Two Tipperary cheesemakers win prizes at 2024 Irish Cheese Awards

Caption for picture above: Sarah Furno (centre) of Cashel Farmhouse Cheese receives the Gold award in the 'Retailer Class Soft/Semi-Soft Cheese' category at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards from broadcaster and MC of the event Bobby Kerr (right). John Corcoran of Aldi is pictured on the left.

Co. Tipperary farmhouse cheesemakers, Cáis Na Tíre and Cashel Farmhouse Cheese were honoured at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards during a prestigious ceremony hosted by CÁIS, the Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers at Kilshane House in Co. Tipperary, on Wednesday, April 24. 

The biennial celebration of Ireland’s farmhouse cheesemakers, now in its tenth year, named winners across seventeen  categories, culminating in naming one winner as this year’s ‘Supreme Champion’. This followed a rigorous judging process that was undertaken by a high calibre panel of Irish and international cheese experts at Teagasc’s Ashtown Food Research Centre last month.

The thirteen judges tasted 175 different cheeses produced by forty-three businesses located across the island of Ireland; from Dart Mountain to Durrus, and Arklow to Aillwee Cave. Each cheese was individually scored on aroma, flavour, body, texture, and overall appearance in order to select this year’s worthy winners.

Cáis Na Tíre Wins Silver Award

Cáis Na Tíre from Terryglass, Co. Tipperary scooped a Silver award in the ‘Mature Hard Cheese Aged Over 6 Months’ category for their hard sheep’s milk cheese, which is loosely based on the Tomme cheese recipe. Aged for six to twelve months, its flavour has a little earthiness, but also hints of sweetness, with some caramel and even pear-like tones - making it a very suitable alternative to Parmesan cheese.

Lorraine and Barry Cahalan are a young couple from Co. Tipperary who met in secondary school. They are both from a farming background and have always been interested in agriculture. They bought their first lambs in 2012 after graduating from college. With Barry’s love of sheep and their experience in dairy, they visited Stott’s sheep dairy farm in England in 2012. 

Shortly after, they purchased 70 Friesland lambs and in March 2013, their first lambs were born. They now milk 200 Friesland ewes and manufacture their own cheese onsite. This skill was taught to them by neighbouring cheesemaker, Marion Roeleveld, from Killeen Farmhouse Cheese, just across the border in Portumna, Co. Galway. Marion made Cáis Na Tire for Lorraine and Barry at her farm until they established their own cheesemaking facility onsite in 2017.

The Cahalan’s produce two types of cheese; a tomme style and a Gouda-style, plain and with herbs - Fenugreek, and Chives & Garlic.

Cáis Na Tíre’s award-winning cheese is available to purchase online via their website, www.caisnatire.ie, as well as from other leading retailers and independent food stores throughout the island of Ireland.

Cáis Na Tíre also secured a Bronze for Dunnes Stores Simply Better in the ‘Semi-Hard/ Hard Cheese’ Retailer’s category.

Gold Award for Cashel Blue Cheese

Also proudly representing Co. Tipperary at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards were Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers, whose cheese, ‘Cashel Blue', landed Aldi Specially Selected a Gold in the ‘Soft/Semi-Soft Cheese’ retailer’s category. In the same section, SuperValu Signature Tastes picked up a Bronze with Cooleeney Farm’s ‘Gortnamona’ cheese.