May was a great month for growth at Castlefarm. The combination of heat and rain was perfect for grass and clover growth. The cow paddocks are full of lush grass and the cows are producing great milk, high in butterfat and protein. more...
"Locally sourced food, cooked local, by a local chef" is the mantra that has diners flocking to Keith and Carmel Boyle's spacious two-storey restaurant Merchants Quay, along with "quality over quantity" - and, while we're at it, they have earned a reputation for great service and good value too. more...
As we head into early summer - loveliest of seasons for gardens, whether your own or others to visit - there’s no better time to remember the late great Christopher Lloyd, gardener and garden writer extraordinaire. His books are inspiring yet full of common sense and they read like novels, and his home - Great Dixter, on the borders of Kent and Sussex - was designed by Edwin Lutyens, who also designed most of the gardens that were the love of Lloyd’s life and remain one of Britain’s favourite gardens. more...
West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll welcomes plans for a new covered market in the European tradition - right in the heart of Galway city more...
It is the quality of their products that leads many to Pat and Miriam Mulcahy’s farm on the edge of Mitchelstown in Ireland’s Ancient East, as their tender Ballinwillin venison and free range wild boar features on many leading hotel menus more...
“Imagine 40 Hookers racing out from that bay.” We’re sitting outside Tigh Chadhain pub on a lesser-travelled stretch of Connemara’s Wild Atlantic Way. It’s gone noon on a Saturday straight out of a brochure and there’s not a cloud in the sky as we tuck into bowls of creamy chowder and glasses of Guinness. more...
In early January this year, after an illness borne with typical courage and humour, the legendary cheese maker Veronica Steele died. But she left behind a legacy and I was moved to pay tribute to her in a week when all across Cork, in the places of good food and good cheer that are the Character Cafés, Milleens Week was being celebrated. more...
This month Darina talks about The Hungry Gap and a Pop Up 'eating between the seasons' dinner organised by her students recently, to raise funds for the Slow Food Educational Project more...
On one level, food growing is quite simple – you sow a seed, a plant grows, you eat it. But of course it’s the bits in between those major milestones where things can get complicated. Sometimes it doesn’t get complicated at all and everything flows beautifully. I smile, zen-like, and feel mighty happy with my abilities – but even then I can’t shake the uneasy feeling that I have no idea why it went so well this time. more...
A selective companion guide to our famous broad-based online collection, the ‘glovebox bible’ includes a uniquely diverse range of Ireland's greatest places to ...