A Tribut to Tír na nÓg - The end of an era!
Mary, Nora and Kathleen will be missed, but we wish them all happiness, health and fulfillment in the next phase of their lives!
Tír na nÓg was not just a Health Food Shop
Tír na nÓg will finally close its doors on Saturday 30th of July 2022. Sadly they could not find a buyer to follow in their footsteps and keep the shop open. We will all miss them a lot!
Mary, Nora and John are retiring after more than 42 years of stellar service to the public.
John and Sally from John and Sally McKenna’ Guides, who’s own journey is closely connected to Tír na nÓg have summed up its importance: TÍR NA NÓG IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CATALYSTS IN THE HISTORY OF IRISH ARTISAN FOOD.” Sadly, no more, but the legacy of the work Mary, Nora and John and their long-term staff member Kathleen will live on. They will be remembered as one of the trail blazers of the Sligo and indeed the national food scene.
To put things into perspective we have updated our blog post Tír na nÓg - a revolution in the real world to highlight the importance of what Mary, Nora, John, their longest serving assistant Kathleen and all the previous people who worked there, have achieved and also to thank them for their hard work over more than four decades and also their perseverance during the past two years. The deep connection they developed with their customers and the exceptional service they provided were the cornerstone of their success. “We connect with people through conversations in our shop”, said Nora in our interview.
You have still a few days to let them know why you loved shopping in Tír na nÓg.
Tír na nÓg- Land of the young
It is Ireland 1980. Imagine you are 25, that your parents had emigrated from Sligo and Mayo, and that you longed to return. "I was innocent" says Mary, of her plan to open a vegetarian cafe and health food shop in Sligo town. Yes, read it again and let it sink in! It was a very different time, with no mobile phones and no bottled water. But Ireland was on the cusp of change, and anything seemed possible then.
Darina Allen from Ballymaloe house and Ballymaloe Cookery School arrived on TV, Rod Alston and Dolores Keegan had opened Eden Plants 1975, the first organic farm in Ireland, in the hills of Leitrim (*1, see footnote below) The first Irish organic association IOFGA was formed in 1982 and Mary attended their first meeting at Eden Plants in 1982.
Mary recalls being featured on one of Darina Allens cooking shows “Simply delicious” and the very next day the shop was full of people she had never seen before wanting to buy Tarragon, because Darina had used it. Speaking to Darina about that visit to Sligo for the TV programme she vividly remembers: “You were infected by Mary’s enthusiasm for good food and her support for local producers, but she was also great fun. A person of real integrity!”
“Mary is a person of real integrity” (Darina Allen)
Asked why she opened the shop, Mary simply said "I am a foodie. I love healthy food. I had worked for a year in ‘Food For Thought’ in the Covent Garden in London (see footnote below *2) and there I got the idea.”
Café Tir Na Nog opened at Easter 1980 in Castle Street (now occupied by Cat and the Moon), then moved to Wine Street in 1983 and two years later to its current location in Grattan Street.
Shortly after opening, Mary was joined by her brother John and his future wife Nora. "There were no role models. We used our own creativity" says Nora. They look at each other and chuckle. "We are like a three legged stool - remember it does not wobble! We are a matrix, an ideal combination of skills. We complement each other, but we can also argue!”
Mary and Nora share many funny memories: “We called our carrot cake ‘magic cake’, because nobody would buy a carrot cake back then. Customers ordered our chickpea casserole presuming it was as chicken casserole.”
"GOOD SERVICE, GREAT QUALITY, TRUST AND A DECENT PRICE FOR CUSTOMER, PRODUCER AND SHOP". (MARY MCDONNELL)
From the very start, they were focused on the quality of the produce sold in the shop. "We pretended that we were the customers: we had to be happy with our shopping". Asked why they believe their customers supported them and still do, both quickly summarise their mission statement: "Good service, great quality, trust and a decent price for customer, producer and shop". Mary re-phrases: "We want to make good food accessible to people".
One of the ground breaking ideas of Tír na nÓg was their support and encouragement of local producers. Rod Alston's weekly delivery of organic vegetables on a Thursday morning are legendary. There were free range eggs from Woodville Farm. And we must declare an interest here, as Tir na nOg was the first shop to sell our organic cheeses and rye sourdough breads as early as 1986.
Tír na nÓg’s influence on the evolving Irish health food sector and the wider culinary scene went far beyond Co Sligo. John and Sally McKenna, who published “The Irish Food Guide – a directory of sources for lovers of good food and travel” in 1989 remember:
“In 1989, at the very beginning of our journey describing Ireland’s food culture, discovering Tir na nog was, for us, an aleph: it showed us everything that could be achieved by a network of artisans who congregated around a central outlet created by dynamic, passionate people, in this case Mary, John and Nora is Tir na Nog. The shop was revolutionary, and had re-thought every aspect of sourcing and selling food. In that regard, Tir na Nog is one of the most important catalysts in the history of Irish artisan food.” (John and Sally McKenna)
TÍR NA NÓG IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CATALYSTS IN THE HISTORY OF IRISH ARTISAN FOOD.” (JOHN AND SALLY MCKENNA)
Mary, Nora and John are far too modest to boost about their influence on the Irish food scene, but without that little shop in the North West and the network it created, the organic movement in Ireland would be all the poorer. When Rod Alston had the vision of creating The Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co. Leitrim in 1985, Mary McDonnell together with Darina Allen, Alan Gear (then Rhyton Garden in England), Paul Rankin from Roscoff Belfast, Helga Willer (fibl) from Switzerland and Gearoid Mac Eochaidh was on the first Board of Management.
