Northern Irish farm beef attracts top Irish retailer

A Northern Irish family farm specialising in premium beef has won business from one of the Republic of Ireland's high-end retailers.

Castlescreen Farm, which is based at Downpatrick in county Down, is now supplying premium steak, gourmet burgers and beef sausages to the Avoca store in Belfast in what is its first retail business.

The family farm specialises in pedigree Dexter beef products which it has been selling successfully at farmers' markets across Northern Ireland for almost two years.

Castlescreen is now supplying its Big Beef branded products, including 35-day dry- aged sirloin steak along with burgers and sausages made with 96 percent pure beef from its 70-strong herd fed predominantly on pasture land clover, to Avoca.

"We were delighted when Avoca decided to include our products," says Damian Tumelty, who owns Castlescreen Farm. "The lead that led to the business came from another local farm business that's supplying Avoca; Andrew Gilmore of Springmount Free Range Eggs.

"Our steak is produced exclusively from our own Dexter herd. Our burgers and sausages are made without rusks, fillers or preservatives and are primarily meat," he continues. "Our cows are raised on rich pasture without artificial fertilsers or pesticides.

"We make sure they're at home in some of the best pasture land Ireland has to offer, enjoying fresh grass and the free range life all year round. What we don't do is add anything unnatural or use intensive farming methods," he says.

The Michelin starred OX Restaurant in Belfast has also featured Castlescreen Dexter beef, a native breed in Northern Ireland, on its menu this year.

"Grass fed beef offers many health benefits: higher Omega 3 content than mackerel, rich in natural vitamins and low in saturated fats," he continues.

The Tumelty family have been farming outside Downpatrick for over four decades, with Damian one of only a handful of Dexter beef farmers. His herd includes beef and breeding cattle.

Avoca is an Irish family-run business that spans one of the world's oldest surviving manufacturing companies and Ireland's most impressive stores, food halls and cafés.

A quality focused retailer, Avoca has a network of stores in the Republic of Ireland as well as the premises in Belfast city centre.