Stepping into the Past, Embracing the Present. Victorian heritage with modern comforts at Foyle's Hotel, Clifden

Stepping into the Past, Embracing the Present. 

Victorian heritage with modern comforts at Foyle's Hotel, Clifden

. Celebrity chefs. Not really. Recognise anyone? Gerard King's painting is always a talking point in Marconi's

Imagine sinking into a plush armchair in Foyle's Hotel's foyer. The ornate wooden staircase whispers stories of a bygone era, transporting you to a time of classic elegance. 

Marconi's

Foyle's, a cornerstone of

An October Wander in Mayo and Galway

An October Wander in Mayo and Galway

Afternoon near Letterfrack

Dozio & Pears in TIA

So here I am in Mayo, in Louisburgh to be precise, enjoying a delicious Swiss-Irish cheese in a lovely friendly Portuguese-Irish cafe. The cheese is called Dozio ( pronounced dots-i-o) and the café is called TIA. It is the last Friday in October, it is dull and showery, but I’m nice and cozy and enjoying the grub and the  lunchtime buzz.

TIA tiles

TIA, according to Google, means aunt in Portuguese and there is a family feel about the place, lots of school kids in either with a parent (maybe an auntie) or without and a fair bit of banter between the customers and the staff. And the food is local as exemplified by the board that says the lamb chops are PJ’s. They appear on the list of more substantial meals (more like your dinner).

We study the other board and order a couple of delicious salads. There is a Sourdough toast, honey roasted ham, Barr Rua cheese (also from Dozio), relish, salad and TIA crips. The potato, chorizo, kale and fried egg combination looks attractive, well priced at €8.50. All the dishes seem well-priced and all the food is sourced locally.

Achill Island

This section also details a Chicken, Mozzarella and Ciabatta salad; another salad of Sausage rasher, fried egg with Blaa; and a Vegetarian Burger with Sautéed potatoes, salads and pickles.

I go for the Warm Roast Pear Salad, Dozio Cheese and excellent homemade brown bread (12.00). Danilo Dozio and Helen Grady are making cheese in Mayo, using ancient recipes from Canton Ticino in the South of Switzerland. They make a few different varieties including the soft Zing (with apricot) that I so enjoyed with my salad. Meanwhile CL was loving the Warm Chicken salad, pickles, wedges and a Chilli Mayo (10.90). And it was two happy customers that left the Halloween decorated café to continue our journey to Clifden in the heart of Connemara.

The Breaffy House Hotel, our base for the middle night.

Our trip had started two days earlier near Ballina with a visit to relatives. Later that evening, we dined in the quirky Gallery Wine Bar in Westport, details at end. The following day, on the Thursday, we took up an invite to visit the Foxford Woollen Mills and its gorgeous revamped café. Terrific food here also from Chef Kathleen Flavin and you may read about the mill and the meal here…

The morning hadn’t been great but the sun was out and about as we left the mills and so we decided to head for Achill (a change of plan as we had been thinking of visiting the nearby National Museum featuring country living, our rainy day option). And quite a few stops were made and many photos taken as we made our way around the nearer loop (we didn’t go as far as Keem Bay), taking in the sights including the Grace O’Malley castle.

Superb burger, with local beef and bacon and topped with Dubliner cheese, at Oxtail in Balla.

That evening, we headed out to Balla for an excellent evening meal at the Oxtail Kitchen (you’ll find it above the Shebeen Pub on the main street). Here, Balla born Patrick McEllin and French lady Rebecca Miton, support local farmers and producers through the ever changing menu, a menu Patrick describes as classical with a modern twist. We certainly enjoyed our visit. Details also at end.

The following morning we met up with a friend of ours in Westport and enjoyed a chat and the coffee in Leafy Greens before heading west along the road to Louisburgh. First though, we stopped to see the impressive famine memorial in Newport and the horrors of the famine would again be in our minds as we headed to Leenane via the beautiful Doolough valley, haunting and maybe haunted by the happenings there during the famine, and now commemorated by a plain stone memorial as you go through the Doolough Pass. A yearly walk is held along this route in memory of the Doolough dead  of 1847 and to highlight the starvation of the world’s poor today. Otherwise though it is a lovely drive and a terrific cycle route (I’m told!).

Detail from the famine ship memorial in Muirisk

On then through some spectacular roads, including the final Sky Road, to Clifden. That night we would dine in the Marconi Restaurant in Foyle’s Hotel in a room whose decor recalls the exploits here of Marconi and also the story of Alcock and Browne. A good meal was followed (indeed accompanied) by pints of Bridewell, the local brew. Some excellent music in Mullarkey’s Bar meant a pleasant extension to the evening.

The famine memorial in the lovely Doo Lough Valley

Napoleon was all over the
place, even in the bathroom!

We spent the night in the Napoleon room of the quirky and hospitable, if expensive, Quay House, an 8-minute stroll from the town centre. The Quay, which closes up for the winter, has one of the brightest and well appointed breakfast rooms in the country, a conservatory room indeed and a breakfast to match.

