Enjoying The Craic In Cork

by Nigel Thompson, Daily Mirror 16/04/2011

STANDING in the garden of his seaside home in Ireland, Sir Walter Raleigh lit up his pipe and took a deep drag… only to be hit full in the face by a bucketful of water.
No, it wasn’t an early anti-smoking lobby trying to nip a nasty habit in the bud, but Sir Walter’s servant, who had never seen tobacco before and thought his master was on fire!
The Elizabethan explorer also brought the first potatoes to Ireland, which probably made him more popular there than later occupants of Myrtle Grove, in the historic town of Youghal, east Cork.
Oliver Cromwell took the house as his winter quarters while he tried to quell the rebellious locals and infamously hung captured rebels from Trinity Gate, now the town’s landmark clock tower.

 

History is soaked into the fabric of this ancient town, from the Bronze Age settlers, the Danes and Celtic nobility, to its role as a major port and rebirth as a tourist resort.
Climb up the long flights of steps by the side of the clock tower and you will reach the old town walls, still pretty much intact, which once kept out invaders. The town has retained its charm to such an extent that it was used as a location in director John Huston’s 1956 movie Moby Dick, to represent 19th Century US fishing port Nantucket.
High up on the hill overlooking the town, the view is breathtaking. On one side, the mouth of the beautiful River Blackwater, on the other the wide sweep of Youghal Bay, with a seemingly endless expanse of beach which stretches almost to within touching distance of Capel Island on the western tip.

 

Of course, this is the Irish Riviera, not the Cote d’Azur, and that sparkling sea is not exactly Mediterranean temperature. But the palm trees which thrive in gardens all over town are a hint that this part of the south coast has a special dispensation where the weather is concerned.
There are locals here looking young on the strength of a daily dip.
Despite the presence of a Baywatch-style lifeguard, the culture is still more Dangerous Book for Boys than nanny state!
When it’s rough, the kids are out on bodyboards, playing chicken with the rocks. When the tide’s in and the waves are crashing over the sea wall, they are running about trying (not very hard) to dodge a soaking from the spray. When the mackerel are in, they are on the quayside with their fishing rods.

 

Last summer, we went for three weeks without a drop of rain and it was almost a disappointment. Normally, the arrival of the Irish “mist” is a wonderful excuse to stay in bed until the pubs open for a comforting glass of the black stuff – that’s Murphy’s round here, brewed down the road in Cork, with the chance of a mystifying but exciting game of hurling or Gaelic football on the bar telly.
When the sun reappears, there are plenty of other attractions nearby to explore. Heading east out of town, just across the border in County Waterford, is the picturesque village of Ardmore, easily located by its tall and ancient round tower.
A religious hermit called St Declan settled here in the 5th or 6th Century – some say even before St Patrick – and the remains of his church still occupy a prime location overlooking the bay. Take a walk along the cliffs before returning to the elegantly rebuilt Cliff Hotel for a delicious lunch.

Strike out west from Youghal towards Cork, turn left at the village of Castlemartyr and you come to Ballycotton, another impossibly picturesque bay.
Afternoon tea on the sun-drenched terrace of the Bayview Hotel gives you a stunning view of the fishing boats moored in the harbour and the lighthouse on Ballycotton island.
A little way down the road in Shanagarry is the famous Ballymaloe House hotel and cookery school, where the Allen family has established an international reputation for fine cuisine using local produce. Book well in advance for the Friday-night buffet, with a daunting array of seafood ranging from salmon to sea urchins.
Elegant rooms are hung with original modern art and friendly staff tempt you with second helpings and tasters of the dishes you didn’t choose.
But you don’t have to leave Youghal to enjoy the highest standard of cuisine. Aherne’s, on the main street, is a traditional pub which has expanded into a town house hotel and restaurant. The Fitzgibbon brothers, John and head chef David, have created a great ­seafood-rich menu in the restaurant, with equally high quality bar meals available in the pub section.

Across the road, you’ll find The Nook pub, where three times a week local musicians serve up traditional music from singalong ­­­­foot tappers to haunting ballads.
If you need to work off the calories there are some excellent golf courses within easy reach – Youghal’s own is high up on a hill overlooking the bay.
For shopping, head into Cork where the recent City of Culture modernisation programme hasn’t quite obliterated the city’s ramshackle charm.
If the Irish mist does set in, there’s no better place to escape than the Jameson’s whiskey distillery in Midleton, a cathedral town on the road to Cork. This is the home of the famous Irish tipple and the tour of the old distillery buildings, now superseded by a modern production plant, is fascinating.
At the end of the tour be sure to volunteer for the tasting test, where you try to distinguish glasses of Jameson’s, Scotch whisky and American bourbon.
For a special treat, buy yourself a bottle of Midleton Very Rare, a blend of whiskeys of differing ages selected by master distiller Barry Crockett, who signs each bottle sold in its beautiful wooden box. It’s upward of £100 a bottle, but tastes like ambrosia – the perfect way to remember a visit to God’s own country.

 

 

The tall ship Bounty arrived in Cobh at the Port of Cork last Thursday evening the 17th, 2009. The ship will be available and open for the touring public from Saturday the 19th through the 20th. For her entire schedule please go the web site www.tallshipbounty.org. Photo: Brian Fitzgerald and Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com

Click on image to see more photos of the famous tall ship