Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair

Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair
Photo: Mary Sheehan

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Lightening Strikes 14 Times!!! (every Saturday till September!)


The Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair proudly announces the opening of the Lightening Strike Gallery. This unique art gallery presents the work of a different local artist on the Saturday of each week on the stage of the Russell Brothers Community Centre. The gallery hours will coincide with the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair, giving local residents and visitors an opportunity to view the work of local artists while visiting the Market.

The gallery has been developed to showcase the talents of artists from Clare and nearby areas. Paintings, drawings, photography, and mixed media work will be featured over the course of the summer. Some of the artists who will be featured include Kathy Sambrook, Vickie Lennie, Karl Hughes, and many more. Original art and prints will be available for sale. Admission is free.

The first exhibition will take place at the Grand Opening of the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair on Saturday, May 30th, from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m., and will feature the art of Corinna Schroeder-von Frihling. Hamburg-born Corinna studied ceramics, art and education in Kiel, Germany. After her marriage, she set up a private art school and gallery. She organised, together with her husband, numerous international exhibitions in public places and her own gallery. Since 1972 Corinna has shown her work in Germany, France, Belgium, Norway, Ireland and Canada, winning several awards in Germany. Her work is published in several books and exhibition catalogues. Corinna was a member of ‘Doolin Artists’ from 2000-2005.
Her work, based on reality, often goes a more surrealistic way. Her main techniques are etching and pastel.

For more information, or if you are an artist who wishes to be considered for an exhibition, contact Toby at doolinmarket@gmail.com.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Plant an extra row!

If you are planning a garden, why not plant an extra row of your favorite vegetable to sell at the Doolin Saturday Market? It will bring in a little extra cash for you and your family, and locals and visitors will benefit from having fresh local produce for sale at their doorstep!

All sorts of vegetables, herbs, salads, fruits, eggs, and other local produce are in demand. If you would like to have a table for your own produce, contact us for more information and an application form. If you have smaller quantities, or just don’t want to spend your Saturdays at the Market, we will arrange for the sale of your vegetables. Just contact us in advance to let us know what you plan to grow for the Market, and to make arrangements for its sale. Remember to stagger your planting so that you have something to sell throughout the summer!

The Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair will start its second season on Saturday May 30th, and will run through Saturday, August 29th at the Russell Community Centre in Doolin, on the road from the village to the Church. The Market combines the produce and foods of a traditional Farmers’ Market with the hand-made goods of a Craft Fair. With over 20 vendors, this market appeals to both local consumers, who benefit from having fresh, locally produced foods available on a weekly basis, and the visitor, who is looking for unique and authentic handcrafted items to take home from their visit to North Clare.

For more information, contact Toby at doolinmarket@gmail.com.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Doolin Christmas Market and Craft Fair!!!

Christmas lights are starting to appear around County Clare, and it is time to let you know about our plans for a special Christmas edition of the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair. This time, though, the Market will take place over a full weekend, on Saturday and Sunday,
the 13th and 14th of December from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Russell Community Centre (between the village and the church) in Doolin, County Clare.

The hall will be decorated and festive, and packed full of more vendors than ever, crowding into every nook and cranny of the Centre! Everyone loves fresh baked foods, and the Market will have loads of familiar and new faces baking cakes, cookies, cinnamon buns, and all kinds of goodies. Some of the baking will be done right there at the Market, and there will be Christmas puddings and cakes too (including a special vegan Christmas cake)! We also feature specialty foods that will give a lift to the menu when you are entertaining friends and family over the Christmas season, including olive oil, sauces, preserves, chutneys, honey, cheese, wine, and local fine foods. And to make your home feel festive, we have wreaths and flowers, greenery, and natural and handcrafted Christmas decorations!

Our craftspeople are back in full force, and are joined by new vendors for the Christmas Market. Clare is blessed with talented men and women who make beautiful things out of natural materials. We will have craftspeople at the Market with locally made leatherwork, cards, willow baskets, pottery, textiles, glass art, photography, jewellery, and woodwork. We also have a few collectors who have brought crafts and handmade instruments back from their travels in Asia, Africa, and South America.

