Aidan Gillen a producer with a difference

Aidan delivers fresh produce to the Wellnes Centre and Organic Cafe in Sligo, prominently featured on our Vegan Sligo Food Tours.

Aidan delivers fresh produce to the Wellnes Centre and Organic Cafe in Sligo, prominently featured on our Vegan Sligo Food Tours.

Vegetable growers should be highly respected, but it’s often in a crisis that their real importance comes to the fore for everyone! Here we feature organic grower Aidan Gillen, a neighbour of ours in Cliffony. His organic farm is a mere 2km stroll from Neantog to Crevekeel. He bought the farm in 1997 and named it Tattie Hoaker after the Healthfood store he ran in Roscommon in the late 90’s and farms and grows fulltime since 2010.

Aidan is not your conventional grower. With a degree in commerce, stints in Thailand working for Concern and later in Zambia working on a programme called Training for Transformation he completed a Masters in Empowerment of People at UCD.

He supplies local restaurants like Eithna’s By the Sea as well as Ósta Café in Sligo and the Wellness Centre, supplies local shops and has a stall at markets in Rathcormac and Cliffony.

He supplies local restaurants like Eithna’s By the Sea as well as Ósta Café in Sligo and the Wellness Centre, supplies local shops and has a stall at markets in Rathcormac and Cliffony.

Aidan’s passion is working with communities. He helped to set up Cliffony country market, promotes social farming and now operates a Community supported agriculture  (CSA) scheme, a partnership between farmers and the local community. Consumers invest in the farm at the beginning of the year and for that get fresh vegetables over the year when they are ready for harvesting. Also, the consumers can visit the farm and stay in contact with the farmer.

Here is Aidan Gillen Uncovered

  • What is your favourite food? I love fish.

  • Finish the sentence: A grower is hardy!

  • The country you travel for food: Spain

  • Three things you always have in your larder/fridge? Well, ice cream, garlic and onions.

  • What is your most used gadget? The kettle.

  • Do you read gardening books and which one do you come back to? No

  • Who is your inspiration (not necessarily from the food/garden world): Greta Thunberg

  • What are you currently listening to? Irish news.

  • Something people don’t know about you? I actually enjoy working with tomato plants.

  • What will be hot in 2020? Garlic


 

Neantog Farm