Go Rail: Spring 2015

APRIL - JUNE 2015 • VOL:05 ISSUE:01

Robert Sheehan From Laois To L.A.

Roisin Ingle

My Favourite Train Journey

Shane Lowry

Joins The Golfing Elite

Cook Who’s Talking

Rachel Allen Stars in our Irish Food Special

P L U S : C•L SO DP AOGTHL IGH M c K TE NON N A , CMORA RKK U •S FME YE HFAV I L Y ,OUR M A RI T YE WT RH EALINA N JOUR & W E NE T RY:A V DE E L RT VA H E LW OI L’ROUR D A T L AKNET I•C W A Y

CONTENTS

APRIL - JUNE 2015

Volume 05 // Issue 01

Rachel Allen

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I N T E R V I E W O N PAG E . . .

06/ Go For It A rundown of what’s hot and happening throughout the country.

14/ Go News Up-to-date train news from Iarnród Éireann.

26/ Sheehan-Age Kicks Now based in LA, Irish actor Robert Sheehan opens up about the good, the bad and the Hollyweird.

30/ Whelan Of Fortune RTE’s Marty Whelan talks to Olaf Tyaransen about Winning Streak, the Rose Of Tralee and taking the rough with the smooth.

32/ Life After Westlife

discusses his new solo career and being free from boyband “rulebooks”.

34/ Northern Soul Irish Times columnist Róisín Ingle talks about how her favourite train journey, from Dublin to Belfast, really is a family affair.

38/ Country House Colm O’Regan reports on the Country to Country music festival at 3Arena, and meets the genre’s newest sensation, Luke Bryan.

40/ Go Business We visit Bow Street Academy for Screen Acting, which is experiencing a new lease of life since relocating to its new home from Dublin’s Docklands.

Former Westlife member Markus Feehily

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44/ Go Eat Stuart Clark catches up with Arun Kapil, the adopted Corkman who’s spiced up Irish life with his Green Saffron brand and is soon to star in his own TV series.

48/ Wild Thing Peter McNally reports on the best food and activities to be enjoyed along the west coast’s stunningly beautiful Wild Atlantic Way.

58/ Go Fashion We take a look at spring’s hottest trends, including elegant floral designs and ’70s boho chic.

62/ Reviews Our team of reviewers cast their eyes over the latest albums, books and DVD releases.

Credits APRIL - JUNE 2015

Volume 05 // Issue 01 Máirin Sheehy

COMMISSIONING EDITOR

Roisin Dwyer

CONTRIBUTORS

Stuart Clark Craig Fitzpatrick Peter McNally Anne Sexton Roe McDermott Colm O'Regan Marie Ryan Olaf Tyaransen

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Hot Press 13 Trinity Street Dublin 2

DESIGN

David Keane Monika Karaliuniate David Stanley

STUDIO MANAGER

David Keane

PRINTED BY

Boylan’s Print

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Damien Doran

PUBLISHER

Niall Stokes

GO RAIL IS PUBLISHED FOR IARNRÓD ÉIREANN BY:

Ireland’s Food Revolution KATHRIN BAUMBACH

MANAGING EDITOR

Editor's Message

Osnovina Ltd 13 Trinity Street Dublin 2

Contact TELEPHONE FAX EMAIL

(01) 2411 500 (01) 2411 538 gorail@hotpress.ie

LETTERS

The Editor, Go Rail Magazine, 13 Trinity St Dublin 2

While every effort has been made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, the publishers cannot accept any responsibilities for errors. The views contained in this magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Iarnród Éireann.

All material © Osnovina 2015. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of material without permission of the publishers is strictly prohibited.

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here was a time when food in Ireland was entirely predictable. The old meat and two veg combination was written in stone for people eating at home. And it didn’t matter how overcooked anything was: it was all about volume and appealing to the lowest common denominator.

If you were eating out, even in our allegedly classier joints, the important thing, it seemed, was that they had a tray of vegetables from which they could pile a mixed heap onto your plate, sometimes whether you wanted it or not. The hope, presumably, was to frighten you into submission…

Those days thankfully are long gone. In fact it is no idle boast to say that, in 2015, Ireland ranks up there among the best food destinations in the world. We have a huge variety of restaurants all over the country, serving world class dishes. We also have a thriving food industry that is focused on the concept of quality produce: first in the growing, where Ireland’s natural strengths as an island with a reputation for its clean, green environment can be harnessed; and secondly in the processing work of the new breed of local, artisan producers, who have been

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quietly revolutionising the Irish food scene over the past decade and more.

The beef and dairy industries are going through an exciting time too, with new opportunities opening up in both the US and China – huge markets that will yield rich dividends if we can make them work for us.

Food is one of life’s great pleasures. We are lucky enough to live in a country that has the climate to enable us to produce the best that money can buy, in abundance.

But it takes people with energy, ability and vision to maximise the potential of a country like Ireland, in this, as in so many other, respects. At long last, it seems, they are out there: working hard, creating, managing and developing Irish food products as well as restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, delicatessens and food emporia to match the best in the world.

In this special issue of Go Rail, we salute the leading lights of the Irish food revolution.

Long may they continue to thrive...

Mairin Sheehy, Editor

GO FOR IT A R U N D O W N O F W H AT ’ S H O T & H A P P E N I N G

by Peter McNally

Ellie Goulding

Sound Of The Summer

Need To Know...

Celebrating the best of international and homegrown talent, 2015 promises to be a banner year for Cork’s Live at the Marquee Festival. This year’s highlights include returning heroes ZZ Top (June 22) sharing the tent with legends like Lionel Richie (June 27), Billy Idol (June 17), and rising Irish stars Kodaline (June 25) and the Coronas (June 19–20). Live at the Marquee is also rolling out the red carpet for its share of award winners this year – with John Legend (June 23) hot from Oscar glory and Beck (Jun 16) fresh from his (Kanye contested) Album of the Year Grammy. For over ten years now, Cork’s Live at the Marquee festival has attracted an eclectic mix of the biggest names in music and comedy. With other acts like Ellie Goulding (June 24), the Waterboys (June 28), and Dara O’Briain (July 3) rounding out the line-up; Cork’s docklands are the place to be this June and July.

WHERE: The Marquee, Cork

For best value fares on all intercity services check out irishrail.ie 06

WHEN: June 22 - July 3 NEAREST STATION: Kent Station, Lower Glanmire Road, Cork

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• Songs of the South

Sting

Calexico

We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin' Long time friends, Sting and Paul Simon, bring their innovative and critically acclaimed On Stage Together tour to the 3Arena on April 7. What Simon described as “our little experiment” seems like a natural and exciting fit. When you consider how both artists have pushed boundaries and expanded the pop music palette by incorporating influences from world music, the opportunity to see two musical legends blending their voices and styles together becomes an exciting proposition. With a 14-piece band backing them through performances of their respective hits, songs like “The Boxer”, “Fields of Gold”, “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”, and “Every Breath You Take” have never sounded fresher or more nuanced.

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Hot on the heels of its recent win for Best Small Live Music Festival at the IMRO awards, the Kilkenny Roots Festival returns this May 1 – 4. 2015’s line-up features roots and Americana luminaries, Calexico on Sunday 3 May. Since 1998, the Festival has attracted some of the finest names in the Americana/ Roots canon to the marble city, and this year is no different. Across the various venues participating in the festival, acts like Clem Snide, The Barr Brothers, I Draw Slow, and Daddy Long Legs are just a slice of a magnificent line up. Fans of Americana and Roots music need no better excuse to visit the marble city this May.

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G A DG E T INS P EC TO R

TOSHI BA P O RTA B L E WI R E LES S SPE AK ER ( T Y-W S P 5 4 EU) In the era of big hair, shoulder-pads, and white suits on Miami speedboats – aka the 1980’s – portable music involved gigantic boomboxes that could put your back out. In 2015 we have done away with all that tomfoolery.

Neither do we end up face-planting the floor, having tripped over a spaghetti junction of leads and cables.

The new generation of speakers wirelessly hook up to your smartphone, laptop, or tablet, using the magic of Bluetooth.