As always, we will have coffee, tea and snacks available, and a relaxing café atmosphere in which to sit back and watch the goings-on while you take a break from browsing.

The Doolin Christmas Market and Craft Fair loves Christmas! And we especially love the return to old-fashioned values that the Christmas Market represents. We value handmade gifts, craftsmanship, old family recipes, personal service, homemade treats, fair prices, and a festive atmosphere! We hope to see you there!

Remember to log on to our blog at www.doolinmarket.blogspot.com. You can read all of our newsletters, leave comments, hear about upcoming events, and see photos of recent markets!
Thanks, too, for forwarding our Newsletter to your friends and family! We hope to see you soon!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the... in the... er...

Well, maybe we didn't have seasons in the sun, but nevertheless the season has come to an end!

The Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair will have its last day of the season this
Saturday, September 27th from 1 p.m.to 5 p.m. at the Russell Community Centre in Doolin. Some of the vendors will have end-of-season reductions, so don’t miss this chance to browse through this unique collection of handmade crafts and homemade foods for the last time this season!

The Market would like to thank all of our customers for steady support since we opened in June. The regular flow of enthusiastic locals and visitors through the weekly market has been gratifying, and has given the Market a great atmosphere!

The Market Committee would also like to thank all of the regular and occasional vendors who came to the Market each week and never lost their zeal, despite the early morning starts on Saturdays, and a lot of rainy days!

We look forward to seeing everyone again at the Doolin Christmas Market and Craft Fair, and when the Saturday Market resumes next season!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Announcing New Hours for September!

Sorry about the short notice on this! The Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair will have new hours for the month of September! Beginning this Saturday, September 6th, the Market will be open during the afternoons only, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. We expect these hours to be in place for the rest of the season, which finishes at the end of September.

The good news is that Christmas is coming soon! Maybe not for everyone, but craftspeople are already busy making homemade and handmade items for the Doolin Christmas Market and Craft Fair! And foodies are busy planning the special Christmas sweets and goodies they will have on offer! The Christmas Market will be held on Saturday and Sunday, the 13th and 14th of December, so mark your calendars! We are also accepting applications from vendors who would like to participate in the Christmas Market. Contact Toby at
doolinmarket@gmail.com for information!

Hope to see you Saturday, at our new time!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

New to the Market!

Good news! You can now buy local free range pork at the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair! Eva Hegarty has joined the Market, and in addition to providing roasts, chops and other cuts of pork, she brings delicious sausages made from the meat of her hand-raised pigs. The sausages are made by Justin Flannery of Gort, who uses traditional methods and seasonings to make sausages like Granny used to make, 90% meat, and with a mild and natural flavour. Delicious! Eva is originally from Finland, and married a local fella a few years ago. They breed and raise a small number of pigs on their smallholding in Kilfenora. Their pigs are healthy and happy, having free access to shelter and land to wander and forage on. This results in a tastier, better quality meat. Come taste samples!

With the addition of Eva to our Market, it is now possible to do your weekly shop here, buying Clare-produced meat, cheese, bread, vegetables, eggs, and baked goods! You can also avail of delicious home-made prepared foods, such as salads and salad dressings, oils and chutneys, chocolate covered strawberries, home-made ice cream, curries, chilli, and fresh orange juice.

Someone else who has been attracting a lot of attention lately, both from locals and visitors, is photographer Leslie Flynn. Leslie has been living in and photographing North Clare for over 30 years, and almost all of the photographs he displays are taken within walking distance of the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair! Leslie has a remarkable eye, and using traditional film techniques (with no digital enhancement!!), he captures points of view that make people see their surroundings anew, and develop fresh appreciation for the beauty of the land and people around us here everyday! We often see a few people gathered around his stall looking closely at photos and asking him where it was taken, or who is the familiar-looking person in the photo! Sometimes these discussions lead right down memory lane, or sometimes to a brand new discovery of a near-by place not seen before!

