Blas Fingal's Food Heritage

In Fingal we have strong tradition of horticultural, farming and fishing. Our food heritage encompasses everything from grandparent’s recipes, cooking and utensils, traditional ways of farming and fishing, to folklore, the famine, and fieldnames.

BLAS, Fingal’s Food Heritage project will explore, record and share traditions, attitudes, beliefs, and practices that surround how we produce and consume food and introduce different food traditions to new audiences.

As part of the project, we’re gathering food memories, photos, and recipes from the community to share on a digital Storymap  celebrating food heritage as part of our social history.

Visit the Blas Storymap at https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7bdfb82673904a2293793710bdbd0402

If you have something to add please contact us at  [email protected]  

Teacher Resources for Primary School

Primary school teachers in Fingal are invited to take part in the Blas project by using the Blas lesson plans to explore our strong local traditions of horticultural, farming and all things food related. The lesson plans include curriculum links, learning outcomes, a teacher’s guide, pupil activity sheets, photos, video and audio resources for use in class

The ‘Big House’

Fingal’s heritage properties or “the Big Houses” such as Malahide Castle, Ardgillan Castle and Newbridge have an association with the counties food heritage that goes beyond fine dining rooms and elaborate recipes. The story of food at the Big Houses offers an insight not only into what previous generations of the households there were eating, but also the role in historic houses and demesnes played in food production in Fingal, and the associated social history of the people that worked in them.

Join curator Cathal Dowd-Smith for a unique insight into the food heritage of Newbridge House Demesne in the video below.

Join Head Gardener Dominica McKevitt and local historian Dr Cora McDonagh in the walled gardens of Ardgillan Castle in the video below.