Ballinwillin Venison and Wild Boar - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them

Georgina Campbell

It is the quality of their products that leads many to Pat and Miriam Mulcahy’s farm on the edge of Mitchelstown in Ireland’s Ancient East, as their tender Ballinwillin venison and free range wild boar features on many leading hotel menus - and, in April 2017, this included the Five Star InterContinental Dublin, which was the host venue for the Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards - In Association with Failte Ireland.

The menu for the occasion was built around produce that was highlighted for its quality at the Awards, including O’Neill’s Dry Cure Bacon and Inch House Black Pudding as well as the superb Ballinwillin wild boar sausages - which, of course, are also on the breakfast menu at their farm B&B.

This extraordinary place is right on the edge of Mitchelstown, with the Galtee Mountains close by; you approach through a suburban cul-de-sac which ends in a security gate – leading into a different world.

Once inside the 80-acre estate, you see deer grazing and the driveway opens up to reveal a substantial 18th century country house and outbuildings – where there is some unexpectedly modern and luxurious accommodation in an attractively converted courtyard.

Virtually everything on the Ballinwillin breakfast table comes from the farm. The full Irish, for example, will include the famous venison or wild boar sausage, eggs from their hens, rashers and black and white puddings from their free range pigs. The full Irish doesn’t get any more Irish than that

Pat is a familiar figure at food events around the country and also sells his organically produced meats - which include pork and beef as well as the more exotic wild boar and venison - online.

As if their unusual farm produce wasn’t enough, Pat and Miriam also own the Chateau Mulcahy vineyard in Hungary, and another unexpected feature of Ballinwillin is a characterful old stone wine cellar, where they hold tastings (for group of six or more) and other events.

Ballinwillin offers a real rural holiday for both adults and families, with farm tours available (safe walking tracks) and guests welcome to ‘roam free with the deer’.

The Mulcahys’ claim to offer “a truly unique experience that combines luxurious accommodation, wine and artisan food” is no exaggeration - everything about Ballinwillin is surprising, especially so close to the centre of a large country town.

Other points of interest in the area include the Ballyhoura Food Fair, held at Kilmallock on Bank Holiday Mondays in summer.