Food Academy

Tullahay Farm

Having been reared on a dairy farm in South Tipperary,  I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors and I loved to get involved in helping Dad and my brother’s on the farm – milking the cows, hosing the milking parlour and helping to calf down cows.

As a family we always recognized the importance of healthy eating and the value of our own home produced food.

That coupled with my grandmother’s belief in the goodness and healing power of whey and our good old fashioned country lifestyle meant that I trusted my instincts completely when setting up my business. My grandmother lived to the ripe old age of 95  taking no medication only her daily dose of whey.

Unknowingly our family had followed the advice of ancient Greek physician’s who recommended a daily dose of Whey. They famously said that “All disease begins in the gut”.

We had been dosed with whey from a young age to help with digestion as a probiotic and many more uses.

Marrying a dairy farmer and having three girls meant my old passion for healthy eating and natural home produce returned.

I came back to use whey as a digestive aid when one of my daughters was a fussy eater.

As a busy family between farming and sports we rely on whey to keep us healthy. My grandmother was on to something and must have recognized the powerful properties of this natural drink – it is more hydrating than water with it’s mineral content and full of gut friendly bacteria.

I was surprised to find that there was no liquid whey drink on the market in Ireland. This led to the beginning of my business venture – Tullahay Farm Products. Myself and my husband Jim have a dairy farm in Tullohea, which is near Grangemockler in South Tipperary and we milk 250 Friesian cows.  The milk from these cows is the raw ingredient for my products. Our  happy herd of cows graze the lush green pastures here on our farm.

Our products are hand-made in small batches with the quality and provenance guaranteed.

In 2019 with the help of the Tipperary Local Enterprise Office, I was fortunate to get an innovation grant, this enabled me to get my products developed.

I was delighted when Eddie O’Neill in Teagasc, Moore Park agreed to take on my project.

Eddie is the Artisan Food Specialist in Ireland, his knowledge and expertise in the industry has been invaluable to me.

When I was developing my fruit flavoured whey drinks I didn’t want to have any waste so having identified a gap in the market for savoury soft cheese’s, I developed two flavours in a savoury soft cheese.

Chilli and Honey

Tomato and Basil

I’m delighted to now have the opportunity to bring to the market products which I am passionate about.

I have two fruit flavoured Whey drinks, Mango and Passion Fruit and Raspberry.

 The SuperValu Food Academy has been invaluable to me and with their support and guidance I am really excited about the future of my brand.