2016 Award Winners TASTE OF THE WATERWAYS AWARD 2016 WITH WATERWAYS IRELAND

Larkin's Bar & Restaurant, Garrykennedy, Co Tipperary

Ireland’s inland waterways are nothing short of a national treasure yet, for most people, they’re very much an adventure waiting to happen. How many times have you whizzed along motorways without thinking about all the secret watery places you are flying past, or crossed the mighty Shannon at Athlone without so much as a thought except for the time it will take to get to Galway or Dublin? Yet our rivers, loughs and canals are the lifeblood of this beautiful country - many would say these watery regions are the real Ireland - and, believe it or not, our navigable waterways pass through 21 of Ireland’s 32 counties. The diversity of the experience offered is extraordinary, and includes the opportunity to take part in many activities, and visit some extraordinary places of historic interest including monastic sites such as the wonderful Clonmacnoise.

Since 1999 GCGuides has produced an independent guide to the best places to eat and drink along Ireland’s waterways. With the support of Waterways Ireland in recent years, it has developed to include accommodation and Things To Do Along The Way, presenting the waterways as an amenity for all to enjoy and not just boating folk.

The Taste of the Waterways Award brings an unusual element to the Guide’s selection, highlighting lovely and lesser-known watery parts of Ireland that are a joy to explore – and with plenty of interesting pubs, restaurants and places to stay.

Our winner this year, Larkin’s Bar at Restaurant, is charmingly located at one of the Shannon region’s prettiest harbours, Garrykennedy, and the owners Maura and Cormac Boyle, who are both from farming backgrounds, understand well the combination of services that visitors want. The place itself is not as old as it looks, but it has the genuine ambience of a traditional pub and the wholesome food they offer is firmly based in the locality, with the meats that the area is famous for to the fore.

Menus always include delicious traditional dishes - beef & Guinness stew, bacon & cabbage, Irish stew - alongside more modern ones, service is exceptionally accommodating and there’s music and Irish dancing to beat the band. All good fun and very well done - their success is well deserved.