H OW I T LO O KS Small and inconspicuous, Toshiba’s portable wireless speaker looks like Wall-E’s head. Unlike Pixar’s dumb robot, this device won’t clean up your home. It will, however, make sweet music at deafening volumes. The speaker is the perfect size, fitting into a coat pocket for trips to the beach on holidays, or a friend’s houses for bad dancing on Friday night.

H OW I T C O N N ECT S Like a top class dating agency, this speaker is out to make all the right connections. The device is NFC-enabled, so just tap your smartphone on the box and it automatically turns on, hooking up to the song collection on your phone. Otherwise, connect to the device over Bluetooth.

There is an AUX-IN port, so you can plug in other devices, such as turntables. A built-in microphone allows for hands-free conference calls.

H OW I T S O UN D S

Need To Know...

This summer, for the first time, the international dance sensation Riverdance will visit Cork for a 20th anniversary staging. As part of the Live at the Marquee Festival, Riverdance will take over the docklands for four nights beginning on Wednesday June 11. Composed by Bill Whelan, produced by Moya Doherty and directed by John McColgan, this anniversary production last year played in 37 countries in Europe, including a return tour to the UK, and a ground breaking 25 city tour of China. Over twenty years the Irish phenomenon Riverdance has been seen live by more than 25 million people. Described by the Washington Post as “a phenomenon of historic proportions”, this celebration of everything Irish is not to be missed when it opens in the unique setting of the Marquee.

WHERE: Marquee, Cork WHEN: June 11 NEAREST STATION: Kent Station, Lower Glanmire Road, Cork

Summer Fruit

ANDREW DUFFY

Cranked to the max, this little fellow can’t handle the pace: the 10-watt speaker distorts. But 50% volume is good enough for any civilised gathering; at this volume, the battery life stretches out to 10 hours of play. When the juice is spent, it takes another three hours to recharge.

MP3’s, streamed over Bluetooth, do not have the greatest audio fidelity, whatever speaker you happen to be playing them on.

DANCING IN THE DARK

Run The Jewels

WH Y I T ’S G O O D There are plenty of Bluetooth speakers on the market. The best ones include Jawbone Big Jambox, Beats Pill XL, Bose Soundlink Mini, Sonos Play:1. But all of these cost at least €200. For a budget speaker, at a conveniently portable size, look no further.

ROGER THAT

Overview: Price / €79 Speaker / 2.0 channel stereo Dimension / 130 x 71 x 96mm Weight / 620g

Total Score 75% Performance / 70 % Design / 80% Inputs / 70% Durability / 80 %

Kicking off another great festival season, Forbidden Fruit returns this May (29–31) to the idyllic grounds of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham.

This year’s line-up includes festival mainstays Fatboy Slim, Groove Armada and the Wu Tang Clan, along with critical darlings and fan favourites Jamie xx and Run the Jewels. Fingers crossed that the latter’s Meow the Jewels is ready for a premier by the time they hit Dublin! Maybe the most rail friendly of all Ireland’s music festivals, Forbidden Fruit is a mere five-minute walk from Dublin’s Heuston Station. Boasting over seventy acts on five stages over its three days – the festival, now in it’s fifth year, has cemented its reputation on the summer music calendar.

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Turning 50 shouldn’t be this much fun! Celebrating their golden anniversary in 2015 – Townshend, Daltry and Co. promise an evening of “All the Hits, Picks, Mixes and Misses” when they hit the 3Arena this June 23. One of rock’s most legendary and defining bands, The Who recently wowed Irish audiences and won rave reviews for their performance of Quadrophenia in 2013. This celebration of the Who canon is sure to deliver more of what Hot Press’ Colm O’Hare described as, “the kind of visceral power and glory that only a band like The Who can summon up”.

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NEVER MISS A GIG AGAIN! With the application Temple bar Gigs, you will never miss a gig again from your favourite musician.

Compatibility The application is made for Android and IOS (Iphone/Ipad)

the latest version 8.1. You can install the application on your iphone from version 7.1.

Interaction Login into the app and rate and review the different musicians and pubs.

Off-line The application can be used off-line.

When you have an Internet connection the and you open the application it will be updated automatically!

Gigs The gigs are supplied by musician or pub.

IOS The application IOS is updated for www.templebargigs.com

Navigation Use the navigation feature in the application to navigate your way ���u�������u�������������������������� in the pubs of Temple bar

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PARKING PERMIT

21 YEARS- STILL PURRING Need To Know...

WHERE: Various venues , Kilkenny WHEN: June Bank Holiday NEAREST STATION: MacDonagh Station,

Kilkenny’s Sky Cat Laughs Comedy Festival celebrates its 21st Birthday in style this June Bank Holiday hosting a gut-busting line-up stuffed with national and international talent. A small selection of the massive list of talent features international names like Jack Dee, Rich Hall, Jon Richardson and Ramesh Ranganathan, alongside well known Irish comedians like Aisling Bea, Jason Byrne, Neil Delamare, PJ Gallagher, Andrew Maxwell, David O’Doherty and Ardal O’Hanlon. With outdoor events like Karl Spain’s Hysterical Walking Tour of Kilkenny, and free events like The Comedians’ Ireland versus The Rest of The World Football Match, this years Cat Laughs promises to live up to its name as “The best little comedy festival in the world”.

DOYLE NOTICE

Midlake

The annual Active Retirement Ireland Trade & Tourism Show returns to the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa in Galway on Tuesday May 26. Irish journalist, broadcaster and former newsreader Anne Doyle will be the guest of honour at the event, which will showcase approximately 90 varied exhibitors. Exhibitions include stands endorsing health promotion, gardening, cookery and fashion. Visitors can enjoy an Antiques Roadshow for small items, a fashion event, and a celebrity cooking demonstration. There will also be free workshops, live music, art, craft, free prize draws, and lunch specials. The show is the biggest event organised by Active Retirement Ireland for all of its members and the general public.

Cork This Way This June the city of Cork will once again be transformed when the annual Cork Midsummer Festival takes over its streets and theatres for two weekends (June 12–14 & 19–21). Highlights are sure to include the spectacular fire show, INFERNO, set in the ancient Elizabeth Fort, and the gothic opera Der Vampyr at The Everyman Theatre. Other attractions on offer are; a celebration of Scottish Cinema, an appearance at Cyprus Avenue by international rockers Midlake, and, what better way to explore Cork than on the Tasting Trail which will take you on a tour of the city’s best hidden culinary gems. A multi-disciplinary festival that offers something for all ages, the Midsummer Festival is a great way to become immersed in and explore this dynamic city. From street performances to contemporary theatre, opera to international rock bands and a full cinema programme – this citywide event will lead you to the best Cork has to offer.

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A WHALE OF A TIME

Set over the June Bank Holiday, Youghal’s Moby Dick Festival is a celebration of the town’s historic connection to the tale of the whale. Promising a fantastic free programme of outdoor fun and frolics for young and old alike, the festival begins with an ocean parade of music, drumming, and colourful costumes. To commemorate the filming of John Huston’s Moby Dick in Youghal, films will be screened on the Eastern Gable of the town’s historic clock gate and there will be opportunities to meet locals who appeared as extras in the 1956 film. Throughout the festival there will be an abundance of activities like treasure hunts, street music, storytelling, high-flying acrobatics, readings, sea shanties, and an openair market displaying local produce.

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• Beck For More

Come Sail Away With Me Need To Know...

WHERE: Cork Harbour, Cork WHEN: May 30 - June 1 NEAREST STATION: Kent Station, Lower Glanmire Road, Cork

Joining forces in 2015, Ocean to City and Cork Harbour Open Day deliver one of Ireland’s biggest festivals dedicated to all things maritime this May 30 – June 1. Centred around An Rás Mór, “Ireland’s friendliest rowing race”, Ocean To City attracts thousands of spectators each year to take part in events on both land and sea. Taking place in one of the largest natural harbours in the world, the festival offers visitors the chance to get out on the water and test their rowing skills, seeing the city like never before. With opportunities to enter a team into the dragon boat challenge, and to get creative with your children in the model boat competition, Ocean To City’s many free family events offer something for all ages. This festival has grown into a true flagship event celebrating Ireland’s unique maritime culture and heritage.

