When Richard and Sheila Galvin decided to walk away from sugar beet and conventional farming in the mid-1990s, Portlaw in County Waterford was not yet on anyone’s artisan food map. That was, in many ways, exactly the point. Richard took over the family farm at Clashganny in 1996, made the shift to organic, and set the first apple trees in the orchard in 2001. Twenty-five years on, those early decisions have grown into something remarkable: twenty acres, twenty thousand trees, and one of the most quietly impressive artisan food operations in the south east.
From Orchard to Bottle
The apples — primarily the Jonared variety, known for its crispness and depth of flavour — are grown without chemicals or pesticides, certified organic by the Organic Trust. For nearly two decades, Clashganny supplied eating apples to loyal customers across the country, while also growing organic oats for Flahavan’s and oilseed rape for Second Nature Oils. A farm genuinely embedded in the Irish organic food system.
Then, in 2018, Sheila and Richard spotted something. Public interest in apple cider vinegar was growing fast, and Irish-made versions were almost nonexistent on shop shelves. They also had surplus apples — fruit that didn’t meet the eating grade but was perfectly suited to fermentation. The result: Clashganny Organic Farm 100% Irish Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Raw, unfiltered, made entirely from their own fruit. No water added. No sugar. Nothing that shouldn’t be there.
Why It Matters
The Irish apple cider vinegar market is dominated by imported products, many made from concentrate. Clashganny’s is different in the most straightforward way possible: every bottle is traceable to a specific orchard in County Waterford. That transparency — knowing exactly where your food comes from and who grew it — is something the Galvins have built their entire business around.
It’s now available at Ardkeen Quality Food Store in Waterford, stocked through the SuperValu Food Academy programme, and finding its way into health-conscious Irish kitchens nationwide. For anyone already familiar with apple cider vinegar’s uses in the kitchen — in dressings, marinades, or simply diluted in water in the morning — the Clashganny version is a straightforward upgrade.
This is a farm that didn’t start making vinegar because it was trending. They started because they had the apples, the knowledge, and the conviction.
Clashganny Organic Farm is based near Portlaw, Co. Waterford. Their apple cider vinegar is available at Ardkeen Quality Food Store and through the SuperValu Food Academy. Find them at cgof.ie.
