A North Yorshire herb business has expanded into the Connacht to the delight of local herbalists and
alternative medicine practitioners.
The new store, West Coast Herbs, opened on Market Street in Galway in late October.
The first thing that hits you once you cross the threshold is the soothing eucalyptus aroma. A gentle
draft permeates the space, making organic cotton robes and shirts bob soundlessly on their racks.
The speakers trill out a mellow Paul McCartney ballad. Garlands of hops snake though the narrow
store, each one weaved together with pale Christmas lights that blink languidly, encouraging
calmness.
Shop-owner Suzanna Thelwall tends the store on a recent crisp, sunny morning. Behind her an
arsenal of medicinal herbs stands at attention, every jar neatly shelved and marked with a hand-
written label.
“My husband is from Northern Ireland, and he has always wanted to move here. We spent time in
lockdown in Sligo, and loved it.”
Thelwall has been in the herbal medicine business for 20 years, first by studying aromatherapy and
then by establishing her own herb shop.
“I set up a little business in my kitchen so I could stay home looking after my first son. Started doing
farmers’ markets, and immediately had phone calls for orders to put in the post. It just grew from
there.”
A week after opening, business is going well, Thelwall says.
As interest in herbal medicine mounts, shops like West Coast Herbs aim to meet the rising demand.
However, some of that interest reflects a growing scepticism with the quality and accessibility of conventional healthcare, with health professionals urging people not to eschew proven methods of
treatment in favour of folk remedies.
According to a 2017 BCC market research report the global use of the over-the-counter herbal
products amounted to $59.45 billion, with forecasts estimating an increase to $104.78 billion by
2026.
Student number at herbalism schools have massively increased according to Rebecca Lazarou,
associate editor of the Journal of Herbal Medicine.
“Many herbalists have seen an increase in patients, especially people with for example ‘Long Covid,’
which conventional medicine is yet to have answers for, but herbalism can really help.”
Customer Laetitia Tessier carries a bag of tinctures and balms as she leaves West Coast Herbs. A
student at the Irish School of Herbal Medicine in Portlaoise, her journey into alternative medicine
began with bitter disillusionment.
“About 5 years ago I got very sick—one weird ailment after another. And every time I went to a GP, I
came out with no answers,” she said. “I decided that I needed to take the problem into my own
hands and become my own doctor.”
The Irish School of Herbal Medicine, or Core College, was founded in 2000 to provide professional
training in herbal medicine. The school’s central study course is a four-year, part-time training
programme which costs €3,550 per year to attend.
However, scepticism toward herbal medicine remains strong in the medical community, owing to
the lack of scientific evidence to the herbs’ efficacy.
Infection Control Nurse Lovely James stands in the shadow of University Hospital Galway on a
dazzlingly bright afternoon. She is from India, a place where herbal medicine is more mainstream,
but not necessarily safer.
“Sometimes herbal medicine practitioners will come down with something like liver cirrhosis and
only realize it after formal medical examination,” she says. “Cases like that are difficult for doctors to
treat, to save the patient’s life.”
The lack of formal regulation of herbal medicines is another point of contention among the medical
community.
“They are not regulated as medicines, which allows those profiting from their sale to promote them
as cures for a variety of ailments without good evidence,” says Larry Egan, head of the University of
Galway’s School of Medicine.
“Any benefits that a person could experience from taking herbal ‘medicine’ are not proven and there
may be a risk of harm.”
Egan concedes that no treatments—formal or informal—have a 100% success rate.
“There also is a tendency to turn to alternatives when conventional medicines do not work, which
often happens, unfortunately.”
“People develop entrenched negative views of standard, formal medicine,” says Michael O’Mahony,
consultant respiratory physician at Galway University Hospital. “That can be difficult when dealing
with things like cancer and other life-threatening conditions.”
With regards to treating minor ailments, however, O’Mahony softens his stance.
“For symptom control, like with sleep aids, I don’t have a major problem with herbal medicines,” he
says.
Thelwall is well-aware of the tension between herbal and formal medicine. The daughter of a
medical doctor, she has had experience in both strands. “Sewed up somebody’s thumb when I was
about five,” she says laughing.
While Thelwall considers herbal medicines to be generally safe, she says that certain groups of
people should check with their healthcare professional first.
“There are two areas to be careful—one is if you’re pregnant. The other is if you’re on medication,”
she says.
