The weekly farmers market on the parade in Kilkenny every Thursday, has been a staple in the town for the last two decades, serving as an important outlet for local producers to showcase and sell their wares to customers in the locality.
Set afoot the picturesque backdrop of Kilkenny Castle, in the heart of the city, the farmers market comprises of 24 stalls manned by a variety of different vendors, ranging from artisanal food producers to skilled craftsmen.
Public realm warden with Kilkenny County Council, John Byrne, is responsible for the market’s logistics:
“It’s a very popular market, we have a good mix of craft and food and if one drops out for whatever reason, we try and replace it with something similar to keep the balance the same.
“They [vendors] must attend 30 out of 33 Thursdays to hold their license for the following year, if they don’t, someone else on the waitlist will come in, but in general, for the 24 spaces, we would have upwards of 30 applications every year and we review applications every January.
“I think the farmers market brings lots of people into the town, it’s great for the local people to come in and in the summertime, the visitors all love it,” Byrne said.
For Jamie Kavanagh, owner of Crainn Nua, an organic vegetable farm in Callan, Co. Kilkenny, the farmers market poses as the main point of sale for his produce and affords him a direct connection with his customers:
“It gives us a very personal connection with the customers and it’s very, very gratifying to be able to see it [a vegetable] from seed to handing it [fully grown] directly to somebody and then they can come back next week and tell me what they cooked with it.
“We discuss a lot of recipes and gardening and everything with the customers, it’s just wonderful to be able to connect with people directly around food.
“And you know, economically, it makes sense for everybody, as it has a net benefit to the town, it brings people into a town on market day that wouldn’t normally come in,” Kavanagh said.
Kavanagh’s stall was stocked full of a wide variety of fresh vegetables, from parsnips to brussel sprouts, all grown on his no-dig, chemical free market garden.
He reminded Agriland that the farmer market serves as a great, one stop destination to shop everything you may need for family dinners over the festive period.
Due to the surge in popularity for mushroom’s in 2024, Kavanagh has set his sights on expanding the business to include mushroom production in the new year.
As for local baker, Alan Walton, of Speltbakers in Gowran, Co. Kilkenny, the farmers market has functioned as a lifeline for small scale producers like himself:
“It’s important for small independent companies like ourselves, it’s one of our main outlets, If people don’t support us, then small independent producers will go out of business.
The bakery specialises in artisanal bread and delicacies made from spelt flour, including festive favourites like mince pies, which Walton claimed, have been selling well since mid November onwards.
Having traditionally sourced their flour from a local producer in Kilkenny, the bakery had to search for a new supplier further afield this year, after the poor weather conditions of 2024 devastated their original provider’s harvest.
Walton believes the government must do more to support and stabilise both small scale producers and the farmer’s market model in general.
“All it [the government] seem to support is big businesses and that doesn’t trickle down, so if we don’t get support, we will be lost,” he argued.