50 years on, how a Cork couple became the big cheese of farming
This article recounts the history of Norman and Veronica Steele, who transitioned from city life to farming in West Cork, Ireland, in 1975. Their experimentation with excess milk from their cow led to the creation of the renowned Milleens cheese, which became a landmark in Irish artisanal cheesemaking.
Why it matters
It highlights the cultural and economic impact of artisanal food production and the history of the Irish farmhouse cheese industry.
Cheese-makers supreme Norman and Veronica Steele in an RTÉ documentary in 1985
Fifty years ago, a young couple faced a dilemma as they tried to eke out a life of self-sufficiency on a farm they had bought in West Cork.
Veronica and Norman Steele were “city drop-outs”, having both studied philosophy in Dublin, before pivoting to Eyeries, near Castletownbere, in 1975.
“A career in agriculture was as challenging and interesting as a career in the city could ever be,” wrote Veronica, who died in 2017.
Brisket, their one-horned Friesian cow, was producing three gallons of milk a day, much more than they could consume. So, in 1976, the Steeles — who’d met when Norman came to University College Cork (UCC) to lecture on philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein — decided to make cheese to preserve their excess milk.
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