PJ: We farm 65ac. We had cows, but the accountant advised to give ‘em up about 15 years ago and stick with the shop. I buy calves in Cahir Mart and do the animals before I come down to the shop. The deliveries have really taken off since COVID-19. An ill wind blows good for some. Clogheen was a thriving town. We had a bank, co-op, vets and post office – now all closed. But we kept going and we are doing it together. The petrol station is back open again after three years shut and there are three pubs in the town and a Chinese and we call it a town. It was a town in its day.
Margaret: There was a courthouse as well as the hospital, which was actually the poorhouse back in famine times. There is big history around the place. The courthouse is a men’s shed now and it’s very active.
Margaret and PJ English farm cattle on 65ac but also supply local shops and restaurants with fruit and veg.
PJ: The local people will drop books to our lending library here in the shop and people from Parsons Green [campsite] or the locals will take a book and bring a book. We had more books than fruit and veg there for a while.
We have an August weekend festival, but that was cancelled this year and the Vee is only out the road. We have a state-of-the-art restaurant too in the Convent, they are winning every award you could think of. Dermot and Christine are brilliant and they sponsor everything. And John Carey too in the pharmacy, he sponsored the 5km run because they were 35 years in Clogheen. The local businesses really support the town.
I was formerly chair of Cork Marts, so I was always pushing for Cahir Mart to be part of Cork Marts. During my reign, Cahir Mart went on fire. But its back up and running and its’s what’s saved the farmers around here, as Cahir was one of the first marts to go online with COVID-19. The mart manager did a bit of canvassing for the first online sale, so I obliged. And I brought in a good lot of cattle and the prices I got – well I never got ‘em before in my life. Sure I didn’t Margaret? Never got ‘em.
M: Or since...
PJ: Back here in Clogheen, the community council, I’m involved in that. We started a social dancing thing and people are asking when it will be back. It gets people out that usually wouldn’t be going to the pub.
M: It’s closed now and a lot of them mightn’t come back, the older ones.
PJ: There’s a lovely old wooden floor in it for dancing. It was a Protestant church. Thomas Clarke, the 1916 signatory, his parents got married in it before going off to England.
My other hat is trying to get increased marks in the national Tidy Towns. We get a good lot of marks, not big marks, but the adjudicators come around and that is the best advice you’ll get. The day-care was my hall of fame.”
Maureen just throws her hands up to heaven laughing and heads off to serve a customer.
Margaret and PJ English farm cattle on 65ac but also supply local shops and restaurants through with fruit and veg.
PJ: “We almost lost our hospital here in Clogheen years back, but we won that war and there is a lovely big extension on it now. For the extension, there was a lot of fundraising done. There were head shaves and anyone even going for a walk would nearly bring a sponsorship card. And it must be 30 years ago we got a daycare centre committee going. A premises couldn’t be found in Cahir, but a caretakers home became vacant in the hospital. We organised a fundraising night at Clonmel greyhound track.
The first bitch I ever got, she won nine races before getting hurt. PJs Blue was her name – not blue in politics now!
M: Oh you had to bring that in.
PJ: That was the biggest fundraising we did and £17,000 was some money even that time. It is closed at the moment and I am chair of it, but it’s flying.
M: And the drama group.
PJ: Margaret is the main actor.
M: We were all set to do The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Did all of John B Keane’s plays over the years. We have a fine stage. We did Sive last year and it was three great nights.
PJ: And sure, like everything, we sell the tickets here in the shop.
Ten years ago I went for Fianna Fáil in the local elections. The reason I entered was because with all the things I was involved in, I still had to go back to a third party to get anything done. And I thought, if I could get in myself, I could get more clout to help people. I didn’t get elected. I ran again last year, but no joy.
The veg shop doubles as a lending library for locals and tourists.
Of all committees, I am on the IFA farm family. I went into a meeting in Cahir because I think if the farm family is going well, everything will be going well, but I was the only man there. Mary Joe Heffernan (South Tipperary farm family chair) wasn’t able to attend a meeting in Dublin, so again, I found myself in a room full of women. We had a great chat, mental health, succession and the fair deal.
We have three children. Nicola (32) is a doctor in Perth, Elaine (30) works for ancestry and Colin, our youngest (28), is an electrician and he is gone into the wind turbines with GE.
Simon Ryan, who was previously IFA South Tipp country chair, asked me to join the South Tipp Development Company (LEADER). He is chair and I am vice chair.
M: Will you stop blowing yourself up? (ribbing as only a wife can get away with!)
PJ: We get people coming in for grants for whatever they need. We do the evaluation of it at the start, look at the benefit to the community and that it doesn’t negatively impact other business in the area.
As Irish Country Living is walking out the door PJ mentions casually:
“I also got one of them injunctions during the beef protests. The IFA solicitor sorted that out for me though. I was very grateful for that.”
