Speedie's Blog: ballinfoile mór community organic garden

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Terryland Forest & Garden Highlights 2017

Lovely to have Felicity Silverthorne and her fellow students, as part of their NUIG studies, undertake a few weeks ago a film documentary entitled (Galway) City of Nature on the importance of nature to urban environments. There was a nice focus on Terryland Forest Park and the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden that included interviews with Ruth Hanniffy(Vincent Wildlife Trust), Pauline O'Reilly (Galway Green Party) and myself.
I am so impressed by the fact that Felictiy and other concerned young people are prepared to highlight the need to safeguard the wonderful wildlife and green spaces that exist on our own doorstep but are sadly under threat like never before due to built development, pollution and climate change.
The link to the film is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-ktQ0u4KyU&spfreload=10.
Well worth watching (says I unashamedly!!).

First Galway City Honey of 2013

Our first honey of 2013 was harvested last night from the beehives of Cumann na bhFear (aka Men's Shed) and the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden in Galway city.
Over the next few days it will be placed in jars, ready for selling at the Ballinfoile Mór Garden Harvest Festival (Sat Aug 31st).

Tonight, the first large amount of Honey produced by the hives of Cumann na bhFear will be placed in jars, ready for selling at the harvest festival. Well done to Michael McDonnell and Michael Tiernan, the group's chief beekeepers for their dedication. Earlier this week, many hours were spent washing and sterilising dozens of recycled glass jars.
Well done to Michael McDonnell, Michael Tiernan and the other beekeepers for their commitment and dedication in this great task.

Earlier this week I joined my wife Cepta and other volunteers in washing and sterilising dozens and dozens of recycled glass jars. It bought back happy memories of my childhood days, of collecting blackberries and raspberries from hedgerows along the roadsides; bringing baskets of fruits home for my granny to make jam after the enjoyable task of gathering up old jars from friends and neighbours alike.

Help Save a Willow Tree Sculpture!

Volunteers are needed on Saturday morning to help in moving a large beautiful living Willow Tree Tunnel from a school garden to the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden in the Terryland Forest Park, Galway city.

Rendevous: 11am Sat, Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden

This transplanting work has to be done as a matter of urgency as the present site of the tunnel will be bulldozed later next week due to a school building extension programme.
Scoil Náisiúnta Cholmcille Castlegar has generously offered the community group the trees in order to save the tunnel from destruction. The willows will be relocated to the Ballinfoile Mór facility to form part of an existing three tunnel network.

Over the years the teachers, parents, pupils and Fás workers at Scoil Cholmcille have created a green oasis within the school grounds.

Most of the garden will be left untouched by the new building. In fact it has being tastefully developed over the last six months with the addition of new murals, bug hotels, native Irish trees, wooden seating and raised beds.

The transplanted trees will be still be available to the school children to harvest for sculptures and hopefully some day to be used to recreate a new tunnel outside their classrooms.

Eco-Neighbourhood Festival in an Irish City Suburb

It is refreshing to know in these times of economic gloom that in the heart of a very built up urban suburb, a neighbourhood fair dedicated to heritage and a traditional rural lifestyle could capture the imagination of local people.

Traditional Cast Iron Kitchen Cooking Set over an Open Fire at Harvest Fest

Well that happened on September 22nd in Galway city when approximately 350 people attended the Ballinfoile Mór Harvest and Heritage Festival in the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden.
The event, now in its third year, has as its theme the promotion of locally grown organic fruits and vegetables.

Mayor of Galway, Cllr Terry O'Flaherty buys some of Garden vegetables & fruits

But the festival has become more than a tribute to organic food. It has metamorphosed into a celebration of the broader themes of community (Meitheal), culture, children, environment, ecology, social heritage and preserving traditional hand-made arts, crafts and skills.

Second Hand Book & Toys Stalls

Hence there were stalls for locally baked cakes and buns as well as for locally produced wooden and leather goods; an open hearth fire where potatoes were being boiled in skillet pots; a outdoor oven made from local clay serving pizzas; a Irish traditional music seisiún; dozens of scarecrows in a multitude of colours and sizes made by children from the local primary school (Scoil san Phronsias) and playschool (Sunny Meadows); woodturning; a blacksmith's forge; a bike repair workshop; second hand books and toys stalls; a tree conservation stall; a vintage bike display; pony rides for kids; a lively DJ playing an eclectic mix of dance music and Irish ballads; impromptu Irish dancing and singing; a marine aquarium, juggling and face-painting.

Mihchelle looking after the Cakes & Buns Stall

But one of the most popular highlights of the festival was without doubt the shoeing of a horse by farrier Joe Dodds which enthralled all those present.

Joe Dodds Shoeing a Horse

Thanks to the efforts of a small band of dedicated and socially conscious residents, Ballinfoile is witnessing a resurgence in community volunteerism based around a sense of community, pride of place and of awareness of the need to preserve local heritage in a time of growing globalisation.

