Siobhan Ni Ghairbhith runs St. Tola at Inagh Goat Farm, just south of the beautiful Burren area in Co. Clare. St. Tola was originally founded by Meg and Derrick Gordon when they began making St Tola in the Burren in 1978, primarily as a means of making a living out of their 25-acre holding. All the milk used came from their own herd. Meg had picked up cheese making skills during her time in Normandy, whilst Derrick, as former tea-plantation manager, was no stranger to hard agricultural work. This formidable combination allowed the couple to make a success of their business. Some twenty years later their neighbour, Siobhan Ni Ghairbhith, interested in learning the cheesemaker’s art, began to take lessons from Meg. A year later Meg handed over the running of the business to Siobhan, who took charge of the herd and relocated production to a purpose-built cheesemaking facility on the her parent’s family farm, a short distance away. These days the St. Tola range includes crottins, logs, hard cheeses, Greek style cheese and a soft cream cheese.
