Beauty of Connemara inspires mum to create bespoke gift boxes

A mum of two has used the inspiration of the Connemara landscape around her mobile home to create luxury gift boxes showcasing the best artisan crafts and foods from Galway. Kate O’Callaghan-Momberg dreamt up the business, Connemara Wine and Design Company, during lockdown when she swapped the bustle of life in Dublin and holidays spent travelling the world for a return to her homeplace in Corcullen, outside Moycullen, with her South African husband and two small girls.

She and Chris bought a mobile home in the Connemara Caravan and Camping Park on Lettergesh Beach outside Renvyle as a place to unwind with their daughters.

“I drive through the Inagh Valley to get there and it’s just breathtaking and I had this grá in me to showcase it. I’ve spent years and years travelling and I had a great time, don’t get me wrong, but then you become a mother which puts a halt to your gallop.

“Then Covid hit and I fulfilled a dream to have a mobile home. I used to go to my friend’s one there when I was young. It’s the simple life. Kids play all the time on the beach in the sand, the water, the muck, go for dinner in Paddy Coyne’s pub in Tullycross.”

With a background in finance and banking, Kate secured an exclusive contract to import wine from three boutique vineyards in South Africa, including one in the village of Barrydale in the Little Karoo region of the Stellenbosch where her in-laws have retired to.

As South African wines account for just 3% of what is sold in Ireland, she felt they would be perfect for her luxury boxes.

“These are very special wines, wines for a really special occasion. In fact the Kanu Pinotage was recommended by Aoife Carrigy in the Irish Independent as one of her top 50 wines last Christmas.”

The other gifts include a selection of crafts include candles, woodcrafts, pottery, and ceramics. Others contain handmade chocolates, oils, vinegars, honey and beauty products.

To source the goods, she went cold calling, reaching out to artists working in the Spiddal Craft Village and to Cian Magill of Magill Woodturning in Tuam, who learned his craft at the Letterfrack College of Furniture Design. He makes chocolate boards for some of the gift boxes.

The boxes, which can be custom-made for clients, have three themes - the Valley Range is a tribute to Connemara’s stunning Inagh Valley; the Mountain Range is inspired by Connemara’s Mweelrea – the highest peak in Connacht; the Seaward collection to the stunning Connemara coastline.

Pictured: Kate O’Callaghan-Momberg with her husband Chris on the beach near their mobile home in Lettergesh, Renvyle, which inspired her range of luxury gift boxes.