Anita Hayes founded the Irish Seed Saver Association in 1991. For the first few years the work was done from the founder’s own home and garden. She soon collected a core of willing helpers as well as seeds. With the financial aid of government bodies and many generous donations the association soon took on a life of its own. Here we see her with Dr. Lamb who travelled around Ireland on his bicycle many years ago and collected the scion wood from the apple trees that today make up the Native Irish Apple Collection.

ISSA now have a eight hectare site in Co. Clare with purpose built facilities. We have a seed bank containing in excess of 600 rare and endangered vegetable varieties. We also have native woodland, an apple orchard and nursery. There are presently three Richel polytunnels and one greenhouse. Recently we were donated a container which is being converted into a special room for seed drying. The site is well worth a visit and is open to the public weekdays for members to look around (Non-members €3 entrance to gardens). ISSA practice organic farming using biodynamic methods and have made the conversion to Demeter, which is the biodynamic standard. Our Licence No. is 0109133.

Our present staff are few and we welcome any member of the public to volunteer here in the gardes or orchards. Many of them have undertaken training courses that have benefited their work here, and some are now ready to pass on their knowledge and experience. This means we are now able to offer a broad range of training courses to suit you or your organisations needs. Our staff are also available to give talks or demonstrations to interested parties. Contact us to find out more.

Preserving Irish Biodiversity
ISSA have traditional Irish varieties as well as plants from other places. Some of our Irish varieties have been found in the German, Russian and Norwegian seed banks. We have collected apple trees mainly from Ireland but also have one or two from Britain, France, Italy and America. If you read about the history of plants you’ll understand it is now irrelevant to give plants “nationality”. What is important is to continue to grow a wide diversity of plants that flourish in local conditions.

The Native Irish Apple Collection
The first collection of native Irish apples was made in the 1940s by Keith Lamb and was planted on land belonging to Dublin Corporation; tragically it was destroyed in the early 1970s. Anita Hayes, working with Peadar MacNeice(now deceased) of the Armagh Orchard Trust and Dr. Michael Hennerty of University College Dublin, began work on replicating Dr. Lamb’s collection in 1991. Now all but 14 of the original collection have been found. In 1996 the Native Irish Apple Collection was opened by President Mary Robinson at University College Dublin and we now have funding to replicate the collection here at the Seed Savers site.

ISSA Projects
The Association has been involved in many research projects. The research projects into apples, native soft fruits and vegetables are ongoing. Currently we are looking at probable sites of native Irish apple trees and self-rooting apple trees. We are also continuing research into native grains and looking at ways to use the grains grown at our site in Kilkenny. We are especially proud of the Education Project, which is aimed at educating the young in the importance of biodiversity.

ISSA Apple Project
In the early 1990′s ISSA began a search for the last surviving traditional Irish varieties of apple. We have now found over 140 different types of Irish apple trees and they are all thriving in our orchards. Native apples are more intense in flavour than those now grown commercially. Varieties grown before the advent of pesticides are more resistant to scab. mildew and canker, because the trees are acclimatised to the warm and damp Irish weather conditions.

ISSA Grain Project
Until 1997 Ireland was the only country in Europe without a collection of native Irish cereal varieties. These varieties had been developed by Irish farmers over hundreds of years. Michael Miklis in Piltown, Kilkenny, initiated the ISSA Grain Project. To date, 25 native Irish oats and several wheat, barley and ryes have been collected. Some of these long lost Irish grains were found as far afield as Russia and Norway. Over the years, Michael, has returned to production an irreplaceable Irish resource. More Irish native varieties are being tracked down worldwide. Their potential for animal and human food, bedding and thatch is enormous.

ISSA Education Project
The ISSA Education Project was created with the support of the Genetic Advisory Board of the Department of Agriculture. The main aims of this project are to promote a greater awareness of agricultural biodiversity, and to be a positive response to the new Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE) syllabus, recently introduced into Irish National schools.

Preserving Native Trees
ISSA have devoted 2 acres of land to a native Irish woodland and wildlife sanctuary. You have supportted us, by sponsoring the planting of a tree in our native woodland or orchards. We are now looking at planting a neighbourhood woodland that you can be a part of. You can now sponsor the woodland and you can dedicate your certificate to a person, event or theme of your choice.

mission statement

ISSA exists as a living testimony of the richness and wealth of the agricultural legacy of our ancestors.

Our aim is to:

1. To protect, conserve, research and utilise non commercial seed, grain, vegetable and fruit varieties.
2. To promote the benefits of agricultural biodiversity.
3. To provide information and to educate the public on agricultural biodiversity locally and globally.
4. To be a working example of successful organic seed and crop production, through growing and distributing Irish grown seed, grain, vegetable and fruit varieties.

Irish Seed Saver Association
www.irishseedsavers.ie
T: 061 92 18 66