Tunnel vision sees Galway restaurant step up to the plate
Lifestyle - Judy Murphy meets Joe and Margaret Bohan who have taken to growing their own food to ensure freshness on table
The sound of birdsong fills the air as dusk falls on Joe and Margaret Bohans’ eight-acre field in Clooniff, Moycullen. Just inside the gate is a massive 100-foot by 30-foot polytunnel which will play a key role in their ongoing plans for a farm-to-plate restaurant.
The Bohans, who own the popular Dela in Galway City’s Dominick Street, have long harboured a desire to supply the 50-seater restaurant with home-grown vegetables and salad leaves. Up to now, they had been producing herbs and leaves for Dela courtesy of their kitchen garden, but this polytunnel takes matters to a whole new level.
And, in what is nothing short of an idyllic rural setting just a few miles from the city, Margaret is also contemplating setting up a River Cottage style restaurant.
The proposed Galway to Clifden Greenway will run just behind this land, making it a perfect destination for a country restaurant, she feels.
Joe grew up across the road and this field is owned by his family. He and Margaret and their two children live just a few hundred yards away, making it possible to combine their work and home life.
As she outlines their vision, Margaret points to an old farm shed that will become a micro-brewery for their cottage restaurant – Joe already makes his own craft beer.
But there are more urgent plans. In a couple of weeks, the couple will plant this entire field, so that Dela can develop further as a farm-to-table venue.
Enterprising is a word that could have been coined for Margaret, whose enthusiasm is matched by her warmth.
She and Joe first discussed the idea of a restaurant and garden while walking the Camino five years ago, when Margaret spotted a happy-looking woman working in a garden in the sunshine.
Lots of people have similar dreams, but don’t follow up on them. Margaret does.
“You have to drive it forward and make it happen,” she says simply.
The Bohans opened Dela nearly four years ago and it’s gained a reputation for excellent food and beers, being especially popular for brunch.
On the evening we meet, Margaret had worked front-of-house in Dela until lunch finished. Then she adjourned to the polytunnel, where she spent three hours planting out seedlings and weeding.
Dressed in leggings, sweatshirt and boots and free of make-up, this casual Margaret is far removed from her front-of-house role in Dela.
But she loves the contrast.
“I’m half gardener, half front-of-house. No – I’m three-quarters gardener,” she says with a laugh. “I just love coming down here with a cup of tea in my hand.”
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.