Delicious Magazine – August Edition 2011 – Hungry Traveller by Les Dunn

The Connemara penisula, west of the city of Galway, is the Ireland millions of Americans imagine when, teary-eyed, they turn their thoughts to their homeland: still, silent loughs, grassy moors, ancient peat bogs, miles of stone walls, rolling hills and a craggy coastline of coves and inlets.  Plus the odd donkey. We’re off along the minor road that winds around the coast. Each mile we travel we feel more relaxed, like we’ve taken a slow-release narcotic.

In a beautiful location out on a lonely seashore, the Connemara Smokehouse proves worth the detour – the delicately smoked Atlantic salmon – they also do mackerel, tuna, herrring and sometimes cod and pollock – is subline. The secret’s in the beechwood smoking (it imparts a sweeter flavour than oak, apparently) – that and the extroardinary dedication of workaholic owner Graham Roberts. “If I come in at four in the morning” he explains, “there are no distractions.” With the fruits of his beyond-the-call labours in our cool-bag, we carry northwards.

To view more producers in this article get your copy of Delicious Magazine – August Edition and enjoy this 3 page article by Les Dunn

For more info on all featured, visit Discover Ireland or call 0800 039 7000

Delicious Magazine Aug 2011

7 students of St. Caillin's National School, Aillebrack.

Seven students from Aillebrack National School Authors: Amy Roberts, Celia O’Neill, Grainne King, Eimear Roche, Francesca McDonagh, Oscar Conney and Tadhag O’Neill took part in the 10th Annual Write A Book Awards 2011.

More than 500 budding young writers were honoured in Galway on the 6th of June, at a ceremony transmitted live on the internet, which was held at the Radisson Hotel Galway. The children received their prizes in two ceremonies, one in English and one in Irish. The winners were picked from a pool of 6,000 entries by a panel of literary experts. The students of Aillebrack National School launched their very own books in Clifden town Library this week.

The students come from a small rural, two-teacher school in Aillebrack, Co. Galway. Ranging from 3rd Class to 6th Class, each year they participate in a Reading Buddies Programme which involves the children in all classes, from Junior Infants to Sixth Class, doing paired reading. This is a simple and effective reading technique, which usually results in improvement in reading ability for most pupils. It tends to be a very enjoyable experience where pupils develop more positive attitudes to reading. The seven students are keen readers and with encouragement from Muinteoir Louise Roche to put their active minds into creative writing.

The Books are on display in Clifden Town Library for the full Summer 2011.

So do drop in and check out their work.

Books on Display:

Amy Roberts – Amy’s Favourite Foods

Tadgh O’Neill – Ryans Story

Celia O’Neill – A Long Book of Poems & Short Stories

Francesca Mc Donagh – Sweet Pea Valley

Grainne King – The True Story of Goldilocks

Oscar Coneys- Max is Lost and Alone

Eimear Roche – Animal Pourquoi Tales

Winners of the Write A Book Awards from St. Caillin’s National School, Aillebrack at the Radisson Hotel Galway were:

Tadgh O’Neill – Ryans Story

Celia O’Neill – A Long Book of Poems & Short Stories

Francesca Mc Donagh – Sweet Pea Valley

Oscar Coneys- Max is Lost and Alone

All can be viewed in Clifden Town Library

Ask Bernie Jeffries or Paul Keogh for Details:

Monday 14:30 to 18:00 and 18:30 to 20:30

Tuesday 10:30 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 18:00

Wednesday 14:30 to 18:00 and 18:30 to 20:30

Thursday 10:30 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 18:00

Friday 10:30 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 18:00 and 18:30 to 20:30

Saturday 10:30 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 18:00

Also viewed on Galway Public Libraries Blog

Irish Times-Food File by Marie-Claire Digby 2/7/2011

Graham and Saoirse Roberts produce some of Ireland’s best smoked fish products at their Connemara Smokehouse, situated right on the water’s edge at Bunnowen pier in Ballyconneely. Their cold and hot smoked salmon is superlative, but they also smoke mackerel, kippers and tuna – the latter is supplied to UK chef Rick Stein for his Padstow seafood restaurant.

