Magy's Farm Where Music Grows by Maggie Doyle HB

Magy’s Farm - Where Music Grows is a luminous blend of prose and poetry, written in diary form, tracing the remarkable transformation of a small dairy farm in the Dromara Hills into an independent jazz venue welcoming musicians from across the world. Maggie captures the evolving life of the farm - where music, landscape, and community meet - alongside portraits of fellow creatives drawn to this place of beauty and quiet inspiration.

As visiting musicians gather, stay, and share meals with hosts Linley and Maggie, the book also offers a taste of farm life through much-loved recipes, bringing readers into the warmth and rhythm of this unique rural space. The writing is grounded in daily life on the farm, including the quiet companionship of its resident rescued animals - two sheep, three donkeys, and a watchful cat - whose presence shapes the gentle, attentive world of the book.

Rooted in the townland of Dechomet, Maggie's work reflects a deep connection to place, where creativity grows alongside the land itself. Maggie Doyle holds an MA in Creative Writing and an MA in Poetry from Queen’s University Belfast. She was shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney New Writing Award (2023) and is a recipient of the Freedom to Write Award (2024). Her poetry has appeared in journals including Crannog, Empty House Press, and Poetry Ireland Review. Her first book, Mountain Notes: A Nature Diary, was published in 2021.