Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Hike Norfolk Ireland

  • Ireland – Kinvara – Merriman Restaurant

    We were staying in the Merriman hotel in Kinvara and so we thought that it would be convenient to eat our evening meal there. We weren’t entirely sure how good the food would be, but the reviews were reassuringly content and the restaurant was relatively busy which seemed a positive sign.

    I opted for the special main course of chicken kiev and it was better than I had anticipated. It was served at the appropriate hot temperature and the chicken was tender and moist, with plenty of flavour. The chips were fluffy inside and the salad added some texture and extra taste.

    The French style lemon tart was also on the specials menu and I deliberately avoided the desserts selection that were on the main menu. I think that I made the right decision, as those ordering the blueberry cheesecake seemed a little disappointed with their choice. The lemon had a refreshing and sharp flavour and the pastry was slightly firm and had a pleasant taste.

    I noticed this when paying and it reminded me that I haven’t seen blue Aftershock on a pub’s back bar for some time. I must have been going to the wrong pubs and I suppose it’s not really very compatible with craft beer.

    The service during the meal was efficient and engaging, although the staff member made a bit of a mess of explaining to Susanna what the Irish stew was like. He ended up saying it was watery and putting her off to the extent that she ordered something else. I think some people enjoyed their meals more than others, but I was suitably impressed and it all exceeded my initial slightly limited expectations for the restaurant.

  • Ireland – Galway – JFK Visit to Eyre Square

    Located in Eyre Square, which is also known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, is this monument to where the former President once gave an address to the people of Galway. Kennedy had spoken here on 29 June 1963 and the park was renamed in 1965 following his assassination in November 1963. The name hasn’t entirely stuck though and nearly every mention I’ve seen refers to the park as Eyre Square.

    Kennedy came to Ireland in 1963 as part of a visit to his ancestral home and he was very well received, with large turnouts at the locations which he visited. Kennedy said:

    “I must say that though other days may not be so bright, as we look toward the future, that the brightest days will continue to be those we spent with you here in Ireland.”

    The audio of Kennedy’s speech in the park is available here at the web-site of the JFK Presidential Library and Museum.

  • Ireland – Galway – Browne Doorway

    Located on the edge of Eyre Square is this quirky remnant of a doorway and upper window. It was once the entrance to Browne House and was built in 1627, remaining in situ until 1905. At this point the arch was moved to its current location and it’s designed to be “a reminder of Galway’s civic opulence”.

    The information panel beneath the doorway. The doorway does feel a bit lost in its current location and it’s not really entirely clear to me why the city decided to move it there in the first place. However, it’s a part of Galway’s history and an interesting reminder of the buildings which once stood.

  • Ireland – Fanore

    Fanore is a small village which is located on the west coast of Ireland on the Wild Atlantic Way, a few miles south of Ballyvaughan and a few miles north of Doolin, which were two other places that we stayed on the trip.

    Above is Annaly House, a B&B located in the centre of Fanore. Three of us stayed here for three nights and the lovely landlady was always helpful and friendly. Fortunately, as mentioned elsewhere, Sarah had obtained herself a lovely self-catering unit at the end of the property which Steve and I decided we’d take over. Especially since there was no kettle in our rooms….

    The pub of O’Donohues which was closed during the day when we were in Fanore and apparently it only opens all day and serves food in the summer months. I’m sure it’s lovely, but we were disappointed that we were so near to a pub that wasn’t open….

    There was also a cafe opposite, Vasco Cafe and Restaurant, and the food there looked really nice, with a bistro feel to it. That was though also shut and was also for sale, so it’s not entirely clear if it’ll re-open again in its current form.

    There’s a shop in the village, and this pretty much completes the selection of eateries and they sold a predominantly canned and frozen selection of meals. The owner does though make sandwiches and the service was friendly and helpful on the times when we went in.

    The infamous red gate. Actually, it probably isn’t infamous at all, it’s just that it’s mentioned on the information board in the village. The information provided on the board is that:

    “This gate has been known as the ‘Red gate’ for several generations. The gate was kept locked by the landlord to ensure tenants paid one load of the seaweed they collected.”

    I’m not entirely sure how the gate ensured that, but I can’t find anything else on-line which gives further information about the whole process.

    This is the former Fanore National School, which now appears to be a private residence and the new and larger school is located opposite. There was some excitement caused here in 1914 when the principal teacher, Michael O’Shea, asked permission from the church to get married to the woman he loved, Katie McDonagh.