Mary Sheehan’s Cookery Demonstration was a great success! So, she’s going to do it again! This week, Mary will again take over the O’Gorman Room at the Market at 1p.m.to demonstrate simple easy ways to combine fresh local foods with some ingredients we don’t often see in Irish cooking, but which are now becoming readily available. Some people are surprised to learn that Mary is not herself a vegetarian, because her cookbook emphasises ways to cook with vegetables, grains, and dairy products. These recipes are fantastic for vegetarians, or people who wish to eat less meat. But Mary is quick to point out that many of her dishes are equally good when sharing the menu with meat dishes! Mary will demonstrate some additional recipes this week. Again, the Cookery Demonstration is free, but sign-up is recommended as space is limited. You can sign up at the Market, or by emailing us at
doolinmarket@gmail.com. You can learn more about Mary’s new book, “Coming Home to Cook” on her website at www.marysheehan.com.

One of our favourite stallholders is spinner and weaver Mairead Sharry, from Inisheer, whom we told you about in our first newsletter. Now you can see Mairead in action from the comfort of your own home! A visitor videotaped Mairead at the Market a few weeks ago, and posted the tape on YouTube! You can search Mairead Sharry, Doolin Market on YouTube, or follow this link to view it:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YIp4CQoiOtw.

See you Saturday!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

I scream, You scream, We all scream, for ICE CREAM!!!



Welcome again to the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair Newsletter!

Yes, fresh, homemade ice cream is now featured at the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair! Made in small batches by an ice cream lover at Kilmoon, Lisdoonvarna, two flavours are available each week. Come early though -- this is a local favourite and sells out quickly!

This week, at 1 p.m., we are featuring a Cookery Demonstration by local chef and author Mary Sheehan. Mary is currently touring Ireland promoting her book, “Coming Home to Cook”, featuring recipes inspired by the organic gardens of Ireland. Mary is originally from a big Irish-American family in Brockton, Massachusetts. She moved to County Clare last year to live and work in the Burren. Here, and on her cousin’s farm in West Cork, Mary was stimulated by the countryside, the traditions, and the simple fresh ingredients she saw in everyday Irish cooking. Having 30 years experience of professional cooking, Mary was inspired to write a cookbook to show the many ways that fresh local ingredients can come together in simple, healthy, and delicious ways. Her cookery demonstration will show how easy it is to use local ingredients, some sourced on the day from the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair, to create healthy, low-fat, interesting meals, ! Some of her recipes are dairy and gluten free. This event is free, but sign-up is recommended as space is limited. You can sign up at the Market, or by contacting us at
doolinmarket@gmail.com. You can learn more about Mary’s book and recipes on her website at www.marysheehan.com.

This week we are joined at the Market by our latest stallholder, Kate Harrin, from Miltown Malbay. Kate brings a selection of local cheeses to the Market, including award-winning St. Tola goat cheeses from Inagh, some beautiful herbed and plain goudas from Kilshanny Cheese, and a cheddar-style Mount Callan cheese made of raw summer milk from cows on the Ennistymon farm of Michael and Lucy Hayes. Kate also provides semi-dried tomatoes, olives, and a variety of Mediterranean-inspired delicacies. Buy some of Kate’s cheese, and a loaf of homemade bread from one of our bakers, and take your lunch away with you for your journey! Kate also brings fresh local vegetables and herbs from her garden in Miltown Malbay.

The Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair is held every Saturday from 10 until 4 at the Russell Community Centre (between the village and the church) in Doolin, County Clare. Remember to log on to our blog at
www.doolinmarket.blogspot.com. You can read all of our newsletters, leave comments, hear about upcoming events, and see photos of recent markets!

As always, we appreciate all the emails we’ve gotten with your comments and questions! If you would like more information, or want to get in touch with us, email Toby at
doolinmarket@gmail.com.

Thanks, too, for forwarding our Newsletter to your friends and family! We hope to see you soon!