Mary, Nora and John were also a driving force behind one of the first ever food festivals in Ireland in 1994: “Seriously Good Food – The Northwest Festival of Fine Food”. “This festival has grown out of the enthusiasm of some farmers, growers, shopkeepers and restauranteurs for their produce – an enthusiasm that, we hope, will characterise the whole of the weekend.” And what a weekend it was, featuring discussions, talks, farm walks, food and wine tastings (see footnote *3 below for participants of the Seriously Good Food Festival), creating a template for many future food festivals to come.
The festival, officially opened by Darina Allen with music from Rod Alston’s Sligo Early Music Ensemble, featured producers, restaurants, country houses, shops and food outlets, you could meet John and Sally McKenna and listen to a discussion about “Food, Farming and the Future” chaired by Lelia Doolan (at the time chair of the Irish Film Board).
When we interviewed them during the pandemic in 2020, Mary said: “Running a small business remains a constant challenge, but it also enables us to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. We continue to only sell what we love” . The current pandemic and Brexit provided new challenges with the high demand on goods like flour and yeast. When they were closed for nearly three month all their customers were relieved when they were back as were local producers like The Organic Centre, who according to Mary probably deliver the best salad bags.
“WE CONNECT WITH PEOPLE THROUGH CONVERSATIONS IN OUR SHOP.” (NORA MCDONNELL)
Our own view about Tir na nOg's success story is that all three, Mary, Nora and John and their loyal staff member, Kathleen, who has been working in the shop for nearly twenty years, connect to customers like very few other shops.
Tír na nÓg was an important part of our Sligo Food Tour.
…and will be in the future, as there are stories to tell.
“We are not on social media, we don’t have a website”, says Nora, “but we connect with people through conversations in our shop.” And that is what their customers talk about, when you ask them why they like and support Tir na Nog. It is the service and advice customers get what makes them standout.
Here is what Tom Weir from Dromahair, representing many customers, has to say: “ Tír na nÓg has been the other larder for our home for over twenty years now but I actually remember visiting the earlier incarnation back in the early Eighties. Back then it was one of the things that made Sligo cool to my Dublin eyes. Since we returned from New York, Mary, Nora and Kathleen have seen my children grow up, have helped and advised us on supplements and suppliers, have enquired after parents and siblings, have kept up with us and our lives. It’s hard to conceive Sligo without ‘Tir na’ as we call it, still keeping Sligo cool.”
Mary adds: “We want to keep it simple, local and have fun”, and her whole face lights up as she talks about the new generation of growers at Crimlin farm from Tubbercurry, one of her longest suppliers of organic vegetables. “Volkmars son Arne and his wife Fiona have taken over the family farm from Volkmar and there produce is wonderful”, she tells us.
For 42 years Tir na Nog supported and championed local producers and gave them an outlet. Farmers and growers could trust their produce was looked after and promoted well by staff who knew: Local Wildwood honey from Phillip Sheridan, organic and free range eggs from Mary Luthers and the Woodmartin family respectively, early potatoes (“they are the best”, says Mary) from Trevor Siggins, vegetables from Tim Arnott, The Organic Centre and Crimlin farm.
Role models for integrity, passion and stamina
At the beginning of our conversation we had asked Mary and Nora about their role models and they had said they didn't really have any, but before we leave they concede that “in later years, we have certainly had a hero, and he is the American food writer, Michael Pollan. Of all his quotable quotes, our favourite is: "... if it is delivered through the window of a car, it is not food". Michael Pollan is passionate about food - but he also has a sense of humour - just like ourselves!”
As the curtain comes down on Tir na Nog 1.0 we hope the energy and passion of Mary, Nora and John to provide a great service to the people of Sligo will continue under new ownership for many more years to come. Willingly or not Mary, Nora and John have become role models in their own right showing how to run a health food store and staying true to their believes.
Thank you Mary, Nora & John
Footnotes:
*1 Rod Alston and Dolores Keegan were part of a small group of growers who wanted to be certified organic and organised some Soil Association inspectors to come over to certify them. So their first organic symbol was awarded by the Soil Association (UK's leading food and farming charity and organic certification body) and they were subsequently trained as Soil Association inspectors. That was 1980 and the rest is history.
*2 “One of London’s most iconic vegetarian restaurants, Food For Thought in Covent Garden, is set to close after more than 40 years of business because of the area’s rising rent prices. The busy cafe, known for serving up consistently good food at reasonable prices and being popular with celebrities such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Mark Strong, will be closing for good on 21 June this year. A statement on the restaurant’s website said: “The time has come to call it a day. For more than 40 years Food For Thought has withstood the corporate march, refusing to be processed, packaged or pocketed. For as long as was viable we have remained resolutely independent, offering food that is unashamedly home-spun and hand-made. We have loved being here and hope you have too.” (The Guardian 28th March 2015)
*3 Producers: Carraig Fhada Seaweeds, Cliffony Farmhouse Cheese, Coney Island Shellfish Ltd., Crimlin FArm, Eden Plants, Woodville Farm. Restaurants: The Cottage, Eithna’s Restaurant, McNean Bistro, Pierrot Gourmand, Truffles Restaurant. Country Houses: Coopershill, Cromleach Lodge, Glebe House, MArkree Castle, Templehouse. Shops & Food Outlets: The Co-Op Shop, Gourmet Parlour, Kate’s Kitchen, Kilfeathers, Moveable Feast, Simple Simon, Thalasse Lodge, Tir na Nog. Advice & Support: Business Innovation Centre and Teagasc.