One of the most exciting musical pairings of the summer is sure to be when Beck plays the Royal Hospital Kilmainham with support from Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood on June 17. Two of music’s true originals, Beck and Greenwood last appeared together in Ireland when Beck supported Radiohead at Marley Park in 2006. And, on the back of his multi-Grammy Award winning album, Morning Phase, and following his riotously funky performance at last years Electric Picnic – there is no better time or place to see Beck Hansen than in the picturesque surroundings of the Royal Hospital. The London Contemporary Orchestra will accompany Greenwood for a run through of extracts from his many film scores – including performances from Paul Thomas Anderson’s films There Will Be Blood, The Master, and Inherent Vice. This unique pairing is sure to be considered one of the gigs of the summer.

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Matthew E. White

KILLARNEY FESTIVAL

Rachel Allen

Something For The Body, Something For The Soul Need To Know...

WHERE: Ballinlough Castle, Meath WHEN: June 19 – 21 NEAREST STATION: Mullingar Station, Glonmore Road, Westmeath

The Body & Soul Festival has just announced their line-up for 2015. Returning for its sixth instalment, this year’s festival boasts international acts Savages, Nightmares on Wax, LAMB, Matthew E. White, Goat and Dan Deacon. Adding to this are Irish festival favourites Mmoths, Meltybrains?, Shit Robot and King Kong Company. Set in the stunning surroundings of Ballinlough Castle – its woodlands, lake, and 15th century walled garden are the backdrop for glittering late night discos, inspirational art trails, and a magnificent masquerade ball. With attractions and events that promise to appeal to nature lovers, families with young children, foodies and folkies – as well as to late night revellers – there really is something for everyone at Body & Soul.

With many more acts yet to be announced, Body & Soul 2015 is bound to be a “must see” celebration of the summer solstice.

Taking place on the 27 & 28 June, The Killarney Festival of Music and Food is a unique family friendly boutique festival set in the unique surroundings of Killarney House Demesne. Over 60 Irish and international acts will perform over the weekend, including Jools Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, Burt Bacharach, Texas, The Proclaimers, The Undertones, Gemma Hayes and many more. The Killarney Gourmet Food Village will showcase national food and wine and include presentations from established Irish restaurants, local artisan food producers and culinary demonstrations by some of Ireland’s finest celebrity and Michelin star chefs. The Killarney Kids Zone will have a fairground, giant games, and kids activities for all ages including arts and crafts. In the Comedy Tent Deirdre O’Kane and the team from Aprés Match will be on hand to bring the laughs. Additional acts, comedians and chefs are to be announced in the lead up to what promises to be a fun filled festival weekend to remember.

Will Irish Eyes Be Smiling?

GRAHAM KEOGH

Vantastic Voyage Vantastival is the best-kept secret in the Irish festival scene – a totally unique, brazenly independent event that takes place over the May Bank Holiday Weekend (1–3) at Bellurgan Park, Dundalk. Acts already announced for this year’s line-up include festival favourites Delorentos, Goldie Lookin’ Chain, R.S.A.G., King Kong Company and Jinx Lennon. Vantastival has always been a champion of the Irish music scene, featuring a chiefly homegrown line-up that is consistently praised for its diversity. The festival is known for its friendliness and for the relaxed, non-commercial atmosphere.

While Vantastival is extremely campervan friendly, tent campers are also welcome. This is not exclusively a campervan event! Other festival features include an open-mic stage, a campervan cook-off, smaller satellite stages, a late night arena, an adventure area, gourmet food stalls, festival traders and a cinema – ensuring that Vantastival has something for everyone. In addition, Vantastival is a very family friendly festival with a full schedule of kids’ activities.

When Ireland host Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on June 13, the result is certain to be crucial to Martin O’Neill’s (and the nation’s) European Championship ambitions. Following Ireland’s 1–0 loss at Celtic Park last November, O’Neill’s boys in green badly need a win to ensure their chances of qualifying against both Germany and Poland at the top of Group D. With all this at stake, the Aviva is sure to be alive with competitive atmosphere when these two friendly nations take to the field. A truly modern and visually stunning stadium, there is no better venue in the country than the Aviva to experience such an important sporting event.

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• A Commitment to Irish Literature

The Lost Brothers

M A R K N I XO N

Roddy Doyle

This year’s Dublin: One City, One Book Festival has chosen Roddy Doyle’s much loved ‘The Barrytown Trilogy’ as the focus of a month-long celebration in April. The festival is an award-winning initiative, led by Dublin City Public Libraries, which encourages everyone to read a book connected with the capital during the month of April. Doyle’s work will be the focus of dozens of events taking place across the city, including author readings and film screenings. In addition, there will be talks on Dublin humour, and Irish music and culture throughout the ’80s and ’90s. The highlight of the festival is sure to be April 12 at Vicar Street, when Ireland’s best and brightest stars of music, stage and screen come together in a special celebration curated by the author. In association with MusicTown Festival, this event will see names like Glen Hansard, Imelda May, Richard Hawley, Colm Meaney and Love/Hate’s Aiden Gillen and Peter Coonan pay tribute to one of Ireland’s most lauded works of popular culture.

Wild Mountain Time The inaugural Folk Fest Killarney takes place at the INEC from July 24–26 and early word signals a major new entry on the festival calendar. With a headline-grabbing, one-off performance by legendary Irish super group Moving Hearts, and an appearance by Malian superstars Tinariwen – festival programmer Conor Byrne promises “a coming together of the best in traditional, contemporary and alternative folk, from many parts of the globe.” The action will take place over four stages, packed with favourites like Sharon Shannon, Luka Bloom, The Unthanks, The Lost Brothers, and perennial crowd-pleasers KÍla, plus many more. With so much music on offer and an artisan food village to help keep the strength up – Folk Fest Killarney promises to keep spirits high from dusk till dawn.

Irish Derby Celebrates 150 Years

Martha Lynn at the most stylish lady competition at the Dubia Duty Free Irish Derby

World class racing, fabulous fashion, wonderful food and great music can all be expected when the Irish Derby celebrates its 150th year on June 26-28. Unrivalled in its prestige and tradition, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh Racecourse is undoubtedly the social highlight of the racing calendar. Held across three days, the event will host an array of live bands and DJs, including Nathan Carter and ’80s tribute band Spring Break. Also included amongst the festivities will be the black tie Irish Derby Ball. In addition, the Derby Food Paddock will showcase a selection of delicacies from Ireland’s leading food producers – including restaurants, hotels, cookery schools, cheesemakers, bakers and chocolatiers. With a racing schedule packed with the crème de la crème of the equine world, the 150th Irish Derby promises to be one to remember.

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Need To Know...

WHERE: The Curragh, Kildare WHEN: June 26 – 28 NEAREST STATION: Kildare Station, Station Road, Kildare

T R A I N news KATHRIN BAUMBACH

Conolly Station at rush hour

One Million More Travel By Rail In 2014

A million more thank yous! Passenger journeys on Iarnród Éireann services increased by over one million in 2014 over the previous twelve months. In total, 37.8 million journeys were made across Intercity, DART and Commuter services during the year, compared to 36.7 million journeys in 2013.

KEY FACTORS IN PASSENGER GROWTH INCLUDE: •

• •

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More of you taking advantage of our great offers, with strong growth in online bookings, student travel and the Taxsaver commuter ticket scheme Economic recovery, including growth in employment Benefits from integration initiatives with the NTA and other operators, including Leap Card Additional business from sporting, musical and other major events

OF MAJOR ROUTES, STRONGEST GROWTH WAS RECORDED ON: • Dublin/Tralee with growth of 7% to 571,000 journeys

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• •

Dublin/Galway with growth of 6% to 1.55 million journeys Cork/Cobh commuter route jumped 17% to 745,000, with extra journeys for the Irish Open Golf at Fota Island and for cruise ship business a significant factor

The Limerick/Galway route rose almost 75% from 29,000 to 50,000 journeys during the year through the new Ennis/Athenry section of the line. This followed the introduction of online booking and promotional fares for the route.

David Franks, Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann said: “We thank our existing and new customers who travelled with us in 2014 – a return to growth is hugely encouraging. We will target further growth throughout 2015 by ensuring we meet customer needs with our services; continuing to promote online sales and other discount options; working with major events to ensure we provide attendees with the strongest possible transport options; and working with tourism and other business interests to identify new opportunities.

