In the late 1960s, the Traas family came from the Netherlands to Ireland to cultivate fruit. The Traas family had been producing fruit in Holland since the 1800s, but Willem and Ali chose to go to Ireland since it was difficult to acquire additional land for fruit-growing in Holland.
They looked at a few farms before settling on the one that is now The Apple Farm, which is located on the major Limerick-Waterford route between Cahir and Clonmel. There was an ancient orchard on the land, and they determined that apples could be cultivated in this region based on the good yield they saw on the trees. The family farmed tulips, dried peas, cereal crops, and strawberries in the early years, in addition to building new apple and plum orchards.
