In Pictures: Heritage comes alive at Rossnowlagh Farmers Market

Heritage Week comes alive at Rossnowlagh Farmers Market. Click on the arrows to see a gallery of photos of the event:

Rossnowlagh Farmers Market has, for over a year now, been more than just a place to do the weekly shop. 

Every Friday from ten until one, it brings together producers, crafters, musicians and neighbours in a way that keeps skills alive and the community connected. Last week, as part of Heritage Week, that spirit was firmly on display.

The market was busy as usual. Shoppers strolled from stall to stall, baskets filling with the best of local Irish produce: new-laid eggs, loaves of soda and wheaten bread, bags of just-dug spuds, fresh salad leaves, apple tarts still warm from the oven, buttery scones, focaccia scented with rosemary. For many, the market is not only a chance to buy quality food directly from local producers, but also a weekly opportunity to support livelihoods in the area and to meet with others from the community.

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Alongside the food and crafts, the market continues to focus on community wealth building. This goes beyond trade alone: it is about supporting local enterprise, keeping resources in the area, and giving producers, crafters and performers a space to share and develop their skills each week. 

It also plays an important social role by connecting people, helping to reduce isolation, and providing a regular place to meet and chat. Heritage Week underlined this ethos, showing how farming, craft, music and dance remain central to the identity and resilience of local communities. Farmers markets have a vital role to play in sustaining those traditions, offering a space where skills can be demonstrated, passed on and kept relevant.

As part of the Heritage Week celebrations, PPP Forge brought a blacksmith and Ireland’s last working coppersmith to the market, giving demonstrations of skills rarely seen today. Crowds gathered to watch as hot iron was hammered into shape, a reminder of the importance of keeping these trades alive. 

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Tom Delaney (@theouldcrafty) worked willow into the frame of a currach while nearby, Eoin Reardon (@eoinreardon_) shaped a hand-crafted oar. Two skills. Side by side. Each depending on the other. 

Ciara (@She.Weaves.Willow) drew plenty of interest with her basket making, even finishing off a handle for one customer as they waited. 

Kristeen Lila Ceramics displayed handmade pottery inspired by the movement of waves, while Ken presented his woodwork, from trinket boxes to bottle carriers. @Oceanweavehandmade demonstrated crochet, and Bek kept busy spinning yarn.

Music and dance added to the atmosphere, with Oisín and Micheál McGrath, fresh from success at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, entertaining the crowd with traditional tunes. The Dominican School of Irish Dance followed, with five young dancers performing against the backdrop of the Rossnowlagh dunes.

For the youngest visitors, the weekly free MAD Yolks programme continued as usual, led by Sorcha. The session, aimed at under-fives, combines movement, arts and drama to encourage creativity and confidence, while also introducing children to heritage in a fun and engaging way.

Heritage Week shines a spotlight on traditions and culture across Ireland, but Rossnowlagh Farmers Market shows how they thrive when rooted in everyday life. Heritage is more than entertainment for a single week in August. It is skill, craft, tradition, and a lifetime of knowledge carefully learned and passed on. A blacksmith’s hammer, a willow weaver’s basket, a currach frame taking shape. These are not performances. They are livelihoods and legacies.

While Heritage Week gives cause to celebrate, it is not celebration alone that keeps heritage alive. What sustains it are the regular opportunities to practise, share and hand down those skills. Farmers markets like Rossnowlagh provide that space: week in and week out, they connect makers and growers with their community, create value that stays local, and keep traditions relevant for the next generation.

Rossnowlagh Farmers Market may be a weekly event, but last Friday was a reminder that heritage is not just about the past. It is about sustaining craft, culture and community in the present. 

Ní neart go cur le chéile.