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The Burren, County Clare, is a landscape unlike any other. The gray, chalky karst topography formed beneath the sea and then pushed upward, sculpted by a collision of tectonic plates to form a limestone lunar terrain that today supports an extremely diverse and unique ecosystem.
It is a solitary place, of striking beauty, which makes the visitor think. Atop a plateau, along a steep, winding road lined with hand-built stone walls, a bright red gate marks the entrance to Summerage. It’s a restored and revitalized 32-acre farm – a dedicated escape to the “slow life” in the heart of the Burren.
Summerage is the third movement in a slow trilogy expressing founder Aoibheann MacNamara’s unique vision of life. In 2001, MacNamara opened Ard Bia coffee in his hometown, the heritage town of Ardara, County Donegal, serving healthy and original cuisine. An avid traveler, she used local ingredients and introduced combinations and ideas collected during her many travels. In 2003, she moved the cafe to Galway, where, under chef Thomas Corrigan, it is an award-winning restaurant with a slow-food ethos. But more than that, it is a cultural center and a friendly place where the people of Galway can gather, eat and chat. She brought a different style of cooking to Galway and was at the forefront of the city’s culinary revival. In 2014, MacNamara also launched The Tweed Projecta slow fashion brand using Irish tweed and linen, with her friend, costume designer Triona Lillis. All her clothes are made in Galway.
The name Summerage is a play on the old traditional movement of cattle, unique to the Burren, called wintering. Unlike the transhumance practiced in many countries, farmers in the Burren move their livestock from the greener plains to the karst hills for the winter. Here the limestone, acting as a giant storage heater, keeps the livestock warm and, in turn, it maintains a symbiotic relationship with the land, clearing out shrubs and allowing space and light for the diverse flora of more than 1,100 species.
MacNamara connected with a community of like-minded people – teachers, farmers, gardeners and artisan builders – who came together to revive Summerage. Mark Earley from OpenHive created the Irish wild bee apiary. The Gáirdín Bia (vegetable garden) complements Ard Bia’s cuisine with vegetables and is tended by Ciara Parsons, a teacher at the nearby Common Knowledge construction school. MacNamara has entrusted his pastures to a local farmer (who is also his stonemason) for winter storage.
It now has a new oak forest growing in the valley below the plateau as part of a carbon offset program (Catch my carbon) and works closely with Burrenbeo Trust and Seed Savers on biodiversity. “It’s important to do things right,” she says, “the way it was done in the past, the way it worked best.” Without a power grid, rainwater harvesting is essential, although she has tapped a spring in a limestone fissure to obtain fresh water that fills the tanks of one of the latrines. The valley is also home to a large grove of hazel trees which grow through and around the ruins of 19th century famine houses. Here the climate is completely different, and when the wind howls on the plateau, the valley remains calm and protected.
The cottage on the plateau is a conversion of an original farmhouse and was designed by eco-architect Mike Haslam of Haslam & Co with a traditional yet contemporary feel. Its Icelandic-inspired red roof takes on a modern look with its dark gray lime-rendered walls, somewhat inspired by the tar houses of Dungeness.
The interiors are comfortable and uncluttered with touches of red and yellow. “I was hugely inspired by my friend Irenie Cossey, an Irish designer based in London at Irenie Studio. His bold use of color and incredible understanding of interior design and structure gave me the confidence to be bolder – bolder than usual,” she says with a laugh. “Le Corbusier was also a source of inspiration; I like his reds and yellows, but not so much his greens and blues. Hints of modernism are visible in furniture such as the wire Eames chairs from Vitra. Maison Empereur de Marseille is the originator of many household items such as household linen and kitchen knives.
When I ask MacNamara what she wants Summerage to offer, she says, “I’d like it to be a place where people can turn inward. Many places offer activities like forest bathing, yoga, etc. Outdoor activities, for busy people who just can’t stop and therefore continue to be busy. It’s not like that here.
She explains: “As I get older, I want great simplicity in my travels. I want space, the opportunity to truly step away from my life and come down. The bottom line is that visitors (it sleeps four people) will have 32 acres to be alone, they will have total exclusivity, no one will come except the beekeeper maybe once a month.
“People can stock up on good food at the local Ennistymon Market, sourdough at Hugo’s Bakery in Lahinch and oysters from Flaggy Shore (from the poem ‘Postscript’ by Seamus Heaney). They can pick vegetables from the garden if they wish and enjoy cooking work. We will give them small jobs, like tending the garden, if they feel like it, a bit in the Buddhist way, and if you don’t do it, that’s okay too.
As we sit in the greenhouse with the door open and it’s cool outside, drops of condensation fall on the tomatoes, making MacNamara smile. It’s a place to stroll, to stand in the gentle rain, to lean into the wind, to pause and notice. Sit by the stove, read a book or not, and feel your presence in the world.
Summerage is available for weekly rental from November 4, ardbia.com
