Fans of the RTE TV Nationwide programme may already be familiar with Sharon Sweeney's seriously impressive special occasion cakes and cupcakes.
She makes both classic and novelty cakes for every conceivable occasion - and gives cake decorating and sug ... more...
Dick & Helene Willems began making cheese here in the Cork Gaeltacht in 1979, and their famous gouda style cheese is now made by their son Dicky.
Made with the pasteurised milk of a neighbouring herd, it is a typically smooth, dense-textured chees ... more...
Chicken with a texture and well-developed flavour that attracts the attention of leading chefs and speciality food retail outlets is a rare bird these days. But, since 2004, producing really good chickens been one of Maurice Kettyle's main aims at Kett ... more...
Owen McMahon's north city shop is the only Elite Butchers Association (www.elitebutchers.com) member in Belfast; sells not only meats but, like many Northern Ireland butchers, also fish, poultry and fresh fruit and vegetables.
But the specialities the ... more...
Ireland can boast a good few high quality smoked salmon producers and here, on the south side of Galway Bay, Declan Droney's family business in the picturesque seaside village of Kinvara is among the most highly praised.
Personal endorsements aboun ... more...
For well over a century now the McKee family has been trading in Maghera.
Established in 1898 by William Hill McKee, the grandfather of the present owner, George McKee, they have always had a great reputation as family butchers known for the quality o ... more...
Established in 1757, the old Locke’s Distillery has recently been restored and, after a 50 year closure, whiskey production began here once more in 2007.
The Kilbeggan Distillery Experience is open to the public and, although not the smoothly c ... more...
Colm Healy's high quality chocolate operation is in a remote location at St Finian's Bay on the Ring of Kerry, overlooking the mystical Skellig islands. Yet, thanks to its unique appeal, it - together with Noelle Campbell-Sharp's wonderful Cill Rialaig ... more...
Jim and Anthony O'Keeffe's traditional bakery is an institution in Newry and attracts shoppers from a wide area to purchase favourites from the tempting choice of freshly baked breads, buns, cakes and savouries made here.
The core products are the del ... more...
The Cresswell family of Ummera Smoked Products are well known for thir superb smoked speciality foods, notably eel (when available) and organic salmon. The Irish Food Writers' Guild selected the Ummera Smoked Silver Eel for a Good Food Award in 2 ... more...
Our book Ireland for Food Lovers is divided into seven tourist regions and lists just 20 special places to eat and stay in each one - except the South-West, which is so important in both tourism and food terms that Cork and Kerry are given extra coverage, with each counting as a sub-region. The following establishments are great places to stay and especially known for their delicious home produced and local food
Flowers are perfect for special gifts - but not all flowers are equal. Fresh, lively, seasonal flowers from a local grower will out-class the superficial perfection of imported ones any day - and many of our home grown blooms have beautiful natural fragrance too, which is rarely the case with those flown in from afar...
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With a rich historical and maritime legacy, East Cork has a truly unique variety of attractions to offer the visitor.
It is a haven for family holidays with a huge range of activities and attractions to keep the whole family entertained for hours.
In this extensive county, the towns and villages have their own distinctive character. In West Cork, their spirit is preserved in the vigour of the landscape with the handsome coastline where the light of the famous Fastnet Rock swings across tumbling ocean and spray-tossed headland. The county is a repository of the good things of life, a treasure chest of the finest farm produce, and the very best of seafood, brought to market by skilled specialists.
The town of Killarney is where the Ring of Kerry begins and ends for many, among the lakes and mountains where they are re-establishing the enormous white-tailed sea eagle, has long been a magnet for visitors. Across the purple mountains from Killarney, the lovely little town of Kenmare in South Kerry is both a gourmet focus, and another excellent touring centre. As one of the prettiest places in Ireland, Kenmare puts the emphasis on civic pride.
That Galway Bay coastline in Co. Clare is where The Burren, the fantastical North Clare moonscape of limestone which is home to so much unexpectedly exotic flora, comes plunging spectacularly towards the sea around the attractive village of Ballyvaughan.
Connemara, the Land of the Sea, where earth, rock and ocean intermix in one of Ireland's most extraordinary landscapes, and is now as ever a place of angling renown - you're very quickly into the high ground and moorland which sweep up to the Twelve Bens and other splendid peaks, wonderful mountains which enthusiasts would claim as the most beautiful in all Ireland. Beyond, to the south, the Aran Islands are a place apart.
Rivers often divide one county from another, but Fermanagh is divided - or linked if you prefer - throughout its length by the handsome waters of the River Erne, both river and lake. Southeast of the historic county town of Enniskillen, Upper Lough Erne is a maze of small waterways meandering their way into Fermanagh from the Erne'e source in County Cavan.
Co Cavan shares the 667 m peak of Cuilcagh with neighbouring Fermanagh. No ordinary mountain, this - it has underground streams which eventually become the headwaters of the lordly River Shannon, Ireland's longest river that passes south through many counties before exiting at the mighty estuary in Limerick. A magnet for tourism now with boating, fishing, cycling and walking-a-plenty.
Between the sheltered bays at the foot of the Glens of Antrim, the sea cliffs of the headlands soar with remarkable rock formations which, on the North Coast, provide the setting for the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and the Giant's Causeway.
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 ...