An Tobar

An Tobar CIC was formed by sisters Margaret Finnegan and Kathleen Finnegan- Agnew in April 2018. It is based on their farm, a 40-acre site that has been in their mother’s family for at least 300 years. After running the farm commercially for generations, the sisters decided they wanted to take a more community-centred approach with their land.

They launched a social farming programme along with ecotherapy and educational programmes that worked with schools to provide gardening opportunities to children.

In 2019 they planted more than 13,000 native trees to create Brian’s Wood, named after two of their uncles of the same name who died in infancy. Last year they enhanced access to the woodland, especially for young people with additional learning needs, carers and families from lower socio-economic backgrounds, by improving nature trails, planting trees and installing new seating, preserving this heritage for future generations.

They also carried out 60 workshops covering a range of topics, from forest bathing to geology to community and cultural heritage with the help of funding from The National Lottery.