The Hare's Corner

Catherine Cleary is an author, journalist and nature activist. She has written and co-authored four books: Life Sentence (O’Brien Press, 2004), A Month of Somedays (Londubh Books, 2012), The Sheridans Counter Culture Guide to Cheese (Transworld Ireland, 2015) and The Stars Are Our Only Warmth, the life story of homeless activist Alice Leahy (O’Brien Press, 2018). She writes about food and the environment for The Irish Times. She co-founded Pocket Forests, a social enterprise bringing nature to urban areas, in 2020. Catherine and her family recently took on the establishment of a native woodland on land in Roscommon.

Jane Carkill is an illustrator and textile designer living in the heart of the Burren. Her illustrations have been showcased in various highly acclaimed publications, including Fíos by Darragh McKeon (The Gentian Press, 2025), The Keeper of the Bees: Bees and Beekeeping in Irish Folklore by Eimear Chaomhánach (O’Brien Press, 2024), Windfall: Irish Nature Poems to Inspire and Connect edited by Jane Clarke (Hachette Books Ireland, 2023) and Wild Embrace by Anja Murray (Hachette Books Ireland, 2023). She is a member of the non-profit organisation Illustrators Ireland. Her debut authored book Watercolor in the Woods (Page Street Publishing, Macmillan) was published in 2024.

Burrenbeo Trust is a national non-profit organisation that supports people to take positive action for their local landscapes. Its flagship programmes, Farming for Nature’,Heritage Keepers’ and `The Hare’s Corner’ – initiated in and inspired by the Burren – have now spread across the country due to their proven efficacy and demand. These programmes are responding to our climate and biodiversity emergencies by enabling farmers, landowners, community groups and schools to take local, tangible and impactful actions for their local places.