Articles

As Lucy Madden mentions in this month’s Insider View, the magnificent Great Western Greenway in Co Mayo opened in 2010. The longest off-road walking and cycling trail in Ireland, it meanders 17.5km along the line of the famous Newport/Mulranny Railway, which closed in 1937...
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While April was a busy month planting, watering and calving, May is also a busy month for us at our organic farm. Our allotment holders are enjoying their first salad crops. In the Castlefarm garden our first polytunnel crops are starting to bear fruit - soon we will be enjoying our own cucumber and courgettes.
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Ireland’s future is unquestionably in food production. At long last we are recognising the fact that Ireland is in an enviable position in terms of natural resources – we are an island nation on the edge of Europe with 400 million affluent consumers on our doorstep. We’ve got acres of fertile soil, plenty of water, a long growing season, a thriving artisan and specialist food production industry, plus a green clean image.
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Imported asparagus may be available all year round but there is nothing to beat the treat of having locally grown asparagus in its short spring season, which traditionally begins on 23rd April and ends on Midsummer Day. This feathery-foliaged herbaceous perennial grows to about 1 metre/3ft tall and takes several years to develop enough of the precious stems to allow harvesting; stems are picked when young and tender...
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Where would our producers be without those who sell their foods, and who help them to reach the public in prime condition? Recent weeks have seen unprecedented media interest and public discussion focusing on Irish produce, the people who make it and – most importantly – the places where they sell it.
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Last Saturday we got together in a friends house for a GIY meitheal (pronounced meh-hill). A meitheal is a wonderful Irish term for a working gang – it has its origins in rural Ireland where neighbouring farmers would come together on a farm to help with a time-sensitive task such as harvesting or ploughing.
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Despite everything that has happened here recently, Lucy Madden finds many reasons for optimism in Ireland today. A friend of mine views the world through a prism of joy and optimism; how I wish I was more like her. My inclinations are closer to Nancy Astor’s dictum “If you can’t think of anything good to say about anyone, come and sit next to me.”
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Bord Bia’s new 'Guide to Irish Farmhouse Cheeses' is mainly trade orientated – it is designed to promote and encourage the use of Farmhouse Cheese in restaurants, catering and food service – but it also make a great reference for all interested foodies, and will be an invaluable resource for teachers.
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Since opening in 1994 – well before most restaurateurs in Ireland thought it might be popular or profitable to focus on local produce and traditional dishes – Kay Harte’s café above the English Market has epitomised everything that is best about simple, wholesome, fresh Irish food that has travelled as short a distance as possible to reach the plates of their happy customers.
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My goodness, it’s the end of the world as I know it! Last week my two and half year old granddaughter Amelia Peggy came along clutching an iPhone and told me she wanted to show me how to make a cake! She pressed several buttons in the maddeningly confident way that all kids do and opened and an app called Cake Doodle...
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