With 30 paintings ready to go to a gallery exhibition, and tours to organise on the 10th generation family farm on Inis Mór island – where he keeps beef cows and sells weanling calves/stores – Cyril Ó Flaithearta draws on a variety of resources.
The highly fragmented farm – with up on 80% of its area within a special area of conservation (SAC) – runs from one side of the island, to the other.
Active management sees Cyril and his family maintain the species-rich grasslands, conserve and rebuild stone walls, control encroaching scrub and continue the Burren’s traditional winterage management system.
The May Farming for Nature ambassador also adopts improvements in animal breeding and nutrition, to improve the agricultural output of the farm on an ongoing basis, with help from his wife Fionnuala when she isn’t teaching, and their daughter Aoibhinn (11). Their two sons are currently working on the mainland.
“Island farming is very different. We don’t have the same intensive system with grazing – we work very much on the same system as the Burren and we grow our own vegetables,” Cyril said.
“Farming here is pastoral. There is a lot of maintenance work to be done and a hell of a lot of walls. The farm is disjointed and constant upkeep is required, but it keeps you fit.
“We produce a good quality animal that does very well once they go to mainland feeding. We don’t have a vet on the island which can be very tough but we do have people who are gifted with animals,” he said.
Cyril was a participant in the AranLIFE project, an EU LIFE funded project that worked with farmers to improve the quality of priority habitats, running from 2014 to 2018.
He is also involved in the new Caomhnú Árann project, which aims to protect and restore priority habitat on the Aran islands at lower costs and greater efficiency, through the exploration and development of innovative methods of habitat management and conservation.
His knowledge of the island’s archaeology is put to good use with Aran Walking and Cycling Tours, where he hosts walking tours on the islands and his farm, organising visits to historic monuments and highlighing flora and fauna.
Picturesque painter
As an artist, he highlights his attachment to both the cultural and local landscape. His landscapes are popular with tourists and his abstract works are sold through galleries. He currently has two years’ work ready to go to a gallery.
“At the moment, my influences are early monastic life,” said Cyril, who often takes off four to five days at a time to go to uninhabited islands off the west coast for inspiration, with a tent and a gas cooker in tow. His son, Fionn, combines art with his teaching career.
Having done a lot of work on the farm over the past 25 years, Cyril is hopeful that one of his children will take over the farm. “I hope that they will think this is a good place to live but you’ve got to be able to turn your hand to other options outside of farming.”
“We have a very good quality of life and Covid reinforced that. It brought people back to nature although they may forget that very quickly,” he concluded.