Margaret Farrelly is well known as an award-winning agri-business woman, having turned 150 hens on a 33-acre family farm into a multi-million euro business, Clonarn Clover.
But did she ever envision adding the word “author” to her name?
“I really had no desire or no plan or no intention or no ambition to write at all,” laughs the Cavan woman in response to the question. “In fact, I would have thought it wasn’t something that I could do.”
And yet Margaret has just self-published her life story – Free Range Blessings: A journey from family farm to successful business with eggs and faith – which details just how she grew to become the largest independent free-range supplier in Ireland; with heart and humility.
She explains that the seed for the project was first planted by her son, Killian.
“He kept saying to me, ‘Mammy, you could write the book because you’re the expert on free-range,’” she explains.
“It felt like there was a lot to tell on how we managed our business from 150 hens to packing from almost 200,000.”
The write stuff
Margaret got the push she needed in 2016 when she won a voucher at a conference for some funding to work with a self-publishing company in the US. Her husband Leo agreed to finance the balance; however, it took six years to get the book to print.
“Sitting at the kitchen table with the laptop out, cooking the dinner … I wouldn’t advise anybody to do it the way I did it!” laughs Margaret, but after retiring in August 2021, she was finally able to “set aside time to devote to the book”.
While Margaret worked with an editor to help structure and formulate the story, of course, she had to provide the source material. To focus her attention, she started with the memory of winning the 2016 Copa Cogeca European innovation prize for women farmers; and began to work her way back through the steps she had taken to get herself there.
Margaret Farrelly hopes her book will inspire other farm women.
“I could see, ‘Yeah, all this time, I had my head down, Leo had his head down, we were working hard, just moving along, thinking what’s the next thing we need to do? How can we innovate to make our business more sustainable into the future?’” she says.
“But we did them out of a necessity to return on an investment, put food on the table, pay the bills, have enough money in the account to pay the staff on a Friday. There was always a need that drove making sure that we did everything that was possible to do.”
Challenging times
As well as her business journey, Margaret also re-visited some of the most challenging times in her life, including losing her sister Mary to a brain tumour at just 18, the death of her mother and Leo’s traffic accident, which left his life in the balance for 10 days
What was it like to write about those more personal memories?
“I think I nearly got strength from putting them on paper, more than anything else,” reflects Margaret.
“Putting them on paper required a lot of thought and provoked a lot of memories maybe that I wouldn’t have envisaged that I’d be comfortable recalling, yet and all, putting them on paper for a reason that I believed was the right reason – maybe to help someone else – it then became easy and healing.”
The importance of religious faith is woven throughout the book, while Margaret also wanted to give readers an insight into what it is like to produce eggs; explaining everything from the science of how an egg is actually formed, to sharing the personalities of some of the more memorable characters in her flock through the years.
“[I felt in general society] there was a loss of respect for the animal that produced whatever we used on our table,” says Margaret, “so I wanted to highlight how hard the little hen works to make that happen.”
Finding her voice
Perhaps the most powerful part of the book, however, is how Margaret explains how she developed her self-confidence as a business woman.
“Sometimes, stepping out of your comfort zone is very daunting, but it’s the makings of the next step and if I could do it, anyone could do it,” she says. “When I was in school, I would not make eye contact with the teacher in case I’d be asked to read.”
A turning point in this regard occurred when she went for a coaching session before an important pitch with a major retailer.
“‘There’s nobody can tell them better than you how good you are; you are the expert in what you do,’” Margaret recalls of the coach’s advice to her.
The same goes now for encouraging others to write their own story; even if it’s just for themselves.
“One woman has told me she’s keeping a diary – not to write a book to publish like mine – but to have as an information package for her children. She said, ‘I’m starting to do that now because my parents told me things that nobody else will pass down if I don’t pass them down,’” says Margaret.
“But I would be hoping that others will see an opportunity for them for putting their own story on paper, for whatever reason.”
Margaret estimates that the project has cost between €10,000 and €14,000 including its launch, and does not expect to make a profit from the book; but that was never the aim.
“It was written in the hope that it will help other people to believe in themselves,” she says.
And a bit more in herself too?
“I have to say, it’s a hugely satisfying feeing to have this book that’s my book, my story, our story,” she smiles.
Free Range Blessings can be purchased directly from Margaret Farrelly at €19.60 including p&p by texting 087-280 3636 or emailing
margaretfarrelly52
@gmail.com
Read more
Margaret Farrelly wins European Innovation Award for Women Farmers
EU recognises extraordinary Cavan woman
Margaret Farrelly is well known as an award-winning agri-business woman, having turned 150 hens on a 33-acre family farm into a multi-million euro business, Clonarn Clover.