Together with continued cost control, and working with the NTA and Department of Transport on ensuring Iarnród Éireann is sustainably funded into the future, we hope 2014 marks a key moment in the development of our railway.”

TRAINSPOTTING

WORK ON TRACK FOR

FASTER TRAINS Iarnród Éireann has begun a programme of line improvement works on the Dublin to Cork line, focusing this year on the section between Hazelhatch and Portlaoise.

Dart To The Airport Under Consideration By NTA Imagine arriving into Dublin Airport and having a fast frequent DART service right next to terminals 1 and 2, whisking you into the city centre in 20 minutes and connecting you to the rest of the DART network and beyond?

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he National Transport Authority is examining the option of this line as part of its North Dublin transport review.

to the city’s existing infrastructure • Airport services could be operated by the existing DART fleet, as peak flows on an Airport rail service are generally the opposite of city commuter demand • An estimated 3 million air travellers per annum would use the service at opening, with the service likely to appeal also to many of the 15,000 employees working on the airport campus • It could be delivered in as little as four years

The DART Airport link would see a spur off the DART line at Clongriffin to the Airport, allowing high-capacity DARTs to operate from the Airport to Dublin Connolly and Pearse Stations every 15 minutes.

TRAIN FACT No.001

ADVANTAGES OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE: • The Airport rail link would be fully integrated into the existing city rail network, with direct DARTs from the Airport to the city centre every 15 minutes, in a journey time of just over 20 minutes, from 05.00hrs to 01.00hrs daily • The project would deliver the long-sought direct Airport to city rail link at a fraction of the cost of other projects, with costs estimated at €300 million • The alignment for the Airport rail link from the Airport to Clongriffin is directly underneath the main flightpath to the airport and is undeveloped, meaning construction could take place without disruption to residential or commercial interests, or

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The project would also fit into the proposed expanded network were DART Underground to proceed, with Airport DARTs operating directly to the Docklands/ IFSC area; Pearse; St Stephen’s Green; Christchurch and Heuston Stations in such a network, all of which are key business, commercial and tourism areas.

This would also connect the national rail network at Heuston to a direct DART network, to the city and Dublin Airport.

Under the NTA options being studied, it could also be delivered along with a light rail link to Swords, ensuring that all transport requirements in the North Dublin area are met.

TODAY’S BULLET TRAINS CAN TOP 300 MPH.

mph

When Englishman Richard Trevithick launched the first practical steam locomotive in 1804, it averaged less than 10 mph. Today, several high-speed rail lines are regularly travelling 30 times as fast. When Japan’s first Shinkansen, or “bullet trains”, opened to coincide with the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, they were capable of running at speeds in excess of 130 mph. In the 40 years since, the top speed of these trains has been steadily climbing, with a current world speed record of 361 mph.

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The initial investment in 2015 of €10 million in line improvements will lead to higher reliability, smoother running of trains and (with other works) deliver consistent 160kph speeds (100 mph) by the end of 2016 on this section.

This will deliver journey-time improvements for customers.

The works involve improving the track substructure, by the removal and replacement of degraded crushed stone ballast which supports the railway track structure. In addition, track drainage and track geometry will be improved.

REVISED SCHEDULES ON SOME SATURDAYS To facilitate these works, there will be service changes on selected Saturdays* this year, as well as Easter Sunday and May Bank Holiday Sunday. The programme of works began on Saturday, February 28.

Works will not take place during the peak tourism and sporting season of July and August, or on Saturdays of other major events (including All-Ireland Finals, Ireland soccer and rugby internationals and the Cork Jazz Festival).

There will be some minor modifications to service arrangements subject to exact work sites as the project proceeds.

On relevant dates, customers are advised to check departure times before travel. Timetable information is available at irishrail.ie.

Current dates for work schedule (subject to alteration for currently unplanned major events): • Saturday 28th March • Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th April (Easter) • Saturday 18th April • Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd May (May weekend) • Saturday 16th May • Saturday 23rd May • Saturday 6th June • Saturday 4th July • Saturday 12th September • Saturday 26th September • Saturday 3rd October • Saturday 31st October • Saturday 7th November • Saturday 14th November Iarnród Éireann apologises for any inconvenience caused by these arrangements.

T R A I N news

Make Sure You Have Your Ticket!

Iarnród Éireann Revenue Protection Officers have recovered €5,544.25 from a rail customer, who had used his Annual smartcard consistently throughout the year beyond its authorised area. It is the largest penalty recovered by Revenue Protection Officers in 2014.

Iarnród Éireann Join Drive For Mental Well-Being In May, Iarnród Éireann and Seechange.ie will be raising awareness of mental health issues during Green Ribbon month.

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n May, Iarnród Éireann and Seechange.ie join forces to raise awareness of mental health issues as part of Green Ribbon month.

Ribbons will be available free at major stations for you to wear and help start conversations about mental health. In 2014, over 300,000 ribbons were distributed through stations and Citizens Information Centres, and research shows over 70% of adults feel more comfortable having conversations about mental health since the campaign. This success is something Seechange want to build on, so be sure to wear your ribbon in May. Iarnród Éireann has also partnered with Samaritans Ireland to launch a new joint suicide prevention initiative.

In conjunction with the Samaritans, signage is currently being placed on every station platform in the country with the Samaritans' contact details to encourage people to seek help if they need someone to talk to. Research carried out in the UK has shown that signage can help play an important role in suicide prevention.

Every year a number of people take their own lives on the railway and many more sustain serious injuries. Speaking in support of the initiative, former train driver and current Iarnród Éireann Inspector Joe Buchanan said: “Having an act of suicide take place in front of your train can have a life altering impact not just on drivers, but on their families too. I am here today to appeal to anyone who may be experiencing

suicidal thoughts to seek help and not to take such an action.”

Speaking at the launch Catherine Brogan, Executive Director Samaritans Ireland, said: “Our work with the rail industry to prevent suicides in the UK with Network Rail is something we are really proud of, and we are glad to have the opportunity to expand it to Ireland. Raising awareness of our service to rail commuters is really important. We want people to recognise the value of talking, rather than bottling things up.

"Samaritans is there for anyone going through a tough time. People can contact us around the clock, every single day of the year, by email, visiting their local branch, as well as calling.”

David Franks, CEO of Iarnród Éireann, said: “Having worked in the railway industry all my life, suicides on the railway are a sad reality. We as a company want to do everything we can to encourage members of the public to seek help and reach out for support when they are going through a difficult time. We hope that providing signage on all railway platforms will encourage those who need it to seek assistance”.

Please call the Samaritans at 116 123 in the Republic of Ireland, or visit www.samaritans.ie to find details of the nearest branch.

Finally, rail staff are to enter a team in the Cycle Against Suicide in April / May, with over 100 employees planning to participate around the country.

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The evasion came to light when the customer – whose annual Smartcard entitled him to travel between Drogheda and Balbriggan only – was issued with a penalty fare notice on board a Commuter service outside the area of validity. Further investigation by the Revenue Protection Unit revealed the misuse had taken place over the course of the year between Drogheda and a southside DART station, and the ticket holder was served with a notice seeking repayment of the outstanding debt of €5,544.25, made up of the cost of single journeys for each instance of misuse. The debt has been paid in full.

A total of 9,885 fixed penalty notices were issued in 2014, an increase of 30%, with a minimum fine of €100 applying. A total of 356 cases have been successfully taken to the District Courts for those who did not pay the fixed penalty.

Revenue Protection Officers also confiscated 1,200 Department of Social Protection Free Travel Passes in 2014 which were being misused. Iarnród Éireann will continue to work closely with the DSP and other transport operators in 2015 to target misuse of passes.

Iarnród Éireann has boosted resources in Revenue Protection over the past 18 months, with additional personnel deployed in this area, supported by management and back office staff. In addition, station blitzes have taken place, as well as coordinated checks involving all transport operators and the Department of Social Protection.

Fare evasion reduces income, and results in higher costs for fare-paying customers, so it’s crucial for everyone that it is reduced.

Bridge Over Troubled Crossing!

TRAINSPOTTING

One of the busiest manually operated rail level crossings on the Iarnród Éireann network at Reilly’s Crossing on the Ratoath Road, Dublin has been replaced with a bridge, benefiting rail customers, road users and pedestrians alike.

