RIP Laura Buckley Noonan
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07 Sept 2025
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07 Sept 2025
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Darina Allen was a very special guest on the night and was delighted to be part of the butchers’ celebrations exclaiming she was a big fan of Irish butchers; she admired their resilience, determination, creativity and how butchers, much like Darina’s own recipes, have stood the test of time. Darina spoke of her great regard for traditional butchery skills; skills that have been passed down through generations and how wonderful that was, “butchers understand the value of quality meat, the value of traditional Irish grass fed breeds; don’t underestimate the value of traditional skills and producing real meat” she passionately stressed. “Butchers are part of our food culture, part of our tradition” she said, because of the integral role butchers play in the provenance and quality of Irish meat Darina encouraged butchers to stand up and tell their story “butchers must tell their story, how you source your meat, the real farm to fork story; you are the experts with the real knowledge and skills” she urged. Judging for the competition was carried out at Teagasc Test Kitchens in Ashtown Food Research Centre by an independent trained sensory panel back in September. ACBI had over 100 entries in the regional competition this year with less than half going through to the finals, the standard was much higher than previous years, making the competition tougher and the judging much more difficult. James Nolan “We are thrilled with the awards that we won at the National Craft Butcher Finals at the K Club. Nolan Butchers of Kilcullen are a family business here in Kilcullen since 1886 and my father Andy started the Home Made Sausages & Puddings over 50 years ago - and the recipes that Fred Mitchell makes fresh every day has changed very little and has certainly stood the test of time. Noel Lambe deserves huge credit for his unique and innovative idea which won the top prize at the awards ceremony. All the Team at Nolan’s look forward to the European Fins Goustiers competition in France on the 17th November and then the busy annual Christmas Festive Season.” Nolan Butchers of Kilcullen won the award for the Best Butchers Shop in the U.K. & Ireland at the House of Lords, London in 2015. 
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