Cheese Tours of Ireland

Ireland has gone through something of a cheese Renaissance in recent years. Along with microbrewers producing some fine ales and stouts, artisan cheese mongers have begun to produce multi-award-winning cheeses.

Browsing any relatively upmarket food store (Avoca, Fallon and Byrne) will land you amid a mouth-watering display of farmhouse cheeses from Sheridan’s Cheese Mongers to Glebe Brethan.

Even before you’ve made it to these over-priced food outlets, take a trip to one of the many local farmers markets, like the picturesque Killruddery House in Bray on the east coast, just south of Dublin city center. You can often find the delicious Wicklow Blue here, a delicate and gentle blue brie, crafted by John and Bernie Hempenstall in Wicklow’s countryside, where they also have their own creamery.

Sheridan’s Cheesemongers is one of the bigger players in the Irish artisan cheese game, and with good reason. They have received the Irish Food Writer’s Guild award, The Great Taste Award and many others. They boast a total offering of 56 blue, hard and soft artisan cheeses, as well as the notorious Wedding Cheesecake: A towering stack of cheeses chosen by the bridal couple, decorated to resemble a traditional wedding cake, later dissembled to serve as a cheeseboard.

The Tiernan family of Co. Louth developed award-winning Glebe Brethan cheeses, made from unpasteurized Montbeliarde cows’ milk at the family farm. Like all cows in Ireland, the cows of the Tiernan family graze daily on lush grass, which produces the superior dairy taste Ireland is known for. They’ve won nine prestigious awards since 2005 in both Ireland and the UK.

Their award-winning cheese is a “gruyere-type cheese” that after four months produces a “mellow, fruity and creamy” flavor. But Glebe Brethan is matured for up to 18 months, after which time you can expect more aromatic and spicy, nutty flavors.

There are many reasons to visit this beautiful island; the lush countryside, the friendly natives, the Wild West coast … but should you take the trip out, make sure to get your noses into some of the finest cheeses you’re likely to find, whether browsing a quaint farmers market or sourcing out a countryside creamery. You’ll surely see why Ireland’s status as a top cheese producer is only likely to grow.