The Green Thread: Meeting the Makers Behind Irish Cheese

When we traveled to Ireland in June 2025, visiting cheesemakers was naturally part of the itinerary. We ended up visiting nine farms and creameries across the country, getting to know the people behind some of Ireland's most interesting artisan cheeses.

We met pioneering cheesemakers who helped establish Ireland's modern farmhouse cheese movement, families carrying on that work, and newer producers finding their own paths. We toured creameries, walked through pastures, tasted plenty of cheese, and heard stories about how these businesses came to be.

What stayed with me most was how often our conversations came back to the same things: family, the land, and the desire to build something worth passing on to the next generation. Different cheesemakers, different cheeses, but so much connecting them.

Those experiences inspired The Green Thread: The Makers Shaping Cheese in Ireland Today, an article I wrote and photographed for the Fall/Winter 2026 issue of culture: the word on cheese.

There's only so much room in a magazine, though, and I had a lot more I wanted to share from our visits! Below you'll find the published article, along with nine additional stories that take a closer look at each cheesemaker, including more of the conversations, photographs, and details from our time together.