CRUISES CALLING TO ROSSLARE Rosslare Europort, owned and operated by Iarnród Éireann, is to see more cruise business in 2016 with the announcement that the Fred Olsen Lines cruise ship MS Braemar will visit on 16th July next year.

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ork started on the new bridge in June 2013 and has been completed to schedule. The ¤9.8 million Iarnród Éireann project has been developed in co-operation with Dublin City Council and is funded by the National Transport Authority.

Train Stats

The new bridge will, in tandem with other planned projects, allow for future increased capacity on the busy Maynooth to Dublin rail line for train services. It will immediately eliminate major road congestion at the crossing, with 107 trains passing through the level crossing each day, including up to 55 services at peak times causing constant traffic queues while the gates are closed. These vehicles will now use a modern bridge over the rail line with capacity for all users in the area.

The project links the Ratoath Road from a point approximately 300 metres south of the existing level

4,300 325,000

726,000

crossing to the Ballyboggan Road junction to the north.

Works included the construction of 500 metres of road, a bridge over the railway and canal and a junction with the Ballyboggan Road.

The new bridge will greatly help with the traffic flow on the Ratoath Road which provides a very widely used north-south connection from the North Inner City and Cabra to Finglas. Increased traffic and pedestrian safety together with the reduction in traffic congestion in the area will enable improved accessibility and linkages at peak and off peak times for work, shopping and leisure purposes. The road will also provide a much needed improvement to pedestrian and cycle facilities along this section of the Ratoath Road.

The company thanked local residents and businesses for their assistance and co-operation during the construction period.

MS Braemar has 485 cabins with capacity for 929 guests, and will include Rosslare as part of a Britain and Ireland cruise. This follows last year’s announcement that the cruise ship MS Albatros, operated by Phoenix Reisen, will visit Rosslare Europort on 5th August 2015, becoming the first Cruise Ship to visit Rosslare Europort in over 20 years.

Both visits follow the establishment of a Working Group led by the General Manager of Rosslare Europort John Lynch, including representatives of Wexford County Council and Fáilte Ireland and supported by Visit Wexford, which has been working on developing the cruise business at Rosslare. The group has targeted further expansion of cruise ship business at the port.

General Manager of Rosslare Europort John Lynch said: “We are delighted to welcome the MS Braemar to Rosslare in 2016, as well as the MS Albatros to Rosslare this summer. We are fortunate at Rosslare that not only do we have the capacity to operate as a busy commercial port, but we are also situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty and rich cultural heritage and I believe that there will be many more Cruise Ships that will want to explore the wonders of Wexford and the South East.”

• THE NUMBER OF TRAINS THAT RUN EACH WEEK • THE AMOUNT OF KILOMETRES COVERED EACH WEEK • THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS CARRIED PER WEEK 17

GOFEATURE

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Celebrity chef Rachel Allen tells Stuart Clark how she caught the cooking bug, and runs through her list of favourite markets, producers, restaurants and foodie indulgences.

“I

going on holiday to Cork’ but Darina doesn’t tolerate shirkers, she works you extremely hard. Myself and my friend Nikki were the giddy 18-yearolds on the course and had to be reigned in every so often.

“What I realise now is that Darina’s passion for Irish produce filtered down from her own mother, the amazing Myrtle who is 91 today and still going strong!”

Asked to list her other foodie heroes, Rachel lets out a long sigh and then says, “Oh, there are so many! I’ve huge respect for those people who get up at six in the morning all-year round to man a market stall. Three of my favourites are Mahon Point Farmers Market, which takes place on Thursday and the Middleton Farmers Market and the Limerick Milk Market, which are both on Saturday. Limerick gets a lots of undeserved negative coverage in the media, but they adore their food there and really get behind their local producers.”

As anyone who’s seen her RTÉ cookery shows will know, Rachel is also a vocal champion of Irish artisan cheese and the evangelical types who make it.

“I’m totally in awe of Giana Ferguson, the wonderful lady in the most south-westerly tip of Ireland who’s behind Gubbeen Cheese. Her drive and passion are inspirational.

She has a book, Gubbeen: The Story Of A Working Farm And Its Foods, that you absolutely have to read. Then there’s Milleen’s, Durrus, Cashel Blue and Crozier

’m just nrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr juicing some vegetables for the kids for later and nrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I’ve got a lovely little girl and her family from Make A Wish coming to the cookery school and nrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I’m talking to you of course!”

This is what passes for a quiet day in the life of Rachel Allen, the Irish celebrity chef who’s been at the forefront of the food revolution here for well over a decade.

Like many of her culinary comrades, the Dubliner became serious about cooking after enrolling in a Ballymaloe House course presided over by her future motherin-law Darina Allen.

“I’ve my two mums to thank for my love of food,” Rachel smiles, task number one, the juicing, completed.

“Cooking at home wasn’t ‘having to help with the chores’, it was a fun thing we’d do together. My sister and I both loved baking – cakes, buns, meringues, pies, biscuits. All the things that as an adult you have to have in moderation, but as a kid you can eat all day long!

“My mum was determined that I didn’t go down to Ballymaloe without a few of the other basics, so she taught me those big life skills – roasting a chicken and making good gravy.”

How did Rachel feel walking into class at Ballymaloe for the first time?

“Excited but nervous. Some of my friends were like, ‘Lucky you,

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Blue – you could put together an Irish cheeseboard that’s the equal of anything you’d get in France or Italy.”

Some of the aforementioned will be getting a mention in Rachel’s new book, the concept for which is a trip up the west coast from Cork to Donegal.

“I’ll be visiting different producers, cooks, chefs, B&Bs and breweries – the Irish craft beer movement is incredibly exciting,” she enthuses.

“I was in the Rising Sons Brewery on Coal Quay in Cork the other day.

They’ve an old-style stout, Midaza, which I really enjoyed. Another quality beer is the Kinsale IPA, which I tasted for the first time last night. The flavours seem to be getting bigger and bolder.”

As hot a property nowadays in the UK as she is in Ireland, Rachel has got to rub saucepans with a whole host of famous names.

“I love listening to and watching Rick Stein because of his voice and the enthusiastic way he talks about food. He’s such a gentleman too.

Jamie Oliver is really down to earth and to be congratulated for his stand on healthy eating and mentoring so many young, disadvantaged people who’ve gone on to have great careers in food.

“Every now and again I get starstruck like when I was on Saturday Kitchen with James Martin and Martin Kemp was one of the guests,” she confesses. “I started singing Spandau Ballet and he told me not to give up the day-job! What I love about doing live cookery shows in the UK is the spontaneity and being able to tell people about our incredible Irish pork, lamb and beef. With our grass and our rain, it’s a toss up between ourselves and New Zealand as to who has the best tasting meat.”

GOFEATURE Jamie Oliver’s fast food indulgence is a fish-finger sandwich with tomato ketchup and mayo.

“Mine would be eating a packet of O’Donnell’s or Keogh’s crisps, which are both brilliant, with a really good gin & tonic,” Rachel laughs.

“Snack-wise, I’m a real eggs-doneumpteen-different-ways sort of a person. Getting someone to make an omelette is a really good test of how good a cook they are. Another is preparing a simple green salad. If they squeeze the living daylights out of the lettuce leaves and don’t wash them properly you know there’s still lots of work to be done.”

When she’s not eating on the run where does Rachel like to go for a meal?

“Do you have all day?” she deadpans. “When I was in Dublin recently I had an amazing breakfast in Brother Hubbard on Capel Street.

They’ve another great little place, Sister Sadie, on Harrington Street.

Chapter One and Dylan McGrath’s Fade Street Social are two more of my Dublin favourites and if I’m really splashing out, Patrick Guilbaud never disappoints.”

In addition to her other endeavours, Rachel has been busy updating her range of Signature Sandwiches for O’Brien’s.

“One of the things we’ve got coming up at the end of April is a Tomato Focaccia with Beetroot, Goat Cheese, Hazelnut & Honey Salad,” she reveals. “We like to give the range a tweak every six weeks or so, which means you’re constantly thinking of what will go well with what. It’s good fun!”

Also lots of fun is the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Lit Fest of Food & Wine, which returns to the famous old house from May 15-17.

