Articles

I've discovered as I get older that I am person that loves to square things away, and that applies equally with food-growing where I am constantly looking for things that simplify what can be a pretty complicated life-skill.
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Irish strawberries are now available through much of the year thanks to the fact that Keelings (www.keelings.com), in particular, have invested so heavily in glasshouses, extending the season from April to November instead of a few weeks in summer. And surprisingly good they are too, full of flavour even in the off-season, and a very welcome alternative to imports.
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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In the latest of his monthly columns, Failte Ireland Food Champion Anthony O'Toole welcomes the new food festival season
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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
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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
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“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.
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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.
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