St Tola Goat’s Cheese

The one farmhouse cheese which has made its way – and created its reputation – beyond the borders of the county is St Tola, now made by John McDonald, a delightful engineer-turned-cheesemaker, who continues the great tradition of goat’s cheese making begun almost 25 years ago by Meg and Derrick Gordon.

The cheese is sold as the traditional fresh, soft goat’s cheese and also in a mature, hard form when it is sold at about 6 weeks old. Do search for the little crottins they make also, and note that you can follow the signs for the St Tola farm which you will see on the road between Inagh and Ennistymon, and buy some cheese from the cheese-making factory itself. John and his team also sell the cheese at local markets such as Ennis on Sunday, Kilkee on Saturday and Ennistymon on Tuesday.

(Inagh, Co Clare, Tel: (065) 683 6633, saint.tola@iol.ie)