“Two people I’m really looking forward to this year are April Bloomfield from New York who’s the chef-owner of many restaurants there including the John Dory Oyster Bar, and Alice Waters from Chez Panisse in Berkley, California who’s a big champion of sustainable agriculture. We don’t get much sleep during the course of it, but it’s always a brilliant three days!”

See rachelallen.com and litfest.ie for more

Dee’s Wholefoods Dee Collins has been branded ‘The Veggie Queen’, and with good reason; her range of vegan food has had fans salivating for some time. Dee’s Wholefoods are free from gluten, dairy, egg, soy and all artificial additives, and the organic offerings – all made in Cork – include a mouth-watering Omega Burger, a tongue-tickling Spicy Bean Burger, and sausages that have earned the title of ‘Best Vegan Sausage’ at the UK Vegan Food Awards. Now available in Tesco, Dunnes and SuperValu, the exquisite epicurean creations are proof that goodness really is tasty!

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GREAT IRISH THINGS TO EAT & DRINK

Scratch My Pork The name may veer into Carry On territory, but these Skibbereen pork scratchings are dangerously moreish.

cratchmypork.com

Pandora Bell Salted Butter Caramels Kanye ‘n’ Kim are among the fans of these exquisite treats, made by gourmet Limerick sweet-makers.

bellingham.ie

Bellingham Blue A hand-rubbed farmhouse cheese from Louth, which adheres to strict slow food principles and is a favourite of discerning chefs.

pandorabell.com

Longueville House Apple Brandy A refined 40% ABV sipper made from the finest Cork apples.

longuevillehouse.ie

Silver Darlings Pickled Herrings F O O D

Silver Darlings are another small Limerick producer who do pickled herrings even better than the Norwegians.

F O C U S

silverdarlings.ie

C L O N A K I LT Y

Black Pudding Few Irish food brands are as iconic as Clonakilty Blackpudding, which was first magicked up in Edward Twomey’s West Cork butcher shop in the 1880s. The same secret spice blend, which has been handed down through generations, is still being used today.

Along with those essential spices, Clonakilty Blackpudding is made from premium Irish beef along with oatmeal, onions and beef blood. The Clonakilty range also includes Sausages, Rashers and a Whitepudding made with premium

Irish pork, oatmeal, onions, and another secret blend of spices, and which doesn’t contain any blood.

While no self-respecting Irish breakfast fry is complete without them, they’re also much-loved by chefs who pair Clonakilty Blackpudding with scallops as a classic starter, and crumble both puds into stews and sauces to add flavour and texture. The Blackpudding also marries perfectly with goats cheese, burgers and, in one of sporting legend Sonia O’Sullivan’s favourite recipes, fillet of cod.

Fans include Blur bass-player and gourmand Alex James who when Go Rail met him in Dublin had just bought ten Clonakilty Blackpuddings to take back to England as gifts for friends!

See clonakiltyblackpudding.ie or follow them on Facebook/Twitter/ Instagram for more information and recipe ideas, and make sure when down Clonakilty way to pop in to Edward Twomey’s butcher shop at 16 Pearse Street, which offers a full range of fresh meats and meat products, all of the very highest standard.

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Franciscan Well Jameson Cask Stout Two great Irish brands, one new, the other centuries old, combine to make the ultimate drop o’ the black stuff!

Ballymaloe Country Relish Nothing – repeat nothing! – goes better with burgers, bangers or Irish cheese. The new jalapeño variety is not for the faint-hearted!

Real Italian Foodies Sauces A husband and wife team who are also behind Limerick’s wonderful La Cucina restaurant, Real Italian Foodies have come up with an equally wonderful range of take-home sauces.

realitalianfoodies.com

Ed Hick’s Bacon Jam The traditional Dun Laoghaire butcher has come up with a decidedly non-traditional accompaniment to a range of foodstuffs, including – a touch surprisingly – vanilla ice cream.

hicks.ie

GOFEATURE

YUM’S THE WORD Busy spreading the word about Irish food on the other side of the Atlantic, Clodagh McKenna takes a break from her hectic schedule to reflect on the incredible progress our food culture has made

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reland has come an incredibly long way as a food nation, and the most credit is due to the producers, farmers and fishermen.

I really mean that; I’m not just doting on them! You can have all the best chefs in the world, but without that produce, we would have no food culture. They’re the people who’ve pushed the boundaries a little more – from making apple syrup to making salt – and who supply those basic ingredients that really make a difference in having a sustainable food island. It’s wonderful to have people making things like chorizo, pancetta and cured meats right here at home.

When it comes to sourcing for my restaurant, I’m very loyal to my producer and rarely change. I think producers need that loyalty, those orders always coming in. Our apple syrup comes from Highbank Organic Orchard in Kilkenny, and our bacon is sourced from Gubbeen in Cork, where I’ve known the Ferguson family since my days in the farmers’ markets. All our oil is from Limavady’s Broighter Gold, and I love our Butlers Eggs from Hacketstown – the family is always sending me pictures of the kids gathering the eggs! That sort of thing really makes the restaurant.

Those smaller producers have to wear so many hats, too. They’ve got to be really good producers, but they’ve also got to be excellent at marketing, packaging, promotion and sales.

Pat Whelan – who goes under his father’s name as James Whelan Butchers – is one of my foodie heroes, as are the Ferguson family.

I love what Neven Maguire has done too. He’s such a nice guy, but what he’s doing in that rural setting is just fantastic. Because he’s got a great restaurant with such high standards, it raises the game of all the producers around him.

People find a safety with supermarkets – that if they’re stocking something, it must be trustworthy and good. One place that’s become great over the past few years is SuperValu. Their supermarket local to me in Blackrock has loads of space dedicated to local producers. That’s what we need so that we can become a great food nation – it needs to be accessible to everybody. When I’m cooking a dish on Ireland AM every week, I think of my mom in Ballybunion. Will she be able to access these ingredients? There’s no point in me creating dishes if they’re going to be exclusive.

I love Fallon & Byrne in Dublin. You can buy just about everything in there! But we need more stores like that around the country.

Country Choice, in Nenagh, is wonderful, and Urru in Bandon, Co. Cork is absolutely fantastic. It’s an incredible shop, and they even have a counter where they make up amazing sandwiches. All of the Avoca stores are doing great things with their foodhalls. And of course, in my own native Cork, I adore the English Market. There’s nothing like that in Dublin and there really should be!

There’s nowhere more exciting for me to be than in the middle of a farmers’ market. It’s wonderful to see how it’s grown to become so day-to-day for people now, and it’s so inclusive. When I started out, there were very few of them. When I told my parents that I was leaving the kitchen to go do farmers’ markets, they were shocked. There’s nothing glamorous about it – you don’t get sunny days too often! – so it’s lovely to see that people are supporting them.

GOFEATURE

P I C K

O F

T H E

M U N C H

Food lovers will be spoiled for choice in the coming months, as festivals and events all over Ireland celebrate the very best of our nation’s food culture. little foodies in your life will have plenty to look forward to, with face painting, music and entertainment on every street.

Find out more: kinsalerestaurants.com

All-Ireland Chowder Cook-Off Where: The scenic seaside town of Kinsale, on the coast of Co. Cork When: April 19 Representatives from every county in Ireland will battle it out to be crowned as the champ of chowder, as chefs, fishermen and makers of commercial chowders will all be showcasing their wares. Will a rich and creamy offering take the title, or might a less orthodox spicy option emerge victorious?

What to look out for: The public decides the winner, so make sure you arrive with an appetite; there’ll be 32 offerings to sample!

Find out more: kinsalerestaurants.com

Dublin Bay Prawn Festival

April Bloomfield is coming to the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine

West Waterford Festival Of Food Where: The pristine town of Dungarvan is the epicentre of the epicurean action When: April 9-12 Celebrating its eighth year and attracting over 100 artisan producers from across the country – as well as an array of visiting Michelin-starred chefs – the Dungarvan celebration continues to grow year on year. With ‘Generations of Irish Food’ as this year’s theme, the festival will shine the spotlight on the local families who have helped to shape the

westwaterfordfestivaloffood.com

nation’s food culture. The restaurant trails and the Busanna Bia trips promise to be as rewarding as ever – and busy, so do book in advance! – while there’s a jampacked programme for the little chefs in your life too! Festivities kick off with the Funky Friday BBQ, and with events at the historic Dungarvan Castle throughout the weekend, there’s plenty to look forward to in the sunny south-east.

