Woodcock Smokery

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Woodcock Smokery

Woodcock Smokery is a traditional wild fish smokehouse in West Cork. We work exclusively with wild fish, and cure our products in a traditional manner.

We only smoke wild fish and offer courses, tastings, and events that celebrate Irish food heritage, real skills, and the art of wild food preservation. We are specialists in products from slow-smoked, fresh wild-caught fish devoid of any artificial additives or preservatives. We don’t use farmed fish; the fish we buy in is caught locally and from sustainable sources. Woodcock Smokery is based in W

est Cork, in Ireland, close to the pretty seaside village of Castletownshend. This takes prime quality fish, native hardwood timbers, skill and time. All aspects of the process, such as filleting, salting, pin-boning and slicing, are all done by hand. We are best known for our exceptional award-winning wild smoked salmon. We also provide a wide range of smoked fish products including mackerel, herring, tuna, haddock and pollack using both hot and cold-smoking techniques. Our reputation in the smoked fish industry both nationally and internationally is extremely high, both for our attention to quality and taste and for our commitment to wild fish and sustainable fishing methods. We believe that what makes our smoked fish worthy of its reputation is the difference in taste and texture achieved from the time that our skilled team spend preparing it. Everything is done by hand, and there are no shortcuts. Wild salmon, in particular, rewards this extra attention and our customers around the globe recognise that. In our web site you will find information about Woodcock Smokery, our methods, our products and how you can enjoy them for yourself. If you have questions then please don’t hesitate to contact us. And just a word from a satisfied customer:

Daily Telegraph Magazine 3 April, 2013
What's cooking: Richard Corrigan

What is the best food present anyone has ever given you? Sally Barnes, the founder and owner of Woodcock Smokery in Cork, sent me a side of her Woodcock smoked salmon. She’s been smoking fish since 1981 and manages to preserve a unique fresh taste.

08/06/2026

West Cork is best explored slowly.

A morning on the shoreline. Coffee in a quiet village. Long lunches, sea swims, local markets, winding roads, walks up to the ringfort, and conversations that somehow stretch into the evening.

One of the things we love most at Woodcock Smokery is helping visitors discover this part of Ireland beyond the guidebooks — sharing some of our favourite places to eat, stay, walk, swim, and explore across West Cork.

Because good food is only ever part of the story. Place matters too.

If you’re joining us for a course or workshop at The Keep this season, don’t rush away afterwards.

Stay a little longer.

You can find our recommendations for places to visit, eat, stay, and explore across West Cork on the website. https://www.woodcocksmokery.com/places-to-stay

20/05/2026

Fire. Wild Fish. Salt air. Stories.

Our courses at Woodcock Smokery are designed to bring people closer to the craft, culture, and traditions that have shaped life here for generations.

Join Sally Barnes at The Keep for hands-on experiences exploring wild fish, smoking, coastal foraging, and the changing rhythms of the Irish coast.

From Half-Day Smoking Courses to Coastal Harvest Workshops, each session is practical, personal, and rooted in over 46 years of experience.

Small groups. Real conversations. Wild ingredients.

Upcoming dates are now available on the website.

13/05/2026

This Sunday at the , Sally will join and for a special conversation exploring wild fish, heritage foodways, and the changing future of Ireland’s rivers and coastal communities.

The event will also feature a screening and discussion around The Keep — the documentary by .polar_studio exploring Sally’s work, life at Woodcock Smokery, and the deep connection between fish, fire, landscape and tradition.

This year’s conversation feels especially timely. For the first time in decades, Sally has no access to wild salmon from the Blackwater River following recent government decisions to further restrict the commercial fishing of wild salmon and sea trout, with little or no consultation with the rural fishing communities connected to it.

This gathering is about more than food. It is about the loss of Ireland’s food heritage and asking what kind of future remains for wild fish, small-scale fishers, and traditional food culture in Ireland.

📍 Change We Must Stage, Ballymaloe Festival of Food
🕚 Sunday, 11.45am

06/05/2026

A bag with backbone. A message that matters.

We recently launched a new tote — made from 100% recycled cotton and printed in Ireland using water-based inks.

It carries the phrase Swimming Against the Tide — a reflection of over 45 + years of work by Sally Barnes, standing up for wild fish, clean oceans, small-scale producers, and traditional foodways.

