Taste the Nation: The Tipperary butcher who says community is the heart of his business
Kevin O’Neill, outside his shop The Gourmet Butcher, in Thurles, Tipperary
Kevin O’Neill dreamed of working in the food industry from a young age, but when he began training as an apprentice butcher aged 16, he knew he had found his calling.
“I knew immediately that this was where I wanted to be,” says the Tipperary man, now 32. “I worked out pretty quickly that the butcher is the link between the farmer and the customer, and saw how essential our service is, really.”