But did she ever envision adding the word “author” to her name?
“I really had no desire or no plan or no intention or no ambition to write at all,” laughs the Cavan woman in response to the question. “In fact, I would have thought it wasn’t something that I could do.”
And yet Margaret has just self-published her life story – Free Range Blessings: A journey from family farm to successful business with eggs and faith – which details just how she grew to become the largest independent free-range supplier in Ireland; with heart and humility.
She explains that the seed for the project was first planted by her son, Killian.
“He kept saying to me, ‘Mammy, you could write the book because you’re the expert on free-range,’” she explains.
“It felt like there was a lot to tell on how we managed our business from 150 hens to packing from almost 200,000.”
The write stuff
Margaret got the push she needed in 2016 when she won a voucher at a conference for some funding to work with a self-publishing company in the US. Her husband Leo agreed to finance the balance; however, it took six years to get the book to print.
“Sitting at the kitchen table with the laptop out, cooking the dinner … I wouldn’t advise anybody to do it the way I did it!” laughs Margaret, but after retiring in August 2021, she was finally able to “set aside time to devote to the book”.
While Margaret worked with an editor to help structure and formulate the story, of course, she had to provide the source material. To focus her attention, she started with the memory of winning the 2016 Copa Cogeca European innovation prize for women farmers; and began to work her way back through the steps she had taken to get herself there.
Margaret Farrelly hopes her book will inspire other farm women.
“I could see, ‘Yeah, all this time, I had my head down, Leo had his head down, we were working hard, just moving along, thinking what’s the next thing we need to do? How can we innovate to make our business more sustainable into the future?’” she says.
“But we did them out of a necessity to return on an investment, put food on the table, pay the bills, have enough money in the account to pay the staff on a Friday. There was always a need that drove making sure that we did everything that was possible to do.”
Challenging times
As well as her business journey, Margaret also re-visited some of the most challenging times in her life, including losing her sister Mary to a brain tumour at just 18, the death of her mother and Leo’s traffic accident, which left his life in the balance for 10 days
What was it like to write about those more personal memories?
“I think I nearly got strength from putting them on paper, more than anything else,” reflects Margaret.
“Putting them on paper required a lot of thought and provoked a lot of memories maybe that I wouldn’t have envisaged that I’d be comfortable recalling, yet and all, putting them on paper for a reason that I believed was the right reason – maybe to help someone else – it then became easy and healing.”
The importance of religious faith is woven throughout the book, while Margaret also wanted to give readers an insight into what it is like to produce eggs; explaining everything from the science of how an egg is actually formed, to sharing the personalities of some of the more memorable characters in her flock through the years.
“[I felt in general society] there was a loss of respect for the animal that produced whatever we used on our table,” says Margaret, “so I wanted to highlight how hard the little hen works to make that happen.”
Finding her voice
Perhaps the most powerful part of the book, however, is how Margaret explains how she developed her self-confidence as a business woman.
“Sometimes, stepping out of your comfort zone is very daunting, but it’s the makings of the next step and if I could do it, anyone could do it,” she says. “When I was in school, I would not make eye contact with the teacher in case I’d be asked to read.”
A turning point in this regard occurred when she went for a coaching session before an important pitch with a major retailer.
“‘There’s nobody can tell them better than you how good you are; you are the expert in what you do,’” Margaret recalls of the coach’s advice to her.
The same goes now for encouraging others to write their own story; even if it’s just for themselves.
“One woman has told me she’s keeping a diary – not to write a book to publish like mine – but to have as an information package for her children. She said, ‘I’m starting to do that now because my parents told me things that nobody else will pass down if I don’t pass them down,’” says Margaret.
“But I would be hoping that others will see an opportunity for them for putting their own story on paper, for whatever reason.”
Margaret estimates that the project has cost between €10,000 and €14,000 including its launch, and does not expect to make a profit from the book; but that was never the aim.
“It was written in the hope that it will help other people to believe in themselves,” she says.
And a bit more in herself too?
“I have to say, it’s a hugely satisfying feeing to have this book that’s my book, my story, our story,” she smiles.
Free Range Blessings can be purchased directly from Margaret Farrelly at €19.60 including p&p by texting 087-280 3636 or emailing
margaretfarrelly52
@gmail.com
Read more
Margaret Farrelly wins European Innovation Award for Women Farmers
EU recognises extraordinary Cavan woman
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