More than a tote bag, it’s a small extension of the values behind The Keep — supporting education, advocacy, and a different way of thinking about food.

Designed to be used — at the market, along the coast, or in everyday life.

Available now through our online shop.

01/05/2026

Wild salmon drop 🐟

A few pieces and sides of Sally’s smoked wild salmon are now live on the website shop.

Caught by a fourth-generation fisher on the Blackwater River.
Filleted, smoked, and pin-boned by hand by Sally and team here in West Cork.

Fleeting. Seasonal. Gone quickly.

30/04/2026

Half-Day Smoking Course at The Keep

Fire. Wild Fish. Time.

Our half-day hot smoking course is a focused, hands-on introduction to the craft that has shaped Woodcock Smokery for over four decades.

Working alongside Sally Barnes, you’ll learn the fundamentals — from curing and preparing fish to managing the fire and understanding the rhythm of the smoke. You’ll also learn how to hot smoke at home using everyday kitchen equipment, making this a skill you can bring straight back with you.

This is not a demonstration. It’s a working day.

You’ll spend time in a working smokehouse, ask questions as you go, and gain a real sense of what it takes to do this well — guided by experience, instinct, and a deep respect for the raw ingredient.

We keep the groups small, the conversation open, and the learning practical.

The morning finishes around the table at The Keep, with a simple lunch built around the fish you’ve worked with.

Next dates have a small number of spaces available.
Full listings are on the website: https://www.woodcocksmokery.com/courses-events/p/half-day-smoking-course

21/04/2026

Out along the West Cork shoreline with Sally Barnes.

Our Coastal Harvest Workshops are about learning the fundamentals of foraging wild food — understanding what’s growing around us, how to identify it, and how to use it well. And most importantly, how to forage with care, always leaving some behind.

Sea beet, sea radish, plantain, shellfish, seaweeds, and sometimes to the woods for herbs, nuts, and mushrooms, depending on the day.

We finish back at The Keep with a simple, interactive lunch — preparing and sharing what we’ve gathered that morning.

Upcoming dates with some availability:
Friday 1 May, Friday 29 May, Saturday 6 June, Friday 26 June.

Full list of dates available on the website.

13/04/2026

We’re delighted to share that Woodcock Smokery and The Keep are featured in the new Dutch television series Bij Van Boven thuis, in Ireland by Yvette van Boven.

Filmed in West Cork, the series explores Ireland through its landscapes, food, and the people who shape it. Sally Barnes appears as part of a small group of producers and makers, sharing her approach to traditional fish smoking — a craft rooted in place, season, and over forty years of experience.

It’s a thoughtful and beautifully made series, offering a quiet but powerful look at Irish food culture today.

You can watch the episode featuring Sally here:
👉 https://www.woodcocksmokery.com/news/woodcock-smokery-featured-in-dutch-tv-series

27/03/2026

The doors of The Keep open again this weekend as we welcome our first guests of 2026 for a Coastal Harvest Workshop.

Salt air, wild ingredients, stories from the shoreline — and a chance to slow down and reconnect with the coast.

A special way to begin the year.

If you’re looking for something to do next week for Easter, we have a few spaces remaining for our Coastal Harvest Workshop on Thursday, and a Half-Day Smoking Course on Friday. Book directly through our website.

20/03/2026

There’s a growing conversation around Ireland’s coast - and where it’s heading.

Sally recently joined Tom MacSweeney on his Maritime Podcast to speak about the changing reality of coastal life.

In the episode “It Feels Like Ireland’s Coastal Areas Are Being Turned Into a Theme Park”, Sally speaks candidly about the pressures facing coastal communities today.

Drawing on decades of experience working with wild fish, she reflects on the growing tension between tourism, development, and the lived reality of those who depend on the sea.

It’s a powerful discussion that goes beyond fishing, touching on heritage, sustainability, access to natural resources, and the importance of protecting the integrity of coastal communities before they are reshaped beyond recognition.

This is an important listen for anyone working in food, tourism, policy, or coastal development.

🎧 You can listen to the full episode here:
https://tommacsweeneymaritimepodcast.ie/it-feels-like-irelands-coastal-areas-are-being-turned-into-a-theme-park/

Address

Gortbrack, Castletownshend
Skibbereen
CORK

Website

http://www.woodcocksmokery.com/

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