    It might be thought that Fr. Patrick Keran, who was responsible for the operation of the school, would have been delighted at this. Instead he decided that O’Shea wouldn’t marry Katie but that he would instead marry a female teacher in the school. This seemed a marvellous idea to the church, as that meant that there was a couple running the school and they only had to provide one residence. Unfortunately O’Shea didn’t want to marry the other teacher, he wanted to marry Katie. So the church dismissed the teacher from his job.

    Some recent reports say that it created a national scandal, although I’m slightly doubtful of that as I can’t find any mention of it in the national Irish press of the time or in the years that followed. Most of the information about the case seems to have come later on and there’s a 2004 book about the incident.

    Fanore Beach, a relatively large expanse of sand and the dunes here are protected because of their environmental importance.

    The village also has the ruins of Killonaghan Church which dates back to the eleventh century, although I didn’t get chance to go and see these. There are also some stone forts, or cahers, built from the Iron Age, although these are on private land and can’t be easily visited.

    Fanore was a charming village, very welcoming and it did feel quite remote even though it was on a major tourist road. It’s clear that it’s much more active in the summer months when the pub and cafe will no doubt be open and the beach is full of visitors seeking some sun and relaxation. Personally, I’m rather glad that I visited in March, it just felt like a more authentic experience.

  • Ireland – Oranmore – Porterhouse

    This restaurant and pub had a welcoming feel to it and so it seemed a shame not to pop in during our little tour of the town’s pubs….

    Any pub with a display of books meets with my approval. Although I’m not sure about how they’re stacked, but nonetheless, it does look impressive.

    The spirit room, one of a few quieter areas of the pub (although to be fair it wasn’t quiet when some members of Hike Norfolk were in there).

    The Guinness looked beautiful….. And it tasted just as I’d want it to as well. Unfortunately we weren’t eating food in the pub, it was just for drinks, but the menu did look quite interesting with curries, burgers, fish, steaks and so on. The reviews are also excellent, although a quick trip to TripAdvisor finds this review:

    “Walked into this kip after it had been recommended by a local thinking back now he probably owned this dive was put into the darkest part of the hovel and before our bums touched the seats was told we had to be gone by 7 o’clock this was about 5.30 we Will never ever enter this so called establishment again”

    Full credit to the owner for the below reply…..

    “Thank you hank for your insightful review..I can see from your sentence construction and title choice you have a strong grasp of the English language! The title actually highlights your own ignorance, you are obviously a tourist to the area looking for a reccomondatin on where to eat from a “local” (who was not myself by the way) . I’m sure you could see we were busy and that’s for good reason..we have been open for nearly 3 years now and are busier than ever which is pretty good going for a “dive”! Usually locals who eat here regulary phone ahead to reserve a table because of this! But you were ignorant to that fact also..furthermore the table where you were seated is one of the most popular in the “hovel” and was booked for 7pm! My staff always inform unbooked guests of bookings on tables so everyone is on the same page!! I do apologise for this communication as it seems to have really bothered you..anyway the next time you get behind your keyboard or smart phone to slate a successful local business on a whim, which employs 25 staff, some of which have families to support and others trying to put them selves through college to educate themselves( you should try this!!) Look at the bigger picture..and maybe a dictionary.
    Best regards”

    All the staff who we encountered in the pub seemed cheery and helpful, and if I ever come back to Oranmore I might pop in for food. After visiting the two Indian restaurants that I’ve already mentioned I’ll go to as well…..

  • Ireland – Galway – Handsome Burger

    I hadn’t had a burger for some time, so when the word got mentioned earlier on in the day I decided that I should find a suitable location that sold them in Galway. Handsome Burger was one of the best rated restaurants and it was nearly full when I entered.

    I managed to get a seat when some other customers left and the interior was clean and the restaurant seemed comfortable and organised. Customers have to order at the counter before taking a seat, a policy which is I imagine often ignored by groups reserving a table before ordering. I didn’t ignore the rule, although I didn’t have much choice as I was on my own.

    I’ve been told that the sugar content in these San Pellegrino drinks has been cut, and although I hadn’t much thought about it, there does seem to have been a deterioration in taste. Indeed there is a message on the top of the can which says that there is a new recipe, albeit one which has made the taste worse. The sugar tax has a lot to answer for….

    When I was at the counter I had initially intended to buy a beef burger but the staff member was engaging about the menu options and I felt that the staff member really sold the chicken burger. So I ordered that. The presentation wasn’t marvellous, but the burger was relatively large and the chicken was tender and moist. The coating was even, slightly crispy and had a real depth of flavour. The chips were also firm on the exterior and fluffy inside, all very lovely.

    Overall, the food was well above average and I can see why the restaurant gets so many positive reviews. The service was attentive throughout and a staff member was a little enthusiastic in trying to remove the drink that I hadn’t finished, but everyone was friendly. Although that seems to be a trend in Galway (I mean being friendly, not randomly taking my drink as that hasn’t been a problem at all).