Taste The Wild Atlantic Way Street Food Festival Where: Along the pretty streets of Kinsale, Co. Cork When: April 18 The glorious streets of Kinsale will be transformed into an open-air market as food stalls, boasting the best in local produce, intermingle with offerings from local restaurants and a veritable smorgasbord of entertainment throughout the town.

What to look out for: Rory O’Connell and Darina Allen of the iconic Ballymaloe Cookery School will be sharing their expertise in conversation with John McKenna Find out more:

What to look out for: The

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Where: The beautiful coastal village of Howth, overlooking the Irish Sea When: April 24-26 What to look out for: Fishing experts will be demonstrating their skills at the Arts and Heritage Marquee throughout the weekend; don’t miss a chance to learn from the masters.

Find out more: dublinbayprawnfestival.ie

Connemara Mussel Festival Where: The picturesque village of Tullycross, on Galway’s west coast When: May 1-3 What to look out for: Both the Saturday and Sunday will see the return of the immensely successful ‘Kid’s Cooking’ – chefs of the future can take their first steps here!

Find out more: connemaramusselfestival.com

Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of

Having fun at the Taste The Wild Atlantic Way Street Food Festival

Stars of the Connemara Mussel Festival

Wexford Food & Wine Festival

offers the perfect chance to sample and buy the best of the west.

Find out more: bialover.ie

Where: The biggest ever programme of events will see attractions throughout Wexford Town When: May 21-24 What to look out for: Along with the exquisite epicurean fare, there’s also top quality music on offer – the wonderful Declan O’Rourke at Wexford Arts Centre is one not to be missed.

Find out more: wexfordfoodfestival.ie

Só Sligo Food Festival

Tasty fare at the West Waterford Festival of Food

Food and Wine Where: The world-famous Ballymaloe House and Cookery School will host all the fun When: May 15-17 The only festival of its kind in Ireland, the weekend’s events promise to delight lovers of good food and good food writing. With speakers ranging from renowned chefs to well-respected critics – and a host of food trails, workshops and other attractions for those looking for a challenge – any foodie worth their organic Atlantic sea salt will be high-tailing it to East Cork.

What to look out for: While the food trails and writers’ workshops are worth your attention, The Big Shed offers the perfect chance to rub shoulders with the cream of Ireland’s artisan producers Find out more: litfest.ie

Where: A selection of the Yeats County’s finest settings will host events across the weekend When: June 11-14 What to look out for: The 150th anniversary of WB Yeats’ birth provides the inspiration for a Nobel Dinner at the Radisson BLU Hotel on Thursday evening.

Find out more: sosligo.ie

The Bia Lover Festival Of Food Where: The event is based in the centre of Athenry, under the shadow of the iconic Athenry Castle When: June 19-21 From cook-offs to cookery demonstrations, the foodie traditions of the west will come to life in the historic town of Athenry.

Located beside the Clarin River, the best craft producers in Galway and beyond come together for three midsummer’s days packed with talks and walks, trails and competitions, and a full programme of music and entertainment.

What to look out for: The core of the weekend is the market, which

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Shandon Street Festival and Food Fair

When: June 20 What to look out for: The thriving Leeside arts scene promises street theatre and live entertainment to match the quality food on offer.

Find out more: shandonstreetfestival.com

Where: Festivities are centred in one of the most historic areas of Cork City

See also the Killarney Festival of Music & Food see page 12.

GOFEATURE

LA

CONFIDENTIAL Robert

Having swapped Laois for LA, Irish actor Sheehan talks to Roe McDermott about the good, the bad and the Hollyweird

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hat’s in a name, indeed. While arranging to speak with Robert Sheehan, beloved star of Misfits and Love/Hate, whose new film The Road Within screened at JDIFF last month, I made the mistake of referring to him as Rob, as I have many times before. “Actually,” came the swift and firm response from his PR, “he’s going by Robert now.”

Oh Jesus, I thought. After years of having wonderful, lively interviews with the charmingly mischievous Artist Formerly Known as Rob, he’s finally come over all Hollywood. But as he answers a phone with a warm and booming “Howya Roe!” and we go on to chat about his recent move to LA, how he’s fallen head-over-heels in love, and how a few major career misses inspired him to take control of his life and work; it’s clear that Sheehan is officially living life on his own terms – and is much happier for it. So if throwing out an extra syllable contributes to the ever friendly and humble star’s new contended sense of self, so be it.

I’m talking to Sheehan about his new film, The Road Within. Directed by Gren Wells and co-starring Dev Patel and Zoe Kravitz, the dramedy sees Sheehan play Vincent, a young man suffering from severe Tourette’s Syndrome, who stages a prison-break from a psychological clinic, his OCD roommate and anorexic crush in tow.

While the subject matter could make for easy, cheap gags, Sheehan’s performance is stunning and deeply empathetic. Sheehan beautifully manages the physicality of the role, showing the constant physical toll and the insecurity it brings – while simultaneously emoting through those infamously expressive eyebrows.

For Sheehan, the pressure not to minimise or mock Tourette’s Syndrome was immense, and was quite an intimidating challenge.

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“It was absolutely terrifying, to be honest,” he remarks. “When I got the script, I was initially very gung-ho about playing someone with Tourette’s, but there was a period of several months between being cast and filming, and we had rehearsals and training – which involved going out and about in LA acting like I had Tourette’s, which was scary!

And then I came back to London and hung around with a girl who had really out-there Tourette’s, so I really had quite a deep relationship with the character before we kicked off; he was clacking around my head for a long time. So in a way, I was very motivated by the fear of misrepresenting him, and people with Tourette’s.”

Though Sheehan is used to getting attention from fans when he’s out and about, going into the world and having people stare and judge him for ticking and shouting was an entirely different prospect, and one he felt was important to truly understand his role – but his attempts at method acting didn’t quite go as planned.

“That was the big objective, to get people to pay attention to me, to understand what it’s like to have Tourette’s and deal with the attention it brings. So we went to a mall in Palm Springs, and I immediately started ticking and screeching and stuff – but then the first person who looked at me was a person working at one of those mall kiosks, who just went ‘Aren’t you that guy from Misfits?’ I just said ‘Eh, no?’ and ran away!”

Apart from his fame level, there was another factor that hindered his plan to gain first-hand experience of the public humiliation that can be a side-effect of having Tourette’s: the uber tolerant – or perhaps merely uber self-absorbed – atmosphere of California, which stopped anyone from paying any attention to him.

“It was actually quite disappointing!” he laughs.

“I suppose because there at least, everyone’s so hyper tolerant, no-one really reacted. I was up at a shop counter, really screaming curses in the face of this poor girl, and she didn’t even flinch.

It was quite a surprise, we didn’t really get the reaction that we hoped for! We had been hoping some people would be turning and snickering. We did go by some teenagers who started laughing at me and I felt the heat and the shame so I latched on to that, as an example of the shame of public Tourette’s syndrome.”

The cultural shock of LA’s blank-faced acceptance of eccentricity isn’t the only thing Sheehan’s getting used to. He laments that when out, he can only have two pints before he’s labelled ‘a drinker.’

“It’s very civilised, even when they’re being uncivilised. I miss the mischief. There is a strong

27

GOFEATURE Robert Sheehan in new film caption ????

Sheehan spirit: Robert in Misfits and (below) The Road Within

Irish contingent here so if I want a bit of mischief I turn to them.

“I do really like it here,” he muses, “but myself and a friend were chatting and I said ‘LA is full of lunatics’ and he replied ‘Not just lunatics – a lot of eejits as well!’ I feel that’s pretty accurate! It’s full of the black sheep of the Western world.”

And a lot of wheeling and dealing, he’s discovered. The 27-year-old actor is still adjusting to the somewhat objectifying and well documented schmooziness of Hollywood. In Ireland and the UK, if people ask for a “meeting”, it’s because they want to work with you. In LA, people want to meet you just so on the chance you make the big time, they can name-drop you like nobody’s business.

“Yeah it’s very schmoozy,” he confirms. “You just get damned with faint praise, constantly. You go into meetings and they go ‘Oh you’re so funny, you’re great’ in a very generic way. They’re very sycophantic and it’s possibly for that self-serving reason – because then you never hear from them again.”

