Summerhill Farm: Hereford, Aberdeen Angus and Belted Galloway, raised on grass near Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny

Hereford, Aberdeen Angus and Belted Galloway, raised on grass

Mark Williams

Summerhill is the Williams family’s farm, near Thomastown in the valley of the Nore. Mark is a sixth-generation farmer, and the third generation of his family here.

Three old breeds, Hereford, Aberdeen Angus and Belted Galloway, are out on grass for most of the year. Mark picks each animal himself. When one leaves the farm, he goes with it to the abattoir and makes sure it isn’t held waiting. He oversees the butchery too.

He has supplied Irish restaurants since the 1990s, and in 2022 he was named Local Food Hero for Leinster at the Irish Restaurant Awards.

More about Mark

Cattle grazing in ground mist beneath old trees

The herd

Three old British breeds, all of them at home outdoors

Plate I Hereford From Herefordshire A red coat and a white face. Quiet, hardy cattle that do well on grass.Meet the breed

Plate II Aberdeen Angus From Aberdeenshire and Angus Solid black, and naturally without horns. Known for the fine marbling through the lean.Meet the breed

Plate III Belted Galloway From Galloway, in south-west Scotland A white belt and a double coat against the wind and rain. They grow slowly and do well on rough grazing.Meet the breed

A year in the valley

The herd is out on grass for most of the year.

Spring
Hawthorn out, and new grass coming.
Summer
Long days in the fields.
Autumn
Blackberries on the hedges; the days drawing in.
Winter
Frost in the valley.

In the valley of the Nore

Summerhill is near Thomastown, where the Nore runs down from Kilkenny towards Inistioge. Butcher, on the Butterslip in Kilkenny, is fourteen kilometres away.

The land