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Photo Story of the Week: This Tuesday Kevin Balanda returns to West Cork.

Dairy farming in Ireland; an industry built on small intergenerational family farms

Although in decline, there are approximately 16,000 family-owned dairy farms in Ireland. The average size of an Irish dairy farm is around 34 hectares and the average herd size is around 98 cows. The vast majority of Irish dairy output arises from these small family farms; they are still the backbone of Ireland’s substantial dairy industry (2023/2024).

These photographs were taken on a trip to one of the incredibly scenic peninsulas in West Cork. The farmhouse shares some stone walls with the farm buildings; indicating just how intertwined family life and the family farm were.

Although work in these farm buildings has long stopped; they are not atypical of the many farms still operating across remote Ireland. Each retains its uniqueness; not only in the details of their physical appearance but, more importantly, in the stories they tell about the people who inhabit the wild terrains of West Cork and Ireland.

I posted some of these photos on Facebook and was delighted to receive comments from several people. They were all cousins whose parents had grown up in the farmhouse. Their parent’s generation, dating back to the early 20th century, comprised ten siblings. Many of their children still lived in the local area or were still involved in farming.

One should perhaps not romanticise rural life; it was and remains a tough life. But the people who contacted me had many happy memories. These farm buildings and the farmhouse may be old but the stories they could tell are timeless.

Although many of these stories are quite sad, they are part of the beauty of wilds of West Cork and Ireland.

 

Photographic specifications: The photos in this montage used various focal lengths and exposure settings. All were edited in Lightroom.

© Kevin Balanda

 

This story / page is available in: German