Part I/Ballycotton, Auld Sod
We landed in the coastal town of Ballycotton on May 1. We will be staying for the month of May, and on June 1 we will move over to Ballycroneen, just 13 kilometers away—because apparently, we like to commute for atmosphere. Our rental is a small mariner cottage of certain ancient vintage, but it is clean, comfortable and located directly on the Celtic Sea/Atlantic Ocean, with a mesmerizing, million-dollar view. It stays light here until about 10pm at this time of year so often we just sit in our chair after dinner with a glass of wine and stare out at the water and the harbor. The cottage’s charm is enhanced by being within walking distance of The Salty Dog Pub, the famous Ballycotton Cliff Walk, the Sea Church and the Blackbird Pub. We Flynn’s like to cover all of our bases: nature, Pubs, church, oh, and more Pubs!
We chose this area for its relative proximity to Cork, its coastal location and the research we had done which hinted it was having its “moment in the sun,” meaning becoming a hot spot. The town’s profile has been raised in part thanks to a local man who made his name in the technology sector — look up Pearce Flynn if you want the long version of his impressive story. The fact that his last name is Flynn has absolutely nothing to do with our lineage however. Although, there is a resemblance. Having met him in the first hour of our arrival, he is an iconic Irishman; warm, friendly, the life of every party and more stories than a Grimms Brothers fairy-tale book! Sounds just like Jimmy Flynn, doesn’t it??
Back to Ballycotton… it is an old maritime town. The harbor is small and picturesque, with small fishing boats that bob like they’re keeping time to some Irish reel alongside large fishing trawlers chomping at the bit to get out to sea and bring back enough fresh fish to feed the County of Cork!
On our long walks, we met several of the locals, including the fishermen, who warmly welcomed us to town. Although what would normally be a short “hello and welcome to the neighborhood” in the US, invariably turns into having to put my exercise tracker on pause. I quickly learned there are no short hellos in Ireland. There are stories about the area and how many generations their families have been here, stories about relatives they have in the US and “do you know them” and advice on “being about” in Ballycotton. They will explain the weather to you, where to buy your fish and meat, the good markets to go to for your veges and what to be sure to see when you are here. Just lovely people who treat most like they have known them for years.
There are surprisingly quite a few things to do in this small village. First and foremost, experience the cliff walk. We think it is Ballycotton’s main dramatic offering: a path that hugs the coast and delivers views so incredibly beautiful that you will find yourself thinking that the gods and goddesses were in a really good mood the day they created the cliff walk. Word of warning, bring a windproof jacket and hiking shoes. The wind is always wicked, and the ground is uneven and very rocky. It is called the cliff walk because you are literally walking along sheer cliffs that drop dramatically to the roaring and wild Atlantic Ocean. Unless you are good at cliff diving, be very careful taking a selfie on this walk!
Then, there is the lighthouse, dark and forbidding, sitting atop its rocky island. It looks like something from the movie set of Wuthering Heights! There is a boat excursion to the lighthouse island, but it operates only when the weather is cooperating, which is almost never. The locals say it is worth the 90-minute booking but don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t take off, apparently the sea has opinions of its own and will cancel plans without prior notice. We plan to book an outing before we leave the area. So, I will report back on the Lighthouse Tour!
There is a beautiful old church called Sea Church located in the center of the village. Pearce Flynn purchased the church and the land across the road. He built a car park for the village and a large children’s playground where locals and visitors alike can enjoy the sea views and tell a few stories while the kiddies run around the swings, slides and monkey bars. It’s a beautiful space and sits right on the water. Mr. Flynn purchased the old, abandoned Sea Church and turned it into a 1st class restaurant, bar, and concert venue. It is just delightful. Himself and I bought tickets to see Donovan there – Donovan of Mellow Yellow and Sunshine Superman fame (circa 1965)! Donovan lives in a neighboring town and came to perform this concert at the Sea Church on his 80th birthday. It was a real blast from the past and filled with, yes, you guessed it, lots of old-time rock and roll stories!
Then, there is the Ballymaloe House. According to Wiki, the Ballymaloe House traces back to an Anglo‑Norman castle from the 15th century. It is located within 5 miles from our little village center and is now a famous country‑house hotel and restaurant that the Allen family has stewarded since Myrtle and Ivan bought the estate in 1948. Myrtle’s “Yeats Room” opened in 1964 and set the tone for a simple, seasonal approach to Irish cooking that later earned a Michelin star. Ballymaloe House is also the home of the internationally known Ballymaloe Cookery School.
