“When farming is done well, it can support local economies, communities, environments and heritage. Farming is the solution – not the problem.”
While the golden leaves falling along the journey to Irish National Stone (https://www.irishnaturalstone.com/) on Sunday felt distinctly autumnal, participants in the annual Winterage cattle drive into the Burren were reminded that the turning back of the clocks marked the first official day of winter. In truth, the weather ought to have given it away, the sideways rain was unrelenting. But then, winter tends to blow faster, harder and earlier west of the Shannon.
The weather didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd who turned out in droves to take part in this timeless ritual that takes place on the limestone uplands of the Burren, County Clare. Cattle are walked from the lowland pastures up to the higher ground – to their winterage. It is a tradition that has been part of this landscape for over six thousand years, a living practice that connects people, place, and nature in a way few modern systems do.
For those who grew up on a farm, as I did, there is something profoundly familiar in the rhythm of animals moving with the seasons. Yet, standing there among hundreds of others, boots slick with rain and limestone, it was clear that this was about much more than farming. The Burren Winterage Weekend has become a community celebration – of farming done well, of the weight of land stewardship, and of continuity between past and future.
A Celebration of Farming as Solution, Not Problem
As the gathered crowd sheltered under hoods and umbrellas, Dr Brendan Dunford – contributing author of the ‘Farming With Nature’ handbook that drew me to Clare (https://www.farmingfornature.ie/farming-for-nature-handbook/about-the-farming-for-nature-handbook/) – welcomed the weather with a characteristic smile:
“We actually love a good rain shower here, because it brings a whole new level of authenticity to what we’re trying to achieve… we want you to feel the Burren, and feel what it’s like to be a farmer in the west of Ireland on a winter’s day.”
This year’s Winterage walk, hosted by the Burrenbeo Trust, drew hundreds of people from across the country. Burrenbeo is a landscape charity dedicated to connecting people and place, supporting conservation, education, and research for the sustainable management of this remarkable region.
Brendan continued:
“When farming is done well, it can support local economies, communities, environments and heritage. Farming is the solution – not the problem.”
That message – often lost in national debate – resonated deeply in the crowd. The Burren, after all, is a living example of how traditional farming practices can sustain both biodiversity and livelihoods. Its unique limestone ecosystem depends on winter grazing: cattle eat back coarse grasses and scrub during the dormant season, allowing the region’s wildflowers to flourish in summer.
Farmers, Families and a Landscape of Continuity
The second speaker, Mike Laverne, spoke on behalf of local farmers:
“Farmers have to be open to weather – so you’re getting the real experience,” he smiled, looking over the mist-shrouded hills. “This is the first time these Wagyu cattle, descended from Japanese stock, will be put out on the winterage. They’ll thrive like every other breed. It’s history in the making.”
He urged those present to support the Burrenbeo Trust – “just as farmers need you in the market to buy our foods, the Trust needs your membership and support” – reminding us of the deep interdependence between communities, consumers, and the remaining custodians of the land.
Then came Frank McCormack, the innovative host farmer, whose land and cattle would entertain and educate the crowds that day:
“It’s a wonderful way of life, and a wonderful way of farming,” he said. “We don’t feed concentrates. We don’t feed meal. They calve in spring, and come down in February – the cycle just starts again.”
To nodding heads, he spoke of the ups and downs of farming life and business, now transitioning to the next generation of his family – all part of the family enterprise, running both a farm and a stone business. Around us, limestone sculptures and pieces of artwork amazed and inspired. Like farming, art turns a hunk of nature into something beautiful and life-sustaining, and it was humbling to be reminded of this in such a setting.
A beautiful limestone harvest bowl, carved by Frank himself, was presented for the blessing of the cattle – to be passed from farmer to farmer in the years ahead, a tangible heirloom of continuity. Shortly after, Frank’s wife, Mary, blessed the cattle at the foot of the hill, standing before the gathered herd as soft rain fell.
Poetry, Place and the Language of the Land
Before the walk began, poet Jane Clarke, the Burrenbeo Trust’s poet-in-residence, read two pieces inspired by farmers across Ireland – their resilience, their tenderness, their unspoken partnership with the land.
Her second poem, ‘Come October’ captured the essence of the Burren’s winter ritual:
“A farmer opens a gap between two standing stones
and seven cows stroll through, bellies brushing each side…
lowland grass has turned yellow, backlands are flooded like callows,
but high on the crags, the lie is dry, the foggage is sweet as it’s plentiful.”
In her words, the act of moving cattle becomes something sacred – a gesture of faith and trust in landscape and season, in cycles older than history.
Walking the Cattle Up
After the readings and blessings, the crowd set out behind the herd. Volunteers in bright vests guided the route – a 5.3 km round trip across slick stone and ancient tracks. Children ran ahead to see the cattle, their laughter mingling with lowing and the rhythmic scuff of boots.
The path wound past six-foot limestone walls, across shallow fords, and up towards the open uplands where cattle would graze freely through the winter months. Even through rain, the view was magnificent: a mosaic of grey stone, hazel scrub, and distant sea.
The climb was steady, meditative. Conversations turned to grandparents and great-grandparents who had farmed similar ground – in Clare, Galway, Mayo. It was remarked how most Irish people are only one or two generations off the land, yet many have lost the language, rhythms, and understanding of that connection. The Winterage offers a way back into that story – a shared cultural memory retold through walking, weather, and work. It was particularly poignant to hear grandfathers explain acts of farming and to answer the questions of their charges with their unmistakably Dublin accents.
Real Heritage; Real Hope
The Burren Winterage is now officially recognised on Ireland’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage, acknowledging it as a living tradition of “special significance to the identity of the Burren and the people of Ireland.”
That recognition is well deserved. The Winterage represents a philosophy of coexistence – of farming in tune with nature, not against it. It demonstrates that sustainable agriculture is not a new invention but an ancient wisdom still practiced in places where community, ecology and culture meet.
At a time when policy feels at odds with rural life on the ground for many, events like this remind us that Ireland’s identity – its landscape, its art, its resilience – was forged in places like the Burren.
Humans and human activity are not a scourge on the land – we are born of the land and we need to find a way to live sustainably and in harmony with the land.
*Rural Ireland is not – and cannot become – a museum to be visited on long weekends by urban dwellers telling their children, “Your grandparents once worked this land…”
Time Well Spent
As the opening speaker said, “time is a precious resource – and the time we spend here is time well spent.”
Walking cattle upwards, into the mist, surrounded by neighbours, strangers, and fellow custodians of place, it was impossible not to feel that truth. The Winterage is a reminder that we are all, in some way, shaped by the land beneath us – whether or not we still farm it.
And in the quiet rhythm of cattle on limestone, the connection between people and place is renewed once again.
As a recent planning graduate who advocates for sustainable rural living – while deeply appreciating the importance of allowing people to remain on the land – I am grateful to the Burrenbeo Trust for hosting the Burren Winterage Weekend and to all of the supporters participants who care about a liveable future for rural Ireland.
https://www.burrenwinterage.com/
