Origin Story

An Tairseach has always been  
a place of reflection, fostering
meaningful exchanges of ideas,
conversation, and knowledge
about our shared origins.

Green Sisters

An Tairseach was originally a convent and school, founded in 1870 and helmed by a small group of Dominican Sisters. With a founding ethos stretching back to the 13th Century, they worked here as educators, interpreting and honouring the Dominican way of life.

An Tairseach rose from a seed in the mind of a pioneering group of spiritual women. With tender care and diligence, they grew an educative environment with Earth Literacy at its core.

Fast forward to the 1990s. And the moment when this group of Sisters recognised the need for urgent transformation - to heal  and restore Earth’s life support systems. They left formal education in Ireland and retrained in agriculture, transforming  70-acres of convent land into an organic farm and their home into a welcoming  space for eco-learning.

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Natural Farmers

Their efforts to produce healthy beds for nutrient dense organic food, healthy plants, livestock and planet - drew together and bonded a rich legacy of visiting and local volunteers, including ecologists, ecotheologians, spiritual practitioners, farmers, foresters, bee keepers, gardeners and local environmental stewards.

We were at a threshold  or crossroads as a human community, between an old world view and an emerging world view.

Sr Marian, Founder An Tairseach

The Threshold

The Sisters’ goal to build a community-supported, productive model of sustainability evolved into the ecological charity it is today, titled An Tairseach - meaning The Threshold.

The word threshold represents the  ‘crossing’ - our necessary transition to change behaviour and work in tune with the natural world. The Greek root of the word ecology has a threshold in it too. Fundamentally, ecology means knowledge of our earthly home, or knowledge of the house of nature.

Organic Farm →