Darina Allen, daughter-in-law of Ivan & Myrtle, is the force behind Ballymaloe Cookery School and the woman who made farm‑to‑table “a thing” in Ireland. She opened the cookery school in 1983 on the Kinoith organic farm and has since written dozens of cookbooks, fronted TV series, and reshaped how Ireland shops, cooks, and eats—championing local producers, seasonal cooking, and putting local farmers’ markets on the map. She reminds me of our own Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, although the French say she is the Julia Child of Ireland. Either way, the woman is a force in the culinary world. She has written and published more cookbooks than there are roundabouts in Cork City! Hahahahaha
Our next-door neighbor is here in Ballycotton for 3 months attending the cookery school at Ballymaloe. When Jim was mowing the grass today (don’t ask, just know he came in to tell me how much fun he was having mowing the grass. Mind you, today there are gale force winds of 35mph and a temperature of 45F/feels like 35F). Anyway, when Jim was mowing the grass, he met Lorraine (I think she came out to meet the crazy man whose hair was doing summersaults in the wind!). Lorraine advised that she has some tests coming up at the cookery school and will be making a ton of dishes in anticipation of these upcoming tests and would we mind being her guinea pigs? Mind you, she doesn’t like mushrooms either! Jim wisely responded with an enthusiastic “YES” to that question so we will hopefully be testing Lorraine’s dishes shortly. Stay tuned how we grade Lorraine’s efforts…
Back to Ballymaloe, each May (and we are here in May!) the Ballymaloe Festival of Food takes over the grounds for a weekend of demonstrations, hands‑on cooking classes, food & wine tastings, pop‑up dinners, market stalls and music—think local producers rubbing elbows with visiting chefs while you learn to turn the day’s catch into dinner and then celebrate it with a pint. We bought 2 tickets to Saturday’s events and are looking forward to a fun day of eating, drinking and maybe meeting some famous chefs! Expect a report on the success of the event.
We have been thoroughly enjoying our time here and still have 2 weeks left in Ballycotton. We have eaten twice at The Salty Dog Pub, where the food is excellent, the service is tip-worthy, and the Pub part of the equation is just great craic. We have driven to both Dungarvan and Tramore, in County Waterford (yes, of Waterford crystal fame). Both are beautiful harbor towns where the scenery coming into both towns was quintessential Ireland – rolling hills, ocean views, luscious green fields. Just complete and total sensory overload.
Driving in Ireland is not easy. There are more roundabouts than there are ants in an anthill.Have you ever tried to navigate a roundabout in a major city where there are 4 “exit” options, multiple lanes of traffic and you are on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road? It is chaos, I assure you! And those are the major highways! If you get off the major highways the roundabouts become LESS frequent, however, the rural roads are narrow and one-way only – the way that you are going, that is. Allow me to explain…. The roads claim to be 2-way roads but they are not. Much of the time, one car pulls off to the side so the on-coming car can pass. By anyone’s math table, that is a one-way road. Oh, and do not take the corners fast because as you turn a corner on said-two-lane road, you could suddenly come upon a parked car/truck in your lane with a car coming at you in the opposite direction. You must hit the brakes to avoid hitting the randomly parked car and to keep the oncoming car from becoming one with your front seat. This is not just a story; it is the absolute truth. Jim asked me if I wanted to drive as long as we are in the “country” and I emphatically responded ABSOLUTELY NO! This old dog does not need to learn to drive on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of the car in a country that has no Rules of the Road.
Our dear friends Fay & Bill Clark will be coming to Ireland later this month. They have wisely hired a driver.
Anyway, we will meet them in the lovely seaside town of Kinsale and spend the day and evening enjoying each other’s company and catching up on all the good stories, both here and back home in Florida. In anticipation of their visit, we took a day trip to Kinsale to test some of the local fare and get a lay of the land. Most of the restaurants we wanted to try were either closed for the day or don’t open until evening. So, we found Dino’s just walking down the street and decided to give it a try. It was a really good. Jim had fish and chips and I had salmon. Fish was great and we washed it all down with a vanilla sundae which made it a very special lunch. It was a really beautiful day, so we spent the rest of the afternoon strolling down the main drag, admiring all of the boats in the marina and enjoying the sunshine. Looking forward to spending an afternoon here with Fay & Bill. Hopefully, the weather will be just as lovely.
We made a trip to Cork City, mostly to check out the living situation there. If ever we were to decide to move to Ireland, we would probably want to start out in Cork. It is a larger city, about 250K people, has a large airport, hospital system and is a vibrant university town. The food and cultural scene are noteworthy and there is just generally plenty to keep one in trouble. There is also a train straight through to Dublin if one needs to get to Dublin for some reason, like an international flight for example. Anyway, it was a cold, rainy day. We visited the farmers’ market at Mahon Point. It is a fairly large market with lots of food stands, organic veges, fresh fish and fresh meats. So, we bought dinner, checked out a few neighborhoods and looked at some high-rise apartment buildings before calling it a day and heading back to Ballycotton. We spent the night in our little cottage eating good food and enjoying the wood burning stove to take off the chill, while later enjoying our dessert staring out at the ocean. Life is good, very, very good.
We joined the local gym for the 2 months that we are in this area. So, we head over there 3 mornings each week and on the off-gym days, we hike the Cliff Walk and in the late afternoon, supplement our exercise routine climbing the steep hills of this little village whilst on our way to the Salty Dog for a pint or 2 before dinner!
Speaking of which, time to gather up Himself and take a walk to the Dog for a pint or two. Tomorrow is the Food Festival so I’ll be back with reports on our experience and I will input some pictures of The Cliff Walk and other sites we have seen. Stay tuned, folks!