From Tipperary fields to the Applefest table
Harvest Hooley at the Railway Bar
From beef reared just outside Clonmel to barley grown for Tipperary whiskey, this year’s Clonmel Applefest is celebrating the people and places behind our food.
At the Harvest Hooley on Saturday, September 26 at the Railway Bar, James Whelan Butchers will supply beef from cattle reared at Garrantemple, just outside Clonmel, for the hearty stew served on the night.
The night before, Jennifer Nickerson of Tipperary Boutique Distillery will host a whiskey tasting at the Donoughmore Club, sharing the distillery’s field-to-bottle story, from barley grown on the family farm in Grange outside Clonmel through to distillation and maturation.
Friday also brings the screening of Catherine Cleary’s The Forest Midwife which retells her story of reforesting a large stretch of land in county Roscommon.
The film will be followed by a conversation with Roz Purcell, who grew up on her family farm in Killurney, has her own area of woodland and has spoken publicly about the recent fires on Slievenamon.
On Sunday, the festival turns to the future of farming with a screening of Haven Worley’s Irish Farmers: A Love Story, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Dr Alan Moore of Hedgerows Ireland.
The panel brings together farmers and food producers including Ailbhe Gerrard of Brookfield Farm, Rathkeevan farmer Daniel Long, Jennifer Nickerson and South Tipperary organic farmer and chef Alice Devine.
Food and land also come together at Sunday’s free River Field Day on the Suir.
More than 120kg of apples have already been gathered during Applefest’s volunteer apple-tree care sessions and saved for pressing on the day.
Families can also enjoy arts and crafts, a children’s pop-up café and treasure hunt, alongside a full afternoon of activities at the Greenane Blueway below the Convent Bridge.
Bring your own apples (or your neighbours’) and some clean bottles too, and have them pressed into fresh juice to take home.
Across the weekend, the events offer a chance to eat, taste and talk about something deeply rooted in Tipperary: where our food comes from, who produces it and the land that supports it.
Clonmel Applefest runs from September 24 to 27, 2026.
The full programme and tickets are available on www.clon melapplefest.ie