    The price was about £11 for the meal, perhaps slightly above average, but entirely reasonable given the quality. The turnover of tables seemed quite fast and even when it was full customers seemed to be able to get a free table relatively quickly.

  • Ireland – Oranmore – Oran Tandoori

    For our final evening meal of the week we decided that we’d opt for an Indian meal, the first time I’ve had this cuisine in Ireland. There were nine of us so we were a little concerned about getting a table, especially as there was no-one there when Susanna rang during the day. I don’t like calling people, but Susanna seems to be fearless and so she was making the calls. However, we walked by the restaurant when we arrived in Oranmore and by good fortune there was a staff member going in and he kindly took the booking outside of the restaurant.

    Our table was set out when we arrived and we were welcomed promptly. For some reason the staff thought that Dave must be in charge of this booking, I’m not sure why they felt that he looked the most important….

    The staff pro-actively brought over poppadoms, although the waiter missed that we wanted even more (some of us are quite greedy), but we made do with what we had. Half of them are visible in the above photo, with the dips being as expected and the lime pickle having some bite to it.

    This is the chicken pakora starter. Firstly, I love that they presented the lemon in a squeezer like this, it’s very rarely done and the last time I was given one of these was in Australia some years ago. The chicken was tender and full of flavour and the salad was crisp and fresh. A nicely refreshing little starter option.

    A Peshwari naan to the left and pilau rice on the right, with the naan having a pleasant flavour but it didn’t have the slightly crisp base that I really like. Behind is my chicken dopiaza on the left which again had tender chicken, a rich sauce and plenty of onions, which is inevitably important since it’s a component part of the dish. Perhaps there wasn’t the depth of flavour that there could have been, but the curry had a pleasant aftertaste and was entirely acceptable. The other two dishes are Susanna’s and she was complimentary about them, as indeed were all the other diners (I mean about their own dishes, not Susanna’s).

    The service was attentive throughout the evening and we were given a couple of free bottles of Cobra when leaving. The staff had a pleasant and helpful attitude, being willing to make slight amendments to the cuisine where required. We seem to have made a tradition of going to an Indian on these Hike Norfolk trips, there was an excellent one on the Hadrian’s Wall walk and another slightly less impressive one in Goring.

    For the price paid, this was a very lovely evening and I’d be very tempted to come again if I return to Oranmore. The only slight doubt I might have is that there is another Indian restaurant a few hundreds metres away which is nearly as well reviewed, and I’d be tempted to try that. However, knowing me, I’d just go to both anyway.

  • Ireland – Bus Drivers

    I’ve often been impressed with the engagement and friendliness of bus drivers in the United States. They’ve routinely gone off route to take me to a different location, are nearly always conversational and once the bus driver bought me snacks as I was the only passenger on the bus. I will forget the time that the bus driver opened the door to show me a snake though, as I could have been killed if the snake had launched itself onto the bus to bite me.

    However, the bus drivers for Bus Éireann were just as friendly (although none bought us snacks) and seemed personable and welcoming. A kind bus driver took a photo of us on the first day and they were helpful throughout the week as we moved to different locations on the west coast of Ireland.

    The photos above are from when our coach met another along a narrow road. The reversing required was challenging, but the other coach driver managed it with good grace. I particularly liked how the bus drivers, who didn’t work for the same company, wound down their windows and shook hands when the buses met.

    Taking everything into account, Ireland is now matching Poland in being my European land of dreams…..

  • Ireland – Cats of Oranmore

    There was a little congregation of cats in the centre of Oranmore, all looking like they were most relaxed….

  • Ireland – Oranmore Former Catholic Church and Library

    This church in Oranmore was built in 1803 for the local Roman Catholic congregation and the bellcote was added later in 1885. There had been a strong catholic community in the area for some centuries, even during the Penal Laws.

    By the late twentieth century, the building was though too small for the congregation and it was also proving to be an expensive structure to maintain. A new Roman Catholic church was constructed between 1972 and 1974 and the font from this church was moved to the new building when it opened.

    The old church was deconsecrated and fell out of use until the Church Restoration Committee offered to lease the building to Galway County Council. Renovations took place and the former church opened up as a library in 2001.

    Photos of inside the library, which has been tastefully converted and which has retained numerous features from the original building. There are books on the balcony area, although this section was closed off to the public when we were there.

    Buildings inevitably fall out of use, and this former church now has a new lease of life as a library and community centre. The graveyard has also been left intact and there are numerous graves around the exterior of the library building.