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It takes a village: Christmas and community spirit is alive in Clogheen
PJ: We farm 65ac. We had cows, but the accountant advised to give ‘em up about 15 years ago and stick with the shop. I buy calves in Cahir Mart and do the animals before I come down to the shop. The deliveries have really taken off since COVID-19. An ill wind blows good for some. Clogheen was a thriving town. We had a bank, co-op, vets and post office – now all closed. But we kept going and we are doing it together. The petrol station is back open again after three years shut and there are three pubs in the town and a Chinese and we call it a town. It was a town in its day.
Margaret: There was a courthouse as well as the hospital, which was actually the poorhouse back in famine times. There is big history around the place. The courthouse is a men’s shed now and it’s very active.
Margaret and PJ English farm cattle on 65ac but also supply local shops and restaurants with fruit and veg.
PJ: The local people will drop books to our lending library here in the shop and people from Parsons Green [campsite] or the locals will take a book and bring a book. We had more books than fruit and veg there for a while.
We have an August weekend festival, but that was cancelled this year and the Vee is only out the road. We have a state-of-the-art restaurant too in the Convent, they are winning every award you could think of. Dermot and Christine are brilliant and they sponsor everything. And John Carey too in the pharmacy, he sponsored the 5km run because they were 35 years in Clogheen. The local businesses really support the town.
I was formerly chair of Cork Marts, so I was always pushing for Cahir Mart to be part of Cork Marts. During my reign, Cahir Mart went on fire. But its back up and running and its’s what’s saved the farmers around here, as Cahir was one of the first marts to go online with COVID-19. The mart manager did a bit of canvassing for the first online sale, so I obliged. And I brought in a good lot of cattle and the prices I got – well I never got ‘em before in my life. Sure I didn’t Margaret? Never got ‘em.
M: Or since...
PJ: Back here in Clogheen, the community council, I’m involved in that. We started a social dancing thing and people are asking when it will be back. It gets people out that usually wouldn’t be going to the pub.
M: It’s closed now and a lot of them mightn’t come back, the older ones.
PJ: There’s a lovely old wooden floor in it for dancing. It was a Protestant church. Thomas Clarke, the 1916 signatory, his parents got married in it before going off to England.
My other hat is trying to get increased marks in the national Tidy Towns. We get a good lot of marks, not big marks, but the adjudicators come around and that is the best advice you’ll get. The day-care was my hall of fame.”
Maureen just throws her hands up to heaven laughing and heads off to serve a customer.
Margaret and PJ English farm cattle on 65ac but also supply local shops and restaurants through with fruit and veg.
PJ: “We almost lost our hospital here in Clogheen years back, but we won that war and there is a lovely big extension on it now. For the extension, there was a lot of fundraising done. There were head shaves and anyone even going for a walk would nearly bring a sponsorship card. And it must be 30 years ago we got a daycare centre committee going. A premises couldn’t be found in Cahir, but a caretakers home became vacant in the hospital. We organised a fundraising night at Clonmel greyhound track.
The first bitch I ever got, she won nine races before getting hurt. PJs Blue was her name – not blue in politics now!
M: Oh you had to bring that in.
PJ: That was the biggest fundraising we did and £17,000 was some money even that time. It is closed at the moment and I am chair of it, but it’s flying.
M: And the drama group.
PJ: Margaret is the main actor.
M: We were all set to do The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Did all of John B Keane’s plays over the years. We have a fine stage. We did Sive last year and it was three great nights.
PJ: And sure, like everything, we sell the tickets here in the shop.
Ten years ago I went for Fianna Fáil in the local elections. The reason I entered was because with all the things I was involved in, I still had to go back to a third party to get anything done. And I thought, if I could get in myself, I could get more clout to help people. I didn’t get elected. I ran again last year, but no joy.
The veg shop doubles as a lending library for locals and tourists.
Of all committees, I am on the IFA farm family. I went into a meeting in Cahir because I think if the farm family is going well, everything will be going well, but I was the only man there. Mary Joe Heffernan (South Tipperary farm family chair) wasn’t able to attend a meeting in Dublin, so again, I found myself in a room full of women. We had a great chat, mental health, succession and the fair deal.
We have three children. Nicola (32) is a doctor in Perth, Elaine (30) works for ancestry and Colin, our youngest (28), is an electrician and he is gone into the wind turbines with GE.
Simon Ryan, who was previously IFA South Tipp country chair, asked me to join the South Tipp Development Company (LEADER). He is chair and I am vice chair.
M: Will you stop blowing yourself up? (ribbing as only a wife can get away with!)
PJ: We get people coming in for grants for whatever they need. We do the evaluation of it at the start, look at the benefit to the community and that it doesn’t negatively impact other business in the area.
As Irish Country Living is walking out the door PJ mentions casually:
“I also got one of them injunctions during the beef protests. The IFA solicitor sorted that out for me though. I was very grateful for that.”
Read more
Easter brunch re-imagined
It takes a village: Christmas and community spirit is alive in Clogheen
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