Since 2001, Dan Hegarty of Hegarty’s Cheese has been making cheese in Whitechurch, a village on the edge of Cork city, County Cork, using milk from his family’s own herd of Irish Friesian cows, which are tended to by his father, Jim. Until recently, the dairy was devoted to Cheddar cheeses. Then, in 2016, the Hegartys took on a new head cheesemaker, Jean-Baptiste Enjelvin – a Frenchman. Their new cheese, Templegall, bares the mark of that continental influence. Made from raw milk and matured for at least nine months, its 35kg wheels are brushed three times a week, resulting in a cheese with characteristics reminiscent of an Alpine cheese such as a Gruyère. Like the Alpine cheeses it bears a resemblance to, Templegall is made using milk from the summer months only. This is because the pasture-rich diet of the cows at that time of year produces milk that is ideal for this style of cheese-making. Templegall takes its name from ‘An Teampall Geal’ – a literal Gaelic translation of the name of the cheesemaker's local village, Whitechurch.

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