Story: Why Irish eyes are smiling

Why Irish eyes are smiling

by: Ruth and Rich Carlson/www.talkintravel.com

Fashionistas say the color green is the new black, so it’s only fitting that trendsetters will be vacationing on the Emerald Isle this year. If your idea of an Irish meal is potatoes, beef stew and Guinness in a dark corner of a run down pub, you’re in for a surprise. Today Ireland is filled with designer hotels serving innovative, international cuisine prepared with local organic products.

Thanks to a high tech boom and a boost in tourism, Ireland is undergoing a renaissance. “Now we are a proud nation of what we do rather than what we were,” says Ruth Moran, with the Irish Tourism board. The Silicon Valley of Europe will be more accessible beginning this fall with the introduction of nonstop Aer Lingus flights out of San Francisco, Orlando and Washington Dulles. To plan your holiday, visit www.discoverireland.com, a free, government sponsored website.

Master chef Noel McMeel is pioneering the country’s culinary movement at the Castle Leslie Estate, about 90 minutes from Dublin. A native of Ireland, he trained with Chez Panisse founders Alice Waters and Jeremiah Towers— creators of California Cuisine. He uses local products whenever possible, plucked from the Castle’s gardens or purchased from the village farmers. A typical McMeel meal, (sorry I couldn’t resist), is a warm goat cheese tart, followed by pan-fried halibut sprinkled with Irish moss and rhubarb ice cream laced with Bushmills whisky for dessert. In the “cookery” school run by McMeel, popular classes include cooking for men, erotic cooking, and eating without the guilt--low-calorie menus. To work off that extra scone, guests can ride horses in the equestrian playground-1,000 acres of rolling green hills and forest. (www.castleleslie.com)

At the same time Ireland is importing new ideas for cuisine and architecture, they’re preserving their honored traditions. In the northwest region of the country, the Magee Clothing Company in Donegal is one of the few places in the world that still employs local craftspeople to hand weave fibers. Deftly clicking massive wooden looms in their cottages, these artisans create unique fabric that’s snapped up by high-end fashion designers like Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, and Max Mara. Established in 1866, the Magee Clothing Store and tea house are favorite haunts of Sarah Jessica Parker and Mathew Broderick, who have a home nearby. We’ve all regretted impulse buys on vacation but you’re safe shopping at Magee. Their tweed jackets and fedoras are timeless. (www.mageedonegal.com)

Seaweed baths are another ancient custom still popular today. Strandhill, one of the surfing capitols of Ireland, is home to Celtic Seaweed Baths. (www.celticseaweedbaths.com) The original bathhouse was built in the last century on a promenade overlooking a popular surfing lane. Just as their ancestors did, employees gather seaweed off the beach at dawn, clean it and immerse it in soaking tubs. Frequent visitors claim the seaweed eases backaches and detoxifies the body while moisturizing the skin.

Nobel Prize winning writer William Butler Yeats immortalized Sligo County and Daman Brennan makes him come alive again. Damian and his wife Paula, a physician, offer dinner and poetry readings in their modern home with an unsurpassed view of the rocky highlands of Sleuth Wood dipping into the lake water. While Paula prepares a five-course gourmet meal on her Aga stove with fish caught that morning, Damien reads selections from Yeat’s Nobel Prize winning poems. (www.discoverytours.ws)

That evening stay at the Arnold’s Hotel (www.arnoldshotel.com) in Donfanaghy, a one street town. Established in 1922, it's a family run operation and most of the local populace seems to work there and perform multiple jobs. It's not unusual for the barkeep to step away from his job to help guests access the Internet. The owner lent us his personal golf clubs, made us a tee time, and drove us to the course overlooking the Atlantic Ocean! The country has the largest number of golf courses per capita in the world and since most of the courses are public, duffers hail from all walks of life.

Restaurants and hotels always rise and fall in popularity, but one thing will never change in Ireland—the warm residents. The most endearing quality always has been and continues to be it’s witty, charming, friendly people. Only now you can get to know them over a gourmet meal in a modern setting. Thankfully, no matter how fancy the meal, Guinness is always an acceptable drink.