These Little Piggies Are Going To Market

Tree’s a crowd… Angharad and Robin MON20APR26

t does feel slightly bonkers that, given that we’re all pretty crazy about our food around here, there hasn’t been a farmers market in years.

So, when a local genius named Senan Sexton had the idea of bringing together local producers and crafters at his tailor-made Glen Of The Downs location, it didn’t take long for his dance card to fill right up.

“Right from the first week Senan put the word out, there were people asking to be a part of it,” market manager Robin Marshall tells us when we swung by the sunny location this afternoon, sitting pretty beside the longstanding Glen Of The Downs garden centre, now Outdoor Living. “These are people who have been doing their own thing for years, bouncing to town halls, Christmas markets, whatever, but to have somewhere consistent, somewhere that’s going to be there every single Saturday, you got a real sense that this was what everyone was waiting for…”

And that everyone makes for a long and impressive list, with the line-up so far including organic meat and milk from Fiorbhia Farm, fresh fruit and veg from Fortune Farm, wood turning from Declan McCraith, leather craft and sheepskins from Turas, face painting and kids entertainment with Happy Faces, jams and chutneys from The Birds & The Teas, Skin care with Earth Magic, NYC cookies and beyond with Shauna’s Bakes & Cakes, Ogham signs and more with Celtic Faerie Crafts, luxury soy candles with Coyle & Co, watercolours with JB Fee Designs, ironmonger designs with NMI Design, sea glass, pebbles and stone art with Violine Sea Craft, 3D shadowboxes with Cottages By Candlelight, rotisserie chicken wraps and hot sandwiches from the Country Grill, Spanish gourmet from Vera Foods, resin botanical jewellery with Bosca Bandia, prints and cards from Storehouse Arts, artisanal lamps with Shorelight, artisinal shades with Lampshades By PT, artisinal yums with The Shepherd’s Pantry, paper crafts with Spark Real Joy, fresh and dried flowers with Flowers On Four Acres, yoga and wellness with Kula Yoga, wood-fired pizzas from Kilcoole’s Bosca Capaill, coffee with Pink Pony Café, and healthy yums with the incredible, very edible Dargle Honey.

“It’s going to be amazing to set up among the trees and all the stalls, in this wide open space,” says Angharad Costin, the brains and the limbs behind Kula Yoga. “Gathering beneath the canopy, each Saturday morning will include yoga led by myself, a deeply restorative breathwork session with Raj, and a forest bathing meditation with Nicola of Bré Reiki. Teachers will rotate bi-weekly, keeping each experience fresh while staying true to the heart of it. You can join for a single class for just €10 or the full morning for €25, booking available here.”

The market runs every Saturday from 11am to 5pm throughout the summer, and is very much a moveable feast, with its core 30 stalls being joined by newbies each week.

You can find out more about the Wicklow Village Farmers Market here, follow on Instagram here or Facebook here, and get in touch by electronic mail on [email protected].