Happily ever after with greener bites — staying sustainable on your big day doesn’t have to be difficult

Staying sustainable on your big day doesn’t have to be difficult. Caroline Hennessy talks to Michael O’Neill of Clonakilty’s Fernhill House Hotel & Gardens about reducing waste and using local produce

Fri, 06 Jun, 2025 - 02:00

A wedding is a joyful opportunity to celebrate two people who want to spend their lives together. It’s a special occasion, tied up with hope and tradition. But you don’t have to buy in to every tradition. Neither do you have to compromise your ‘green’ ideals.

There are ways to avoid food waste and over-consumption, an especially pertinent topic during this National Food Waste Recycling Week.

A 2019 report, published by the Environmental Protection Agency, estimated that the annual cost of food waste (food wholesale, food retail, and food service) was €300m. Hotels have the highest level of food waste, and two-thirds of food waste from this sector can be avoided.

Reducing food waste is crucial in tackling climate change, and Ireland is committed to cutting food waste in half by 2030, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals..

The number of couples who consider sustainable practices when choosing a wedding venue is increasing, according to WedPro’s annual industry report. One of the first places to start is to have a conversation with hotels and venue operators.

This eco-awareness is something that Michael O’Neill, manager and part-owner of the family-run Fernhill House Hotel & Gardens, in Clonakilty, has noticed in recent years.

“Customers are more aware now and they’re looking for more sustainable weddings,” O’Neill says. “It’s much more common than 10 years ago. We’ve been doing it for ages, and no one cared. Now they’re asking for the hotel’s sustainable credentials, and the odd couple would even calculate their wedding carbon footprint.”

Eco-awareness is something that Michael O’Neill, manager and part-owner of the family-run Fernhill House Hotel & Gardens, in Clonakilty, has noticed in recent years. Picture: Andy Gibson.

The Georgian mansion house at Fernhill has been in the family since Michael’s great-grandfather, butcher MJ O’Neill, bought it in 1946, with each generation improving what’s on offer in this relaxed and comfortable space.

A walkable 2km from Clonakilty town centre, the hotel is set in a naturally landscaped garden developed by renowned designer Mary Reynolds, which encompasses a river valley with old woodland. The hotel has always drawn water from an on-site well, and its solar panels, as O’Neill says, have been “hopping with the sunshine over the last month”.

This area of sustainability is something with which O’Neill is well acquainted. He is a former director of Sustainable Clonakilty, a community-led initiative formed in 2006 that promotes sustainability and energy independence through various initiatives, including energy efficiency and local food production.

He was also a board member of EDEN Ireland, an EU project that highlights sustainable tourism destinations. Clonakilty won Ireland’s first EDEN sustainable tourism award for outstanding emerging rural destination in 2007.

The West Cork town has a long-standing record of community activism, much of it centred around food. In 2003, it became the first Fairtrade town in Ireland. Earlier this year, the Kids Food Revolution embarked on an ambitious drive to create a healthier food environment for children, locally and nationally.

The recently launched Waste Not, Want Not food waste campaign is a collaboration between Irish environmental charity VOICE, Clonakilty Tidy Towns, and Clonakilty Community Resource Centre. Not surprisingly, Fernhill House Hotel & Gardens was named as one of its Food Waste Champions.

Fernhill is one of five West Cork wedding destinations — including Dunmore House Hotel, Camus Farm, Celtic Ross Hotel and Dunowen House — that joined together last year to promote their Waste Not, Want Not sustainable wedding offerings.

The team at Fernhill keeps a close eye on food waste.

“The worst things for waste at weddings are vegetable bowls,” says O’Neill.

At Fernhill, they do silver service — where waiters serve food from large platters — which cuts down on discarded food. Similarly, the wine is also poured by staff.

O’Neill says that the hotel is keen to improve further. “We brought new things in to try and take it to another level. We encourage couples to let us pick the canapés, vegetables, and desserts, so that we can use foods that are in season locally.

Fernhill has worked with local producers for many years: O’Neill still sources meats and black and white puddings from the butcher shop established by the man who bought Fernhill.

"You don’t want something like broccoli in winter — that’s not coming from Ireland. Then, in the summer, if there’s a glut, we can use that up to reduce food waste.”

“We watch the bins ourselves,” says O’Neill. “There’s never been a wedding that my family hasn’t been here for. We check food waste to see what’s going out and always assess what happened. We’re able to cut down on a lot of waste by retaining a well-experienced chef — head chef Lukasz Tomaszewicz has been here for 15 years.”

On the day of a wedding, understanding the number of main course portions between, for instance, beef and local cod can be difficult and wasteful. “But,” according to O’Neill, “Lukasz has it down to a fine art.”

Rather than sticking with traditional meat or fish as the two main-course options, it’s possible to prioritise vegetarian dishes by having a vegetable dish as one of the main choices. “Couples can also ask their guests to pre-order their main course. It’s something that’s common in other countries,“ says O’Neill. “No one is forced to do it, but it does cut down on waste.”

If you’re planning for future nuptials, opting for a green wedding is more about picking good alternatives, rather than sacrificing ideals.

Local sourcing is also vital for sustainability: “In Ireland, with our climate, we can get amazing vegetables, fish, and meat. Where we are in West Cork is like the craft food capital of Ireland. We’re very lucky that it’s so easy to work with local suppliers: Glenmar Shellfish in Union Hall for local fish; Clona dairy for our milk; Irish Yogurts Clonakilty, Clonakilty Free Range Eggs, and Mologa honey for breakfast in the morning; and, at this time of the year, we’re full up to the brim with Bushby’s strawberries.”

Fernhill has worked with local producers for many years: O’Neill still sources meats and black and white puddings from the butcher shop established by the man who bought Fernhill.

MJ O’Neill Butchers is now run by Haulie O’Neill, a first cousin of Michael’s father. “It’s natural to us. Our great-grandfather had his own butcher shop, and he founded our food philosophy here, keeping it local and keeping down the food miles.”

If you’re planning for future nuptials, opting for a green wedding is more about picking good alternatives, rather than sacrificing ideals. “It’s a nice way to start your married life,” says O’Neill, “consciously choosing to be more sustainable.”