Thus fortified, we started up the trusty Toyota and headed south, enjoying the benefit of the newly extended motorway, at least to Limerick. After that we drove through a lot of bends and a whole lot of broken promises by politicians before our home city came into sight.

 

Anyone for breakfast? The gorgeous conservatory at Clifden's Quay House.

Also on this visit:
Dinner and wine at Westport's Gallery
Foxford Woollen Mills: Visit and Lunch

Eating and Shopping in Connemara. Joyce Country. Day 3

Connemara Day 3

Coast Drive - Spiddal Shopping Spree - Joyce Country - Sky Road - Mitchell’s Fish Special

A boat waits for better weather on the River Bealanabrack at Maam

A super fish meal at Mitchell’s in Clifden, eased down with a beautiful bottle of Chateau la Brie (Bergerac), was the highlight of this sometimes misty day in Connemara. The wine is mistakenly listed as Bordeaux on the list but this mix of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc could easily pass among a bunch of the uppity neighbours to the west.

A very high standard was set with the starters. Mine was the fantastically flavoured Grilled Oranmore Oysters, with parmesan and cream, while CL raved over her Tian of local crab, avocado, caramelized apple, vine tomato salsa.

No let up with the superb main courses: Pan fried Wild Monkfish and mussels, cream cauliflower, spring onion, caper and lemon butter and the Pan Fried Haddock, Killary Mussels, Cauliflower puree, caper and lemon butter. And even the sides, boiled potatoes and vegetables, were superb.

The final decision of the meal was to to split one dessert and this was the most gorgeous Banana and Belgian Chocolate Nut Pudding with Lemon Meringue ice-cream and hot chocolate ganache.

Mitchell’s, where unusually all the front of house are male, regularly top the restaurants lists in Clifden and I'm now adding a Very Highly Recommended. And a warning to book early!

Tasty crumble at Spiddal cafe

Went on something of a shopping spree at the Ceardlann in Spiddal earlier. Started with a sweet pastry treat at the highly recommended Builín Blasta, the cafe in the craft village. Good coffee and a very tasty Plum Crumble set me up for the shopping.

Not all the shops were open but quite a few were and it was great to meet and chat with the craftspeople and artists. We did the rounds twice and ended up with a couple of bags of jewelry, glassware by Sue Donnellan and also some ceramic pieces from Sliding Rock. And absolutely no regrets.

On the contrary, it is fabulous to be able to buy local and support our hard-working talented craftspeople. Buying local is generally termed as buying local food but it should apply to everything we can produce, provided it is sold at a fair price. Buy local, buy fair.

Looking forward to giving out a few presents when I get back and also to seeing some of the stuff mounted on the walls at home. If you are in the Galway area, do try and visit. Very Highly Recommended.

It took us quite a while to get to Spiddal. After the sunshine of the past two days, we set off in a persistent mist. Still, that didn't stop us from heading to the limits of the coast. Drove around the loop from Glinsk to the sea and back to Carna. Tough country here. Fields of boulders and hard for the few cattle to find firm ground and a square of grass.

By the way, an attraction (it has many) of Galway is that it is one of the most accessible places in Ireland to see, close up, farm animals and their young: Cattle, Ponies, Donkeys, Goats, Sheep and, of course, lots of Connemara lambs.

After Carna, we headed off to the islands, at least the islands linked by bridges: Leitir Móir and Leitir Meallain. Quite spectacular, even if the drizzle was never that far away.

The mist was easing off after Spiddal and, instead of going underground (as originally planned) to the Glengowla mines near Oughterard, we headed to Maam Cross and up to the Joyce Country. Barren mountains and lakes surrounded us as we drove on past Maam itself and then down into Leenane, following the same valley whose flanking hills then enclose the famous fjord.

Clifden in the evening

Back then to Clifden but not before taking one more turn (for old time's sake) on the Sky Road. It might have been dull but the drive was still a delight. A wee rest and it was off to Mitchell’s to enjoy the last big meal of the trip.

Must say also that our base in the Dun Ri guesthouse was excellent. Very central, very comfortable, and a good breakfast every morning and a friendly chat or two thrown in, sometimes with the owners, sometimes with the other guests (one a winemaker from Wisconsin), or with both. Check it out!

Connemara Day 1
Connemara Day 2

A different view of Kylemore Abbey

Spectacular Connemara

Connemara Day 2

Killary Harbour

Connemara National Park - Kylemore Abbey & Walled Garden - Drive to Leenane - Lough Inagh - Roundstone - Ballyconneely - Mitchell’s Restaurant.

Lough Inagh

An action packed day in Connemara. You could perhaps leave out the action but it was surely packed and we deserved our lovely evening meal at Mitchell’s in Clifden. When we left Clifden in the morning, a soft mist was falling but that had more or less vanished by the time we reached Letterfrack and pulled into the Connemara National Park. 

