,” she says.

In 2022, Tara launched Tara Gartlan Chocolate in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, where she creates luxury hand-crafted chocolates and desserts. Her products are sold online (taragartlan.com) and are coeliac-friendly. Tara is also the co-founder of The Square Peigs – a networking group for Irish women in food, hospitality and farming.

“For now, [The Square Peigs] serves the purpose of a judgement-free foodie ‘Google’ and often provides a supportive voice when one [or more] of us has hit a hard moment in our work.”

3. Shannon Copland

Regenerative grower – Shannon’s Eco Farm

Shannon Copland grows vegetables in her Co Westmeath market garden; often focusing on rare and interesting species which makes her Instagram feed a delight for food-growing enthusiasts. Like many commercial growers, Shannon’s tunnel infrastructure near Rathconrath took a hit during storm Éowyn and she is now working to restore her farm.

“I grow a lot of different vegetables, herbs and flowers,” she says. “My focus is on the rare unusual crops and trying to do my bit to keep heirloom crops from going extinct. I keep native black bees, some pigs, rabbits and poultry. I’m a mamma to one boy, Harvey.”

Shannon loves farming because it’s a way of life which follows the seasons. She also enjoys working with Irish chefs, who prepare her produce in such unique ways.

“I love building a relationship with customers that get as excited about really good produce as I do,” she says. “Of course, it can be very challenging and the hours are long, but at the height of summer the rewards of all the work are there with the hum of the bees and the birdsong in the trees. That soothes the soul in ways other jobs just never can.”

@shannons_eco_farm

4. Josephine O’Neill

Teacher and chair – Macra national board

Currently chair of the Macra national board, Co Kilkenny-based Josephine O’Neill recently announced her intention to run for Macra president. Josephine teaches home economics and is passionate about passing down practical skills to her students while representing Irish agriculture in her day-to-day life.

“I’m proud to be from a farming background and even prouder that our Irish farmers produce the highest quality produce,” she says. “As a member of Macra and current national chairperson, it’s an honour to be part of such a fantastic organisation, which plays such a huge role in the lives of so many young people from rural Ireland.”

There have been calls in the past for home economics to be a mandatory subject in secondary schools. Josephine says she loves her job because every day is different.

“I love teaching my students where our food comes from, always linking in my farming background,” she says. “Equipping them with skills that they’ll be able to use in their everyday lives in the future is a huge driving force.”

In the race for Macra president, Josephine is running against John Martin Carroll from Co Kerry and Conor Murphy from Co Cork. Listen to all three candidates on the Young Stock podcast on farmersjournal.ie.

5. Áine Budds

Chef, poet, advocate

Aside from being an extremely talented chef, Co Kildare native Áine Budds has made waves in the Irish culinary scene through spoken word performance, poetry and openly sharing her journey with addiction, sobriety and recovery.

“I think that for many women, being involved with food means challenging the status quo and this is not always easy,” she says. “It is common to want to reject femininity, to ‘toughen up’ to protect yourself and supress the parts that don’t feel compatible with a broadly masculine industry. However, I say to hell with that. I want to encourage women to take up the space they deserve in a manner that they are comfortable with, and I think the best way to achieve this is through community.”

For Áine, food is a way to understand and connect with our Irish lives and culture more deeply.

“We are so fortunate to have so many amazing producers – from farmers to cheesemakers to millers – all within arm’s reach,” she says. “I feel a great sense of joy in being able to maintain proximity to agriculture and fisheries through the work of cheffing.”

@flowerbudds

6. Louise Crowley

Dairy farmer and Limerick IFA chair

Louise is a familiar face in agri-circles and has always been a strong advocate for women in agriculture. This past February, she was elected chair of Limerick IFA, making her the youngest chair currently in the organisation.

She is proud to see an ever-increasing number of women taking on leadership roles in agriculture as farm owners, managers or in advocacy roles.