The cold smoked tuna is a revelation – meaty, delicately smokey and sweet at the same time. As part of a smoked seafood platter it steals the limelight from its more common cousin the salmon. Roberts says he uses only Irish albacore tuna, line-caught in an environmentally-friendly way. You can buy this delicacy at the smokehouse, or from the couple’s website and it costs €15 for a 200g pack. Delivery of up to 25kg to addresses within Ireland adds a further €12. “If customers are visiting during June, July or August, they can come on one of our tours of the smokehouse which we run at 3pm every Wednesday”, Graham suggests (booking is advisable).

Saoirse suggests using the hot smoked tuna (€15/200g), in a salad with beetroot ribbons (pictured), while Graham prefers the cold smoked atop thin rounds of toast smeared with cream cheese, with a delicate sliver of cucumber. “Normally we serve it very simply, and it goes very well with some bubbly,” he says. See www.smokehouse.ie.

Honey Roast Smoked Tuna

St. John’s Eve, June 23

Is sometimes known as Bonfire Night in Ireland. It is known in gaelic as: Oiche an teine chanáimh or Teine Féil Eóin. The fire must be lit exactly on sunset and must be watched till the next morning.
In many parts of the country, people still light large communal bonfires at sunset on this day, or small family fires outside their houses.

Other customs included inviting the oldest woman in the area to go three times sunwise round the fire on her knees saying prayers, to ward off disease; in some localities, holy water was sprinkled on the fire and, as on other festivals, it was sprinkled on the house, its occupants, outbuildings, livestock and the crops. Generally, this was done by either the oldest person in the family, but in some parts of Ireland, the youngest child was asked to do it.

In many places it was the day the boats and nets were blessed and there was many an angler living inland who eagerly anticipated the arrival of sea trout and salmon which entered the rivers at this time of year.

As might be expected, there was plenty of eating and drinking! Customarily, in Connaught, a special dish called “Goody” was made. This was white ‘shop-bread’ which had been soaked in hot milk and flavored with sugar and spices. It was usually made in a large pot that was either placed on the communal bonfire or heated on a smaller fire close by. Revelers brought their own spoons and bowls if they wanted to share in the “Goody.”

Before moving on to the other customs surrounding the festival of St. John, there was one last ritual to perform and that was the bringing home of an ember from the communal fire and placing it on the family hearth. Some families also kept ashes from the fire for luck, others because they believed the ashes would ensure a peaceful death to old people who were ailing. The ashes also had curative powers: mixed with water, they were drunk to relieve internal disorders and they were used to cleanse and bathe wounds, sores and swellings.

After the merriment of St. John’s Eve and with the fire burned out, families retired to their homes to rest up for the festivities of June 24th, the Saint’s birthday!

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Their blog was created to share two of the passions of Mary Holloway and Wendy Morton, professional food stylists from Central Florida. Content will be provided on food styling and travel.

Irish Food – WOW – You gotta try it!

The Ireland trip was great. Nine days was not enough….we did lots of cool stuff, saw beautiful scenery, were immersed with Irish music and history, drove on the wrong side of the road (!), met terrific people, and had enjoyable meals – often with Guinness!

Seashore Safari

The Beaches of County Galway, today the 2nd event of interactive walks took place in Aillebrack, Ballyconneely where we explored the wonders of our coastal habitat with Marine Biologist J.P. Tiernan of Irish Marine Life.

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There is 9 more locations with:

Trá Cill Mhuirbhigh on Inish Mór

Bog’s Bay, Roundstone

Dumhach, Inishbofin

East End, Inishbofin

Trá sn Doilín, An Cheathrú Rua

Ceíbh an Spidéil

Trá Mór, Indreabhán

Long Point, Loughrea

Trá Inish Oirr

For more details on these events contact: Biodiversity Manager Elaine O’Riordan

Tel: 091 493863

Email: elaine.oriordan@nuigalway.ie