The course will give you the basic understanding of aquaponics that you need to get going and try your own system.

You will learn the main concepts of aquaponics as well as the water chemistry side of things. at the end of the course you will be able to:

- build your own system

- maintain it

-understand basics principles of horticulture and fish care

more info at http://aquaponics.ie/wordpress/?page_id=1984

Refreshments will be offered by Goatsbridge Trout Farm,

with a menu based on Goatsbridge premium smoked trout and trout caviar.

Course cost 100 euro.

We kindly ask you to pay a deposit of 20 euro by clicking on the button below or by contacting the email address provided:

For any queries please contact: elena@goatsbridgetrout.ie or Kyle Petrie at info@aquaponics.ie

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King, Jr

Goatsbridge Took its first step towards the export market last week when we participated at the European Seafood Expo in Brussels over 3 days . What a positive experience and certainly the right move.

Bord Bia did an amazing job as usual and we were absolutely bowled over by the response from the customers for our products and display.

Lessons learned: What customers want

1. Quality products. Irish products are the best in the world. Please believe it.
2. Sustainability as opposed to standards
3. A Story: everyone has a story so it is important to communicate it effectively.

WE have a book full of contacts. Now all we have to do is turn a few into customers.

Wish us luck.

‘What kind of Muppets are those guys sitting in the middle of a river having a picnic?!???’

I overheard a couple of ladies having a conversation at a conference in Kildare a few weeks ago. I leaned over a grabbed the newspaper to realise I was in fact one of those crazy people. We will do anything to get notice here in Kilkenny and the news was spreading fast. Thomastown had been selected to be the food hub for kilkenny and had secured up to €775,000 worth of funding from Kilkenny Leader partnership to make that a reality.

To be honest I did not know whether to laugh or cry when I heard the news. We in Goatsbridge Trout Farm are very busy people realising our dreams to become a leading trout company across the globe. How on earth would I find time to help bring world attention to Thomastown as a place of excellence in food production, appreciation, and training?

A number of days later as I walked down Market Street in Thomastown a strange man grabbed me and gave me an enormous hug. I am afraid I did not know him but I did remind him I was a happily married woman. What could I say as he rattled on about the joy in hearing the wonderful news and what it could mean for his family? Such is the level of enthusiasm for this project

All we need to do now is make it happen.

Our plans are widespread but the thing that pleases me more than anything is that we have embraced all sectors of society and social inclusion is very much part of our vision .  We are talking about Irelands first food station (Mums the word), Chefs training, embracing new food companies, all levels of training including food for wellbeing training which is very much on trend and our amazing community garden with a man in a shed space .

If the man who hugged me the other day in the street is reading this blog could you please come forward? I have a feeling we will all need a lot of hugging  before this project is complete.

It has been a long time since I posted a blog but now is as good a time as any to get back into it.
Goatsbridge were crowned Ireland’s most innovative food company last weekend in Belfast where we beat off some of the best companies in the land like Glenisk and Mash Direct. If we do not maximise on this win it will just be an ego boost and we have not got time for ego here with so much work ahead.
Good news for Goatsbridge as we embark on our journey in the export market. We are taking a stand at the Brussels International Seafood trade show for the first time so wish us luck.
Onwards and upwards

Goatsbridge Trout Farm was established in 1961 and it is situated near Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny in Ireland. Goatsbridge Trout Farm is a blooming family farm, where we produce fresh and high quality premium Irish trout.

We are one of the few farms who truly produce their products from little eggs to finally full-grown fish. Every day we harvest the best fish for our customers and we deliver to restaurants, wholesaler and private customers. In Addition to our fresh trout we now also offer hot smoked trout, which taste sensational!

We invite you to visit us, to explore our eco-friendly work environment and to taste our premium fresh and smoked trout. We are opened the whole year.

Please call us to arrange a visit.

