My Grandfather bought the property in 1949 after returning as a POW from Germany. All he wanted was to escape to the wild west of Ireland.
When not being chased, I was at my happiest at sea, catching Mackerel, or foraging for mussels along the coastline. When my parents finally had enough of me, I was dispatched off to boarding school in England, which was certainly an eye opener, as it was far removed from the wild hills of Donegal.
Having exceled on the sports field and not in the class room, I was told I should consider bloodstock insurance and not bother with further education. But I had other plans and after Business College in Dublin, I started my wine trade career with Findlaters.
I spent ten years learning as much about the drinks trade as possible, doing a range of totally different jobs from driving forklift trucks, to picking grapes in Provence, to buying wine in Australia.
When training was complete, it was time to set out on my own, and I started a wine agency business with my uncle, Tindal Wine Merchants.
While on an international wine-buying trip, it struck me that we should really be producing something in Ireland and trying to export it like all these great wine producers do around the world – driven by passion and enthusiasm.
Obviously we couldn’t produce wine in Ireland, but with the family history in apples, it soon became obvious what I had to do. Having set up a wine importing business in Ireland North and South, I really wasn’t meant to set up another business, but all the pieces fell into place, and I couldn’t say no.
The idea of selling something that we produce here in Ireland around the world was too appealing.
I married my childhood sweet heart in June 2000 and we are the very proud parents of four beautiful children, so when I am not out selling you’ll find me ferrying my children around the countryside to rugby matches, swimming galas, tennis coaching and ballet.
I still love running over mountains. Marathon running, triathlons and adventure ultra-marathons keep me out of trouble.