The Booley

A seasonal research space in West Cork designed to bring people together remembering traditions in food through a series of courses and events

Created to host courses and events to reconnect us to food traditions, the Booley honours the Irish transhumance tradition of moving cattle to upland pasture where herders lived with their animals, sheltering in a basic Booley where the beautiful summer milk was turned to butter and cheese.

This simple space has been brought back to life from dereliction where it was found on the grounds of an old seminary in Myross Wood, now looked after by CECAS. Over the summer of 2022 it was gutted and stripped with windows replaced and a new floor put in.

The key to the Booley is in its simplicity, as it is always a joy to remind people at the end of a course or event, that the space is actually completely off grid. It teaches us that all we really need to convert our landscape into food is just a shelter from the elements and the knowledge that we carry within ourselves. It serves as a place where we can reconnect to the imperilled traditions in food that have kept us alive for millennia, and it is a joy for Up There The Last to host these events and courses in such a suitable spot.