Community

Building Stronger Communities Together

At McAuliffe Farms, community is at the heart of everything we do. Whether it’s sharing knowledge, lending a hand, or protecting our natural surroundings, we believe strong rural communities are built through cooperation and shared values.

Shane McAuliffe is proud to serve as both the Public Relations Officer and Biodiversity Officer for the Castleisland and Knocknagoshel Tidy Towns groups. Through this volunteer work, Shane helps promote local biodiversity initiatives, supports sustainable practices, and encourages pride in our shared environment.

He strongly believes that farmers and Tidy Towns groups are natural allies—both are rooted in the land and committed to protecting it for future generations. Farmers can bring real insight and practical action to local Tidy Towns efforts—especially when it comes to sustainability and biodiversity.”

By working together, we can make our towns greener, our countryside healthier, and our communities stronger.

Growing Together: Farmers and Students

We are proud to work closely with local farmers by providing low-cost, pig manure as an alternative to chemical fertilliser. We also host regular Knowledge Transfer (KT) group meetings, where farmers come together to learn and share expertise on crucial topics like improving water quality, enhancing soil health, protecting biodiversity, and reducing emissions. These gatherings are not only valuable learning opportunities but also come with the added benefit of a €750 support payment from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for participating farmers.

We strongly believe in nurturing future talent and regularly host students on placement, particularly from Munster Technological University (MTU) and University College Dublin (UCD). These students spend several weeks on the farms, actively engaging in research trials and becoming part of the McAuliffe team. Their time with us provides hands-on experience in commercial pig farming, research, and data collection, contributing meaningfully to their education and to the wider industry. These students are in 3^rd year and subsequently have data collected from the research trials for their final year dissertations.