Meet our Team

Our team has been growing steadily over the last three decades. Whilst our core staff counts around 20 people, the team gets considerably bigger in the months before Christmas.

All our team members live locally within a radius of a few miles from the Burren Smokehouse. We are quite an Irish and international team – we come from Ireland, England, Sweden, Germany and Ukraine.

Peter Curtin Birgitta Hedin-Curtin from Burren SmokehouseBirgitta and her husband Peter started to smoke salmon in 1987, and built the premises of the Smokehouse in 1989. Born in Nyköping on Sweden’s Baltic Sea coast, Birgitta studied Marine Biology at Lund’s University with special studies in Marine Algae. She is involved in all aspects of the business, with a strong focus on marketing, sales and product development. Birgitta has a passion for organic and artisan foods, and manages to juggle her work and her family of four at the same time.

Peter Curtin was born in Lisdoonvarna. He spent many years in the Merchant Navy, and when he returned, he developed the patented smoking process that is still used in the Burren Smokehouse today.

Peter built the smokehouse in 1989 and the visitor centre in 1995 along with his wife Birgitta, director of the Smokehouse. Peter is always working on new and innovative ways to assist in the product development of the Burren Smokehouse and the Roadside Tavern. His latest venture is brewing several kinds of beer in the Burren Brewery.

Master Smoker Burren SmokehouseThe Master Smoker

Mark followed in the footsteps of Peadar, our long-time master smoker who passed his knowledge and skills on to Mark.

Our production team

Our  highly efficient and well-trained staff members in dispatch and production are the core of the Burren Smokehouse team. They trim the fillets, slice and package them to customers’ orders. Another part of the team is responsible for the dispatch of the orders, and stock management. Isa is our quality control manager who works closely with the smoking and the production teams. Noel is our reliable van driver who supplies the shops and catering businesses between Galway and Limerick with our products.

Visitor Centre team

Caroline and Vladimir provide a great experience for our visitors in the shop and explain everything they might want to know from smoking salmon and recipe ideas to sites worth visiting in the Burren area. They give presentations in our Salmon Smoking Master Class and know the best spots for a picnic.

Our office team

Tracey is usually the one answering the phone to take orders or help with general inquiries. She also takes care of group bookings for the Burren Smokehouse visitor centre and the “Taste the Atlantic – Salmon Experience”. Karin is responsible for export to businesses and private customers, she maintains and updates the websites and our social media platforms, and sends out the newsletter. Marie is responsible for the accountancy side of the business.