Tea to be grown in Connemara

Tea is the elixir of life for many people but a group in Connemara believe that it could give an economic boost to that area as well.
Connemara has some natural advantages for growing tea according to the community company ‘Connemara Programme’, and they want to put the idea on the agenda of State agencies.
Boggy soil, a moist environment and a mild climate – these are natural conditions for growing tea plants and bushes.
All three are to be found in Connemara – if we leave out the present cold spell.
So tea could be grown in Connemara according to the Connemara Programme initiative, that was started-up in Clifden in 2012 in the hope of stirring up activity in the local economy.
Colum Joyce and PK Joyce of Clifden are the men behind the Connemara Programme. They have amassed data and proposals in the intervening years.
They explain that the tea plants and shrubs mature in 2 to 3 years at sea level and can be harvested every week… and that there are examples of this in England and Scotland