Northern Wood Monkey

27/04/2026

This will be a great weekend
Shane has been working horses for years and you will have the opportunity for some hands on time horse logging.
Not to be missed
22nd -24th May in Donegal

Come to Donegal and learn the way of the working horse in a hands on experiential weekend of working camping and fireside feasts!

23/04/2026

Northern Bowl 2026 is underway.
A gentle first evening meeting old friends and new in joyous surroundings.

11/04/2026

I love the simple pleasure of doing practical things, more so as I get older and the importance of other stuff falls away.

A knife is something I use every day but I have always bought them, though had a secret desire to make one myself "one day"

Well, "one day", when it was too wet to work on the land I set to it, bashing and grinding and endless thinking through each little step until it was done.

Plenty of room for improvement, which is always a good thing as it will spur me on to more, but there is immense satisfaction in this simple tool that will last me out.

15/03/2026

Come and try your hand at the traditional craft of spoon carving.

You will use locally sourced wood and hand tools to create your own wooden spoon in a friendly atmosphere.

Suitable for beginners and refreshments and lunch are provided

20/02/2026

Really looking forward to being a part of this special weekend of fantastic heritage crafts .ie from the 14th to 16th March.

It will be my first trip to County Cork since moving to Ireland and to get to teach spoon carving in a beautiful setting with a host of other top crafters sharing their skills too will be a real treat.

Head to the cecas.ie website to book soon as this will be a popular event

14/02/2026

Back to the Donegal office yesterday to finish off in the couple, cutting hazel stools back as low as possible, cutting stakes and binders for hedge laying in a couple of weeks and keeping the odds and sods cosy in their tent to be charcoaled later in the year.

I can't think of a better way to spend a day, with my best mate, working in the woods in a stunning location.

07/02/2026

Tá sé briomhar í nGallimh anocht

07/02/2026

Treat yourself to learning a new skill and book a place on the Spoon Carving Workshop on 21st February and 28th March. Kilmovee, Mayo.

€90 for the day, lunch and refreshments included, suitable for beginners.

Visit www.northernwoodmonkey.com for more details

27/01/2026

What a fabulous weekend in the woods that was. On the shores of Gartan Lough in Donegal.

A dozen folk all helping to bring a neglected hazel woodland back into a coppice cycle

The weather was kind, the trees came down right and a good time was had by all.

Future Oak Farm

16/01/2026

Come along to a free Food Forest Design Workshop at Friary House, Ballyhaunis, F35PF60 on Saturday 31st January between 11am and 1pm.

This will be a fabulous interactive session from Caithriona of Food Forests Ireland and not to be missed. As well as learning about building edible landscapes you will be able to design your own food forest on the day. Cathriona will lead us through the whole process in a fun and engaging way that promises to be a really special event.

If you have children aged 8 upwards who would be able to focus and participate in the session then bring them along, these workshops are delivered in schools too with great success.

They also run a version of the design course specifically for schools so if you are, or know, any teachers who would be interested then please invite them along, as Food Forests Ireland can offer lesson plans and lots of support to set one up in schools.

The session will also be really interesting for Community Garden members as there will be plenty of cross over between the two activities.

Places will be limited so please let us know if you will be coming. We will start at 11.15am prompt.