Farm Walk at Spa Cottage

Both organic and nature-friendly, Spa Cottage Organic Farm has a sulphur well that is historically renowned for its healing properties. This 200-acre farm has been in the McManus family for three generations and the Spa Cottage can be traced back to the 1700s.

The farm is home to the remains of a long established native forest full of the herbs and plants that are synonymous with Ireland's ancient woodlands. Both within this forest and along the hedgerows, there is a plethora of hazel that feeds and sustains the red squirrels that live there.

Yvonne Browne and Michael McManus see themselves as custodians of the land for both past and future generations. They have set up Spa Cottage Publishing, a venture that builds on their belief that stories from the farm and the land are what pull communities together.

On this Farm Walk, we will explore the Spa Well, its historic links to medicinal healing and its current role in farm enterprise diversification. Michael will explain how water from the well is used in their line of Spa Cottage skincare products. Michael will also demonstrate how fruits from the land are made into wines and how rush seeds are harvested to produce rush bread.

Anna Macleod is a visual artist based in Leitrim. Her work mediates complex ideas associated with contemporary, historical and cultural understandings of land and water through a variety of visual art media.

‘Water Conversations’ is the overarching title for an evolving series of works, projects, public actions and installations developed through a critical engagement with archival material, fieldwork and community collaboration. The site-responsive works involve collaboration with a broad spectrum of human and non-human participants: materials, histories, landscapes, ecologies, cultural objects and meteorological phenomena.

For the Farm Walk at Spa Cottage Organic Farm, Anna will be sharing some of her research on Holy Wells as sites of cultural heritage and community health and wellbeing.

As part of the Creative Ireland Shared Island Programme, Leitrim County Council and The Dock are working with Leitrim Sustainable Agriculture Group and Ulster Wildlife to present a series of six creative Farm Walks curated by Natalia Beylis throughout 2024.

As part of each Farm Walk, farmers will lead a talk about their farm, current practices and future plans alongside a talk by an invited artist whose work resonates with that farm, its environment, heritage and other special characteristics.

The project draws attention to the synergies and common interests between artists and farmers and highlights common farming, environmental and creative interests in such themes as biodiversity, farming in harmony with nature, water quality and climate action. This project builds on the partnership between the project partners, farmers and artists - fostering goodwill, friendship and collaboration.