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Dr Brendan Dunford grew up on a mixed farm at the foot of the Comeragh Mountains in Co Waterford. He studied to be an engineer, but upon obtaining his degree never took to the profession. So, he travelled the world for a few years during his 20s, indulging his interest “in how people shape places and places shape people”.
Returning home to Ireland, he undertook a master’s in University College Dublin (UCD) via the faculty of ag in environmental resource management. Brendan was then offered a PhD looking at the impact of farmers on the Burren. Once again he got to exercise his passion for people and place.
I didn’t go back to college at all, I just stayed down in Clare and did the whole thing from here
“I didn’t know anything about the Burren at all, but that relationship between people – particularly farmers – and the landscape was quite interesting as a research topic. I suppose where better to pursue it than the Burren?
“I started out in 1998, over 20 years ago now, and as they say ‘went native’.
"I didn’t go back to college at all, I just stayed down in Clare and did the whole thing from here. I basically moved down here.”
Giving the story back to farmers
When Brendan finished his research it was published in a book in conjunction with Teagasc. Brendan’s study of the Burren was different to anything done before.
Although it highlighted the need to change certain farming practices in the area, for the first time, research acknowledged the role farmers play in conserving the Burren’s landscape.
It was putting the farmers back in the story and helping them feel a part of the place
“It was giving the story back to the farmers. Rather than writing about the Burren; the lovely plants and animals, this was a story actually about the farmers – how they shaped the place and evolved in harmony with the place.
"It was putting the farmers back in the story and helping them feel a part of the place rather than apart from it,” explains Brendan.
“That story and that book told us the wrong type of farming can destroy the Burren, but the future of the Burren depends completely on sustaining the right type of farming. The old traditions of winter grazing and things like that are critical for biodiversity.”
Importantly, this research’s suggestions came from the farmers themselves. Thus, a farmer-led approach was born.
After Brendan’s initial research, European Commission funding was applied for and granted for five years under what was called the BurrenLIFE Project. It was used to create a blueprint for sustainable farming in the Burren, running from 2005 to 2010.
Burrenbeo sources its own funding to run schools programmes and the Winterage Festival, as well as engaging with active conservation, advocacy and research
From 2010 to 2016 the Burren Farming for Conservation Programme took place. It received €1m each year to rollout the findings of the BurrenLIFE Project. Because of its success, additional funding has been allocated to continue it under what is now known as the Burren Programme, of which Brendan is the manager.
The programme now covers 23,000ha across the Burren. Around 330 farmers (80% of those farming in the target area) participate. It is a results-based payment to farmers for work done to conserve the landscape.
The Burren Programme is funded by the Department of Ag and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and this work is also underpinned by a local charity Burrenbeo Trust, set up by Brendan and his late wife Ann. Burrenbeo sources its own funding to run schools programmes and the Winterage Festival, as well as engaging with active conservation, advocacy and research.
Taking a leaf out of the Burren book
With the Burren Programme’s accomplishments, Brendan feels that not specifically this programme, but its farmer-led ethos can benefit other programmes across the country in relation to how to engage with farmers.
“In the Burren, we have a programme that suits the Burren, it wouldn’t suit somewhere else.
"However, locally targeted, results-based payments and farmer-centred, those are the principles we operate on.
"They can be applied to any field and any farm around the country. It’s appealing to farmers’ pride of place.”
With much discussed and many bases covered, Irish Country Living has one final question for Brendan: what was it that kept him in the Burren when he moved to the Banner two decades ago?
I really have great time for the people. The farming community down here, they have been here a long time and they have managed to make a living from a very challenging landscape
“The same thing that still keeps me here now, it’s just a fascinating place. It really is an extraordinary place in terms of what there is to discover in the landscape. Any time you take a walk here there could be an archaeological site, a different plant species or animal.
“Supplementary to that is the people, I really have great time for the people. The farming community down here, they have been here a long time and they have managed to make a living from a very challenging landscape. I found their story, how they have adapted to this place and made it work for them for generations, fascinating.
“Of course the craic in Clare too, the music and the culture is very strong here. It’s always nice for a break in the evenings if you want to go into town and hear a few tunes.”
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