Killahora Orchards

Killahora Orchards was founded by two cousins, Barry Walsh and Dave Watson, with the goal of growing the best rare apple and pear varieties on Irish soil and to use artisanal techniques to turn them into award-winning drinks. The estate dates back to as far as 1750, as evidenced by the mosssed old boundary wall and collection of wild apple trees in the hedgerows.

We make everything as naturally as possible with minimum intervention and use wild fermentation.

Everything is handmade on-site with 100% fresh juice and as naturally as possible. The products are left to mature for up to a year to achieve the most complexity of flavour.

Dave’s father Tim who, sadly, recently passed away, had spent the past decade renovating the orchards to include a staggering 148 varieties of rare apples and 48 varieties of perry pear.  Tim helped to plant every single of the 1000 new fruit trees and his influence and legacy is everywhere at Killahora. Their trees have come from all over the world which add to their unique flavours: Austria, France, USA, UK, Kazakhstan, Switzerland and, of course, native Irish varieties.

Killahora Orchards has gone on to win numerous awards and produce a number of products such as Johnny Fall Down Late Apples Cider, Johnny Fall Down Early Apples Cider, Fine Perry, Pom'O, and Rare Apple Ice Wine.