A first glimpse of The Burren always provokes the same adjectival response: Barren. Lunar. Rock on rock.
Burren derives from the Irish term boireann: a rocky place. Well named, then.
These first impressions are understandable, but they are wrong, because the Burren is a place of paradox, a place which undoes conventional thinking. They knew this, many centuries ago, when they built the Cistercian Abbey at Corcomroe, near Bellharbour, and dedicated the Abbey to Sancta Maria de Petris Fertilis: Our Lady of the Fertile Rock.
The Burren might be the rocky place, but it’s far from barren.
The paradoxes of the Burren are many. We visited for the Winterage Festival when the farmers of the Burren complete their version of transhumance: moving cattle to their seasonal pasture.
In the Burren, however, their transhumance is done backwards. The animals are driven by foot to the uplands where there is abundant grass, and residual heat from the limestone. Elsewhere in the world, animals are brought down from the mountains and put indoors.
Another paradox, and another lesson from this unlikely landscape where the rocks are fertile, and the winter grasses are waiting for the cattle.
The driving of the cattle at Winterage is a Burren ritual, and a rather beautiful one. It unites man, animal and nature in a symbiotic union which is hugely meaningful. Because the animals are outwintered, they keep invasive species at bay. On the lowlands, the flora for which the Burren is justly famous has time to set seed and bloom, so both animals and nature are minded by the Winterage. If you have a mind to do it, get yourself a flitch of hazel to support your tired legs as you climb the hills, then join the crowds. At a time when ritual has largely disappeared from our lives, this is a true ritual: ancient, practical, wise, and quite beautiful.
There is a lot to be learnt from the Burren, and the ways in which it shows us a paradoxical duality. We live in a time when political and social conventions insist we can only be one thing, or the other. Left, not right. Woke, not Conservative. A not B. But the Burren landscape can teach us a lot about paradox, and duality, about being two things at once.
“Rituals are also symbolic practices, practices of symballein (to bring together), in the sense that they bring people together and create an alliance, a wholeness, a community.” writes Byung-Chul Han. Right from the very first time we ever visited the Burren, we have been struck by how committed and generous a community of people it comprises, and how creative that community is. Everyone we meet in The Burren is a creative, a volunteer, an activist, an individual.
The Burren Winterage Weekend takes place every October Bank Holiday.
Burren Directory
Burren Wagyu
A brand new product for the Burren – the first Burren Wagyu was tasted at the Farming For Nature Awards and Burren Long Table Dinner at INStone, on the farm of Frank McCormack Jr and Sr, where the family farm Angus and Wagyu on their 400ac of Burren grassland. The McCormacks hosted this year’s Burren Winterage Winter Cattle Drive.
Burren Beef & Farm
Specialist Beef boxes and Charcuterie from the O’Rourke family, 5th generation farmers of the Burren landscape. The family also run a Farmstay and Tours.
Burren Smokehouse
We first met Birgitte Hedin-Curtin back in 1989, right at the start of the Burren Smokehouse. She was a force of nature then. She’s a force of nature now.
Burren Fine Wine & Food
Catherine Connole makes lovely things and sells lovely wines at Burren Fine Wine & Food, in an old stone coachhouse on Corkscrew Hill. When she isn’t growing and cooking and pouring, Catherine is a key player in the Burren Ecotourism Network.
Burren Gold
Don’t miss the farm and cheese shop at the Ailwee Burren Experience, just outside Ballyvaughan. Exploring the caves helps you to understand the Burren, whilst the gorgeous artisan cheeses and many other hand-made foods are the best treats with which to rustle up a picnic.
St Tola Irish Goat’s Cheese
Siobhan ni Ghairbhith has been making the mighty St Tola goat’s cheeses since 1999, in addition to running one of the very best Food Tourism experiences at the farm in Inagh. Both are unmissable.
More information about the Burren from
Burren And Cliffs of Moher Geopark
Burren Beo Trust
Burren Ecotourism Network
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Loved this article guys. I love the Burren, it's nature, food artisans and welcoming attitude to tourists and locals.