Today is a great day for us here at Goatsbridge Trout Farm as we’ve announced the arrival of Ireland’s first caviar… made from trout. A long time in the making, it’s already won plaudits from the Russians, producers of the world’s best. Twitter has been alight this morning with talk of our Irish Trout Caviar, as well as the radio and papers. While it’s a busy day for us here, take a read below of our news currently doing the rounds. We’ll be back soon to let you know how it’s all going!

Here’s the Irish Times article today, the photo above is by Dylan Vaughan and here’s the official release…

Launch of Ireland’s first caviar

A Kilkenny couple has launched Ireland’s first caviar – and it has already won plaudits from the Russians, producers of the world’s best.

The trout caviar has been developed by Ger and Mags Kirwan of Goatsbridge Trout Farm in Thomastown, and will be available in Irish restaurants over the coming weeks

Caviar is processed, salted fish roe or eggs and is regarded as a luxury food delicacy and ancient gourmet treat. There are several types with the best-known form of caviar coming from sturgeon. But trout caviar has grown in global popularity in recent years.

“Trout caviar is good enough to eat off the spoon. It has large, golden-orange beads and a subtle flavour with a nice ‘pop’ when you bite into it. We are thrilled to be the first making it in Ireland and believe it represents the sort of innovation required in the food industry here. We have been very heartened by the response from the restaurant and food sector here so far,” says Mags Kirwan of Goatsbridge.

The caviar received the thumbs up from Russian buyers at the recent Bord Bia food showcase buyers event in Dublin. “That is the ultimate accolade for us. We weren’t sure how the Russian visitors would respond to the Irish-made caviar but the samples went down a treat with them and this has given us confidence that we can achieve strong export sales as well,” she said.

Mags and Ger Kirwan who have been running Goatsbridge Trout farm for 20 years first got the idea to develop Irelands first Trout Caviar on a visit to Sunburst Trout farm in North Carolina in the USA in 2010. Goatsbridge was started 50 years ago by Ger Kirwan’s parents, Rita and Padraig Kirwan, and is today one of the few commercial, independent trout farms in Ireland.

“We had been planning to launch a range of trout products on the Irish market and were very taken with the story of Sunburst which was making its name in the United States using their delicious trout caviar to highlight the fantastic high quality products they were producing” said Mags Kirwan. “We had a lot of similarities with Sunburst in terms of our business structure and the fact that the water flow through our farm was just like their farm in North Carolina.”

Ten months later the Sunburst Trout Farm development chef came to Ireland to help Goatsbridge harvest their trout roe, and a sample of caviar was produced in the laboratories of Teagasc in Ashtown with the help of John Fagan, a food technologist with BIM adopting the French method of taking eggs from maturing hens. “

While Irish people do not have a tradition of eating caviar, the Kirwans are hoping to change this with their new product. Many foreign nationals living here realise its nutritional value and it is very much part of their cuisine.

The Kirwans are at the very early stage of production and the Caviar will not be available in shops until the end of the year. Meanwhile this week it is being distributed to Irish restaurants across the country for tastings and feedback.

Goatsbridge is also developing smoked trout products which will be coming on stream nationally in the coming weeks. Currently Goatsbridge fresh trout is available across the country including completely boneless trout fillet which is proving very popular with young mothers for their kids as a way of introducing them to fish without the fear of fish bones putting them off for life.

In November 2010, the Nationwide TV crew visited Goatsbridge Trout Farm for a day for a feature on our trout farming operations here in Kilkenny. You can read about their visit here. Watch the above video for a look at what happened on the day and a further insight into the running of things here at Goatsbridge Trout Farm.

If you ever wanted to know more about Goatsbridge Trout Farm and how it all began here in Kilkeny then settle in for few minutes and watch the above video, going right back to the founding of the farm all the way to our present day business.

I’m Mag from Goatsbridge Premium Irish Trout. On this blog I’m going to share all the news we have as we develop our fantastic products. It’s also a place for you to catch up on food related events that we are taking part in, hear about other artisan food producers and join us on the journey as we strive to make the world more aware of our heavenly tasting products. 

We are also going to share lots of trout related recipes so no excuses for not cooking!

Enjoy.