O’Briens Butchers in Kilkenny has served as an exemplary model of the traditional family butcher since it first opened its doors in 1980, having carved out a renowned reputation in the locality for providing high quality, farm-to-fork meat, direct from their abattoir in Bonnetsrath.

Farmers by trade, Gerry O’Brien opened his first shop in Loughboy shopping centre on November 20, 1980, before opening his second branch in Market Yard, the heart of Kilkenny city, seven years later, both of which remain open and prosperous today.

O’Brien has attributed this success to the quality of their meat, which is crucially produced locally on their farm outside Kilkenny city, as well as the expertise available at the shops by their professionally trained butchers on hand, which is often lacking at the supermarket.

Speaking about their accomplishments, founder, Gerry O’Brien said: “I suppose our biggest asset is the quality. We kill our own stock in the abattoir and we rear our own cattle and I have brothers that rear cattle for us as well.

“The smaller butcher gives better quality, it’s all sourced locally, and then they give a good service as the butcher knows what he’s talking about whereas the supermarkets mainly sell off the shelf now, so there’s nobody to talk to about how to cook the meat or what’s the best cut to get.”

A family affair, Gerry runs the business alongside his son James, who joined the business in 1996 before taking over the reigns in 2016, while his brothers also rear cattle to supply the business.

While many of their counterparts folded over the last few years in the face of stiff competition from retail giants, the O’Briens have gone from strength to strength, expanding and diversifying operations.

In 2017, the father and son duo extended their Loughboy premises threefold to increase their product range for sale.

This extension included a brand new kitchen, where three full-time and one part-time chef have since been employed to produce a host of ready made, pre packed meals, using the meat from the butchers as the primary ingredients.

Having been in the butcher trade for over 44 years, O’Brien has also observed a number of changes in consumer demand and consumption habits and over the years.

Traditional family butcher

“Previously, we would have sold everything on the bone. Nowadays, people want everything boneless, they want smaller portions and they want less waste. Especially now with the turkeys.

“Most turkeys are deboned and rolled, and they just buy a breast of turkey, deboned and stuffed, they even want the legs taken off the turkeys so they’ll just cook the crown.

“Meat generally has changed a lot too, it’s all boneless strip lines, round roasts and a lot of lean steak mince too. Fillet steak is popular even though it’s expensive and mince is a good seller as well because people make their own lasagna.

“We have also changed to pre-packed meat in the shop so people can just pick up whatever they want more conveniently, which forms a third of our sales, while the remaining two thirds are over the counter based,” O’Brien said.

He also remarked on the extensive range of meats for sale in the butchers which cannot be found elsewhere, including a variety of offal as well as an up and coming favourite, osso buco, which is veal shank from the shin of the animal, first popularised in Italy.

O’Brien has also noted a change in their customer profile, with a lot of more repeat custom from younger individuals keen on supporting the business’s farm-to-fork model.

As for the future of the industry, O’Brien believes the matter of succession is the greatest risk to the preservation of the traditional family butchers.

“That’s the problem, that there’s no successor. I’m lucky as I have James, but a lot of butchers have no children interested, so the older butchers are dying out and they have no young children coming in to take over, because it’s not a simple job,” he said.

While Gerry O’Brien has made a name for himself in supplying excellent quality meat, his good-humored and approachable manner has also helped him secure a legion of loyal customers.

“Oh, well, it’s a pleasure dealing with customers you know, the ladies are very pleasant and easy to deal with, so that’s one lesson I’ve learned, we won’t complain about the ladies,” he said with a smile.

Traditional family butcher

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