Scarecrows giving a Children's & Artistic dimension to the garden

Plans are already being made to make the Ballinfoile Mór Harvest and Heritage Festival even bigger and better, with topics such as butter churning, quilt making and children's street games being included.

Buying a Book

Trad Seisiún in action

There were queues all day long at the Anja's Face painting stall

Serving Hot & Cold Dishes

Elder Taylor selling 'Little Herbal Garden' Boxes

A captive Audience for the Juggling Demonstrations

Galway Atlantaquaria's Aquarium populated with crabs, starfishes & other creatures of the seas

Mayor Terry O'Flaherty addresses the crowds

Foroige youth volunteers serving pizzas freshly baked in the garden's Clay Oven

Joe's Pony Rides were a big hit with the children

What a fine collection of Scarecrows!

Joe wooing the audience with his wonderful crooning

The Garden's Wooden Seats & Benches were made by local craftpeople

Nothing like a good cuppa of tea and a good chat!

Fergus & Willy at the Fruit & Vegetable Stall

Matthew and Lenka showing samples of wild food from Irish forests

Jay at the Bike Repair workshop

See previous articles:
Third Annual Harvest Festival in Galway Neighbourhood

Second Harvest Festival in a Galway Neighbourhoood

Mayor to officially open Galway city's largest community garden

A Celtic Forest Garden in 21st century Ireland

'Summer Picnic & Cycle in the Park' event to start a new tradition?

Caroline with one of the 'High Nelly Bicycle's restored by Cumann na bhFear

Third Annual Harvest & Heritage Festival in Galway city neighbourhood

Part 1 of an exciting programme for Ballinfoile Mór Harvest & Heritage Festival 2012

Bike Repair workshop, Outdoor Baking, Blacksmith’s Forge amongst highlights of Ballinfoile Harvest Festival

Scarecrows, an outdoor pizza oven, a blacksmith’s forge, a bike repair workshop, demonstrations of straw rope-making and locally produced cakes and jams will feature as some of the highlights of the third annual Ballinfoile Mór Harvest and Heritage Festival that will take place on Saturday September 22^nd in the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden.

Part 2 of an exciting programme for Ballinfoile Mór Harvest & Heritage Festival 2012

We have put together an exciting programme of events to appeal to all ages in a wonderful garden setting that will be a celebration of the high level of volunteerism and sense of community that exists amongst the ordinary people of the Ballinfoile, Bothár an Choiste and Tirellan area.

As well as the organic garden growers, Cumann na bhFear (aka Men’s Shed), Scoil San Phroinsias, the Tús community work placement scheme, RAPID, Galway City Council, Conservation Volunteers Terryland Forest Park, Foroige, Sunny Meadows playschool and other local groups are involved in a neighbourhood festival based around promoting locally grown food produce, culture, crafts, arts, heritage and environmental awareness.

“We will have pizzas served freshly baked from our own outdoor oven; spuds boiled in traditional skillet pots over an open fire; “Granny’s Kitchen” with delicious cakes and buns made to old-time recipes; food dishes from Africa and Asia; an organic food stall; a blacksmith’s forge producing domestic and garden metal implements; demonstrations of farrier skills, traditional drystone walling and straw rope making; an Irish music seisiún; wooden and leather good stalls displaying locally made bee-hives, garden benches, pens and hair barrettes; a ‘High Nelly’ Bike Restoration heritage exhibit; disc jockeys; a marine aquarium; face-painting and an array of scarecrows

Harvest Fest 2011-Garden plots were covered with Scarecrows made by local chldren

Dozens of scarecrows of all shapes and sizes will populate the vegetable plots.

The scarecrows, made out of straw and recycled clothes by the children of Scoil San Phroinsias and the Sunny Meadows preschool, will pay homage to the age–old tradition that farmers and gardener used up until recently to protect the seeds and shoots of their food crops from being eaten by birds.

Harvest Fest 2011 - Volunteers Brian & Tiernan staffing the Bike Repair Workshops

We will also have a bike maintenance workshop where people can bring along their bicycles to get expert advice on how to adjust brakes, fix a puncture and clean gears.

“The aim of this and similar grassroots festivals across Ireland is to foster a feeling of individual self worth and purpose as well as to engender a sense of place and neighbourly goodwill amongst residents of local communities; to help Irish people re-discover the value of making, repairing and growing everyday items. As a nation the Irish have traditionally been characterized by a strong community ethos as exemplified by the GAA, ‘Meitheal’ and a coming together in times of adversity. In this era of recession, high employment, growing emigration and a lowering of national expectations, we need ordinary people to once again take the lead in improving the quality of life of their own localities.

The Festival starts at noon on Saturday September 22^nd and continues until 2.30pm.