“Having gone through an IFA county chair election, it brought the challenges women face to the fore again for me,” she says. “Being told you’re not suitable for the job because of being too young and female only drove me on to prove these aren’t issues that should be factored in.

“Thankfully many Limerick farmers didn’t let those sentiments prevent them from seeing my qualifications for the role.”

@louisecrowleyfarms

7. Marion Cantillon

Walsh scholar and founder of Pit-Seal

Marion Cantillon is no stranger to innovation, having created Pit-Seal: a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic silage pit covers. While this business goes from strength to strength, she is also completing a PhD with Teagasc and University College Cork (UCC) as a Walsh Scholar.

“I have been very fortunate in my work as Pit-Seal is seasonal in nature,” she explains. “This has allowed me to pursue my PhD in mitigating emissions in agriculture.

“This unique combination of academia and business will enable me to tackle agricultural challenges from two perspectives, and seeing these two sides of the agri-food sector in Ireland has been incredibly eye-opening.”

As a woman in agri-food, learning to trust her own instincts has been a major source of success for Marion.

“There has been incredible progress [in recent years] with more women taking the lead in food, farming, and agricultural education,” she says. “Having women in leadership roles makes it much easier to trust your instincts and confidently navigate the industry.”

@_pitseal_

8. Ciara Shine

Director – Shines Seafood

Based in Killybegs, Co Donegal, Ciara Shine works with her family to bring top quality Irish seafood to supermarket shelves through their business, Shines Seafood. Aside from this, however, Ciara is a keen supporter of women in Irish business and entrepreneurship; attributing much of her own success to the ACORNS programme for rural women entrepreneurs.

“Being involved in the Irish food industry, and seafood in particular, is extremely rewarding,” she says. “I get to educate our nation on the Irish fishing industry, provide them with top quality Irish seafood, and I get to work with many amazing individuals in the process.

“Shines Seafood is a family business and this is actually my favourite part of the job,” she adds. “Working with my parents and being able to get my own daughters involved and exposed to the different elements of running a business is something I couldn’t experience with any other position.”

shinesseafood.ie

9. Katie Larkin

Farmer and online influencer

Social media has become the ultimate tool for educating consumers on agricultural ways of life. No one, perhaps, understands this better than Katie Larkin, also known as The Abbey Cowgirl, who shares her life and suckler farm on TikTok where she has a following of over 30,000.

“Being a woman in Irish farming means you are resilient,” she says. “While more women are embarking on leadership roles within farm management, many others struggle with access and financial support. Societal views have changed in recent years, however, there are some people out there who still voice the opinion that it’s a ‘man’s job’.”

Katie loves working with animals and says growing up on a family farm teaches you responsibility, empathy and what it means to develop a work ethic from a young age.

“Growing up, if I was asked what I wanted to do after I left school, my answer was always the same: I wanted to do something in agriculture,” she says.

“I was told back then that it wasn’t a job for a girl like me. Recently, I completed a do-it-yourself AI [artificial insemination] course. People told me I wouldn’t be tall enough or strong enough to do it, but I did. If you don’t push your boundaries, you won’t succeed.”

@theabbeycowgirl

10. Rachel Perry and Aoife McNevin

Owners – Down the Lane

Rachel Perry and Aoife McNevin could have done anything for a career, but they chose to open a café and serve the community of Tuam, Co Galway. In the current economic climate, this isn’t just commendable – it’s brave and wonderful. Rachel and Aoife have seen much success since opening their brick-and-mortar café, Down the Lane, just over a year ago and say they have loved every moment.

“Tuam is a small and very bustling community,” they say. “We are delighted to be bringing something new to an ever-growing food and drink culture.

“Having a small business in any rural community faces its challenges and without the support of our lovely customers, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

“A massive drive for us both was to make connections and support other small business within Ireland,” they continue. “When we started out, seeing how kind other businesses were to us was amazing, and to be able to create a space where we can return the support is so fulfilling.”

@downthe lanetuam

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