Carlow Farmers’ Market celebrates 20 years

THE SMELL of delicious, freshly-cooked food wafted through Potato Market on Saturday morning, thanks to the generosity of the food producers in Carlow Famers’ Market.

They were celebrating the 20th birthday of the market and had hired chefs to make some gorgeous dishes, using the very produce that’s sold there. Punters were lucky enough to sample fragrant carrot soup, a tasty mushroom omelette, a selection of handmade cheeses and other delicious assorted goodies.

“We gave out free food as a way of saying thanks to all of our loyal customers. We get to know our customers because we have so many regulars who’ve been coming here for years,” said James Murphy, chairperson of the market. James is a fruit and vegetable grower from Clonegal, who sells his home-grown produce every week in the market.

There are about 20 stallholders in the market every Saturday morning, including Malone’s Fruit Farm and cheesemaker Elizabeth Bradley, both of whom are founding members.

Some of the other stallholders include Greek food purveyor Soul of Crete, Granny’s Kitchen, Indian food, and meat from Goldhill Farm, Castledermot. There are also craft stalls selling handmade gifts such as knitwear and pictures. Demand for home-grown produce has been growing year on year at Carlow Farmers’ Market.

  “It’s very difficult for people to find high-quality, locally-grown produce in the supermarket so they come to us instead. I think that the market continuing to grow shows how popular locally-grown food is. Every Saturday, there’s a lovely atmosphere here, especially now that we are based inside. We get to know our customers because they come in to us so regularly,” said James.