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A
taste of old Ireland: Banquet to remember
by Ian Cameron
Edward, the butler, was in doublet and hose, and we drank our soup without spoons, holding the bowl in two hands. Once we had got the hang of eating with our fingers there was no stopping us. It was easier and fun.
We had been welcomed to the medieval banquet at 15th century Bunratty Castle, a few miles outside Limerick. The banquet is designed to catch the Americans and, with Shannon Airport no distance away, it does. The setting is superb and the food and entertainment of a high standard and exceptionally good value at £16.50 a head.
Similar festivities are held at Knappogue Castle and Dunguaire Castle. All three banquets are evidence of the enterprise of Shannon Development, a Government agency spearheading industrial growth and an upsurge in tourism.
The shops abound with famous items such as Waterford Crystal, Aran sweaters and linen, but there are also cheaper products - Connemara marble, for example. I bought a crystal vase at a small factory at Clarenbridge just south of Galway.
I travelled to Ireland taking the car from Pembroke dock to Cork and returning from Dublin to Liverpool. My stay was arranged by Ryans, which has hotels covering the West coast from Killarney to Sligo.
I chanced upon some good eating places, my favourite find being an undistinguished looking pub, Moran's of the Weir, at Kilcolgan. It's a family business dating back more than 200 years and oysters have been its speciality from the start. The pub's Cead Mile Failte (welcome) includes prawns or seafood cocktail, lobster soup, oysters at £4.80 a dozen, smoked salmon, crab and prawns, all served with crumbly brown bread......
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