A tangle of trees in Connemara National Park

Some impressive items in the Visitor Centre, including a pine tree trunk that has been carbon dated to 8,600 years ago. There are quite a few walks here, one that takes you right to the top of Diamond Hill. But we took a shorter one and admired that landmark from a distance. We also has some great views over to the sea, including Inishbofin Island.

Part of Ireland's largest walled garden in Kylemore

Salmon and Spinach Quiche at Kylemore cafe

Next stop was Kylemore Abbey, the scene of an 19th century love story between Mitchel Henry and his wife Margaret for whom he built Kylemore as a residence. But she died prematurely in Egypt and the fun and games (shooting, fishing, billiards, even Turkish baths) stopped. He built a gothic church in her memory and eventually joined her in a mausoleum that, like the church, still stands.

In 1920, the residence was bought by the Benedictine nuns and became an abbey. And the tour reveals many links between Ireland and Ypres in Belgium where the nuns came from.

Well known Connemara scene, with some of the Twelve Pins behind.

The nuns also ran a boarding school (recently closed) and are now restoring the very impressive Victorian walled garden that Henry built. It is the largest such garden in Ireland and if you are caught for time when visiting Kylemore, make the garden your priority! It is a twenty minute walk but there is a shuttle bus. We had a nice lunch in the Mitchell’s Kylemore cafe and you’ll also find a spectacularly situated tea house up by the walled gardens.

On exiting the abbey, turn left and head for Leenane and a special drive, starting with lakes and mountains to your right. Changes then to bogs and mountains before you drop down towards Leenane getting spectacular views of Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord, on the way. Well worth the trip, even if you turn back in Leenane.

Evening in Roundstone

We did turn back and picked up the road to Lough Inagh. Not very well known but many say it is a must visit. Surrounded by mountains, it is certainly a beautiful place. Continued on to the main road back to Clifden and found the well known waters, with the Twelve Pins behind, on the right. It is one of the most photographed sights here so I just added to the statistics as you can see above.

We then drove down to Roundstone and its harbour with the same mountains in the background. Lovely spot but the Post Office, on the main street, could badly do with a coat of paint! Next stop was Ballyconneely and its fish smokery. Soon we were back in our Dun Ri base in Clifden.

Dinner was firmly on the agenda and we booked a table at a pretty busy Mitchell’s in the middle of the town. This was a major step-up on the previous evening. We picked from the three course menu for 25.95. A massive bowl of well made chowder got me on my way while CL enjoyed a Cod and Salmon Fish Cake (Chilli, Fig and Apricot Chutney).

Good choice of mains and I was very well pleased with my Baked Hake, dressed Savoy Cabbage, Crispy Bacon and Mustard Cream with a side of boiled potatoes. Really top notch. CL appreciated the quality of her Mitchell's Fish Bake, locally sourced white fish "fused" with melted leeks and a light topping of house mash. Quite a lot of good stuff!

Desserts were nothing to write home about, so we won’t. Overall though, it was excellent and we booked again for the next night.
Connemara Day 1
Connemara Day 3

Connemara. Day 1

Connemara
Day 1
The Sky Road - Clifden - Cleggan - Oughterard - Lough Corrib - Ross Lake

The Sky Road

Day 1

A drive along the Sky Road, out of Clifden, was the highlight of our opening day in Connemara. There is an Upper and Lower Sky Road (they form a loop) but it seems the upper one is more rewarding. Some spectacular views, under a mix of blue and grey skies, unfolded as we headed west and quite a few photo stops were made.

Decided then to head for Cleggan and saw the ferry from Inishbofin coming in. Had thought of having some food in Oliver’s in the village but it looks as if it’s weekends only for the time being so we headed back to our base, Dun Ri in Hulk Street in Clifden. Must ask our hosts how the street name came about!

Ross Lake, near Moycullen

The day had started under a grey sky in Cork and we saw hopeful streaks of blue as we headed north and west. The journey was quite uneventful and we reached our first scheduled stop in Oughterard on time. After a cup of tea and a scone at a local cafe, the Boat Inn, we headed for nearby Lough Corrib, the republic’s largest lake.

And very impressive it was. Coming from Galway, you turn right, in the middle of Oughterard, and soon you are on the banks of the lake. We made one or two stops but the best viewing point is about eight kilometres out the road. Here you get an idea of the size of the lake and see some of its many islands. This is a dead end so head back to the town which, by the way, is home to McGeough's, well known for their air dried meats.

Lough Corrib

If you look at the map of Connemara you’ll see that it is dotted with many small lakes.  We saw quite a few as we headed west to Clifden. A Thursday night in early April in Connemara is fairly quiet, as you might expect.

Still Guy’s Bar, where I enjoyed one of their Gourmet Pizzas (their breaded Lemon Sole wasn’t as well appreciated), was busy enough, with French and American visitors among the guests. Mannion’s was another bar serving food and here I sipped the final pint of the day before strolling down to Dun Ri and waking up the Apple Mac with these few paragraphs.

Connemara Day 2
Connemara Day 3

Pizza Gourmet: Caramelised onion, blue cheese and rosemary