Carlow County Council Arts Office working with Artist Michael Fortune who is Looking for good homes for 100 sets of Scallions!!!

Press Release for Immediate Release – 15th May 2020

Wexford may claim the strawberry, or Galway the oyster, but Carlow has the best of them all, the humble scallion. At one time no garden in the county, rural or urban, was complete without small beds of little green scallions reaching towards the summer sun and now it is your turn to get your hands on some.

The seeds for this project were planted in late May 2018 where artist/folklorist Michael Fortune working in conjunction with Take A Part Carlow and the Arts Office of Carlow County Council launched The Scallion Ater Project where they worked with a selection of local primary schools and community groups in Carlow Town and gifted hundreds of seed packs which were grown in classrooms and at homes around the town.

The project was a huge success, locally and nationally, and it planted a very important seed which has helped reignite an interest and pride in the term ‘Scallion Ater’. Aside from planting hundreds of scallions in Carlow in the summer of 2018, they produced a limited edition run of metal ‘Scallion Ater’ badges which Michael says, ‘disappeared immediately and are like hens teeth now as they were so sought after’.

So with that in mind, Michael, a proud ‘Yellow Belly’ with a strong affiliation for Carlow, has devised a four month project, running from May to August where he is asking you, the people of Carlow, to grow a pot of scallions in your home. That simple. The idea is suitable for everyone, of all abilities and ages and would especially suit families with their little ones at home from school. The first stage of the project sees the planting of 100 scallion sets around the county, while in June and July, there will be free online talks from renowned gardeners, chefs and historians and all to do with the humble scallion.

So with that in mind, Michael has produced a limited edition pack containing seeds, compost, pots, colouring pages, badges and more which will be distributed for free to 100 lucky homes around the county. This is operating on a first come, first served basis so if you want to get your hands on a set, email him at [email protected] ASAP with your name, address and one line description why you want to be part of the project.
Michael is hoping that the 100 sets will find good homes and the people involved will share photos and stories with him so they can build up conversations and chat about scallions and help connect people in these interesting times.

You can find out more about what Michael does at facebook.com/folklore.ie while he has just setup a page, facebook.com/thescallionaters for this particular project.