Since 1996 Old Kilgobbin has been the home of the Bronner family and has been host to many family and friends over those years, all of whom have been captivated by this beautiful space , sandwiched between an enormous indigenous forest and the Dargle valley. Our initial plans for being here was to be part- time farmers, part- time friesian and angus breeders, full- time proper day jobs,  with a weekend dash of tourists staying in our lovely cottages or experiencing a session with the Horseplay friesians, until an unexpected tornado blew us onto a different path! In November 2009, a tranquil sunny day turned into a howling turmoil of grey skies and flying debris and ended with trees and roofs hurtled hundreds of metres over the landscape.  One of the casualties was a dilapidated old barn in the middle of the farmyard that had been used as storeroom/hayshed/horse sickbay, an eyesore that we tolerated, but couldn't quite justify throwing hard earned cash at to upgrade!  In the weeks after the storm, most of the damage had been carted away or repaired, but the old farm barn stood in tatters and we decided to use it as a base on which to develop a more useful and attractive building. As the walls started to grow, so did its future,spurred along by Helen from the neighbouring Crabapple Chapel  who directed people who wanted to get married in a farm barn to phone me and ask if it would be suitable for a rustic country wedding; it seemed that the old barn was destined to become more than just a storeroom.  And so the Cairn was born.
The name "the Cairn" was inspired by the fact that Old Kilgobbin is an Irish settler farm and in Ireland cairns are built to commemorate important events, and are also placed as route markers on journeys and what more momentous an event do we experience in our lives than a wedding, and the journey that follows is the most important any of us will undertake.