Eggsclusive report by Andy Spearman
Brendan Fanning works as a carpenter but he seems to have a natural flair for marketing. As a hobby he keeps chickens and sells the eggs from an honesty box outside his home which is across the road from the Fechins GAA grounds, Pairc Naomh Feichín, on the Beaulieu Road.
The brand name he chose for his eggs is pure genius: Fechin Fresh Eggs. Some people might think it’s a bit rude but nobody’s ever going to forget it.
Regular customers will know that there’s more to Fechin Fresh Eggs than just eggs. Brendan will regularly leave a tin of sweets or lollipops for customers to help themselves from when they’re picking up their eggs.
It’s a nice touch and keeps the customers coming back week after week.
This week however Brendan brought his customer sweeteners to a whole new level by treating the children to Easter eggs – dozens of them and the kids were thrilled.
Drogheda Life arrived at the Fechin Fresh Eggs Easter party just as the St. Fechins GAA club junior academy was finishing across the road and soon we were surrounded by excited but very polite children who were asked to select their Easter Egg.
Brendan, who was accompanied by his young daughter Hazel and her grandad Dessie who, appropriately enough, was dressed as a giant rooster.
It could be the stuff of nightmares for many, a giant bright yellow bird, but the kids absolutely loved Dessie the rooster who, it has to be said, slipped into the role without any rehearsal whatsoever.
Brendan told Drogheda Life that the chocolate treats were his way of saying thankyou to his customers and, like any good boss, deflected any praise on to his workers.
“Peggy and the girls do all the hard work around here” he said. Peggy, he explained, is the mother figure of the flock and keeps the rest of the hens under her wing so to speak when Brendan is away carpentering.
Apart from a couple of young chicks, there were no hens present at yesterday’s Easter part and Brendan explained that this is because they are in the birdy equivalent of lockdown to keep them safe from a disease called avian flu which is currently rampant in the country.
He said that normally the hens would be out in the back field scratching around but they have to be kept in until May because of the avian flu.
This is a problem for Brendan because it means he must find ways of supplementing their diet with vegetation which he grows in his greenhouse.
Top marks Brendan, keep up the good work and say hi to Peggy and the girls!