Luckily he’s had many other people who delight in calling him back and hiring him, as he’s several intriguing projects in the bag, including David Blair’s horror The Messenger; Moonwalkers, a comedy with Ron Pearlman and Rupert Grint; Sway Lake, an experimental feature from Ari Gold; and the action flick Geostorm with Gerard Butler. Tackling a completely different genre and character type in each movie, his choices demonstrate only one constant: the need to shake things up. It’s a commendable choice, given that the huge popularity of Sheehan’s early role in Misfits could have easily led to a steady and profitable career in teen comedy. Likewise, his decision to play Darren, Love/Hate’s vulnerable gangster with a heart of gold, could have easily been extended, to the delight of fans. But Sheehan seems to have an uncanny awareness of the right time to exit a project, and when it’s time to challenge himself yet again.

“The boredom aspect is a very big thing,” he says.

“I’m quite an impatient and restless person, I like life at a high tempo. I’m constantly seeking out something that will excite and enthrall and engage.

28

But I also just want a really varied body of work, the people I respect constantly stretch themselves so I want that, I want to play a range, not just be complacent and play what I became known for.

Complacency is killer.”

But despite his constant need to keep moving and challenge himself, Sheehan seems more aware of what makes him happy, and determined to pursue it. This mindfulness is echoed in his speech – whereas once Sheehan was so mile-a-minute you needed a hearty dose of caffeine to even attempt to keep up with his track-jumping train of thought, he seems much calmer now, more reflective and assured.

“It’s hard to find consistency as an actor, but contentment is always the goal,” he opines. “You can work on your relationship, which you need to do when you’re away two months at a time. I think what keeps me from being content is being away from my girlfriend. Really and truly, that’s it. It causes problems and stress for both of us, because it puts a strain on things. Once you conquer that, though, nothing else really effects you, because the job is always fun as long as you’re happy generally, so we’re working on that.

The girlfriend is French actress and dancer Sofia Boutella, who Sheehan met while filming Jet Trash in India over a year ago. He’s very clearly besotted – another dramatic change for the actor, who remarked in my first interview with him that “love isn’t for me – my lifestyle’s too nomadic. I’m a gypsy, I can’t stay settled.” Was this perspective shift inspired purely by Boutella, in a light-shining-through-a-stained-glass-windowas-epiphanies-dawn kind of way, I ask, or was this romantic attitudinal shift creeping up for a while?

“The former,” he says, the warmth obvious in his voice. “Falling for her, it was like a rugby tackle.

There was very little choice in the whole thing.

We’ve been together for a year, and for the first eight months we were doing the long distance thing, and now we’re both in LA. So it was tough, it really was, going from being pen-pals to living with each other. It’s really intense, and makes very little practical sense – but you’re doing it because you have this mad knot of love in your chest and

you really have to. And I’m so glad we did. We drove each other a bit mad at the start of the relationship, but yeah – we were striving for that contentment, and we’re finding it.”

Having a solid relationship that gives him someone and somewhere to come home to has made the actor re-evaluate his life, and what he wants from it.

“I think I’m realising what makes me happy,” Sheehan says, “and the things that were keeping me from being happy. And sometimes you just have to go there and weather that. And just knowing that keeps you on-track; makes me think about what work I want to do and only pursuing projects I’m passionate about. Work makes me happy, the graft, the exploration. I think a lot of people are scared to just let themselves be happy, they’re always looking for me, and I did do that.

So I’m learning to just stop and smell the roses; go off camping for a few days, wander through the woods – not to sound too poetic about it!”

As for what makes him unhappy, that’s always remained the same.

“Loneliness affects me in a really profound way,” the actor confides. “I can’t be alone for too long. I have to maintain contact with the outside world.

Not in an approval way, just sometimes the dark, swirling thoughts come in when you’re left to your own devices, so I know to surround myself with people I love.”

He’s also learning to take a more controlling role in his career, serving as a producer on Charles Henri Belleville’s Jet Trash.

“You feel ownership over every frame of the film, so you feel very protective,” Sheehan says of producing. “But it’s great, it’s exciting. As an actor, you have to accept that you don’t have any control over the project that you’re in. I think a lot of actors naively believe that it’s all about them, but you realise pretty swiftly that it’s not, at all. Even seeing how your performance has been manipulated for the good of the movie – which is how it always should be, but it’s a learning curve. So if you want to creatively control your own stuff, you have to create your own projects.

At the moment, it’s still all about acting, but I am keeping an eye for projects and am starting a company in Ireland. We’ll see.”

Surprisingly with all his upcoming projects, Sheehan has been keeping a relatively low public profile – perhaps a reaction to the success of Love/Hate, which turned his days in Ireland into a constant swarm of fan interaction and tabloid photographers. He seems to enjoy the distance from celebrity – though it doesn’t necessarily distance itself from him. Despite having only tweeted a handful of times, Sheehan has nearly 260,000 followers on Twitter – a fact that bemuses him greatly as he has no love for the social media platform.

“I find it kind of baffling!” he laughs. “I don’t really know how it’s caught on. It seems to be a lot of inane crap. I have a mate Adam who I love dearly and he’s one of the funniest people I know, but he ended up tweeting ‘Really stoked about my new duvet cover.’ Where in people’s brains do they think ‘I’m going to publish this’? I really just use it to further the cause of me, going ‘I’m in a film, go see it!’”

He’s wise enough to recognise the nasty side of Twitter, however, and we end up discussing Jon Ronson’s new book So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, which explores the experience of those who have been shunned, humiliated and harassed by the mass outrage Twitter inspires. One person Ronson interviews is PR rep Justine Sacco, who found herself fired, threatened and ostracised after tweeting “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” to her 170 followers. An appallingly stupid thing to tweet, no doubt – but the gleeful savagery with which

I ’ M Q U I T E A N I M PAT I E N T AND RESTLESS PERSON, I L I K E L I F E AT A H I G H TEMPO. people anticipated her fate was reminiscent of mobs at public floggings. It’s a human compulsion that Sheehan has become familiar with during his decade in showbusiness.

“It’s funny that it seems like that compulsion to pull people down has always been there in the media, but now with Twitter, it’s so much more instant. It also brings out these people who want to vent rage, which is very odd – slamming a door

Gangster’s paradise: Sheehan with fellow Love/Hate stars and (below) the actor’s girlfriend, Sofia Boutella

29

and looking back in to see who was watching. It’s like wildfire, I find it so strange now that news corporations can’t keep up with Twitter – but I’ve just accepted that I can’t either.”

For Sheehan, real human contact always takes precedent – for professional as well as personal reasons. “You need to talk to people to mine them for material,” he jokes. “To exploit them for all they’re worth – but in person.”

GOFEATURE

WHELAN OF FORTUNE

A familiar face at RTE for years, Marty Whelan talks to Olaf Tyaransen about Winning Streak, The Rose Of Tralee and taking the rough with the smooth.

A

lthough veteran broadcaster Marty Whelan has one of the most famous faces – or at least moustaches – in Ireland, he claims that he’s never harassed by the general public when he’s out and about.

“The trick is not to go into a pub at 10 o’clock at night,” the 58-year-old Dubliner reveals. “I get no dog’s abuse. Never have. Because I don’t try to pretend I’m anything I’m not. I don’t try to pretend I’m super clever, because I’m not. I don’t try to pretend to be anything. I am what I am.”

Having said that, he’s certainly recognised when he’s going about his day-to-day business. “Yeah, it’s, ‘Hey Marty, spin that wheel!’, you know,” he laughs. “I’m always going to get that, and now, because of the radio show, you get people asking for the [plastic] moustache when you go out, which is hilarious. You’ll always get the catchphrase. There’s a line I always use at the end of Winning Streak which is, ‘How do you play?

You buy a ticket!’ Just a line, but they shout it at me, and that’s fine, and you get used to that. But

it’s always been so and everyone means it in the best possible way.”

As friendly and cheerful in real life as he comes across on the telly, Whelan is sitting behind the mic in the RTE radio studio in Donnybrook from which he broadcasts his popular Lyric FM show, Marty in the Morning, every weekday from 7am-10am. We’re meeting to discuss his new double album, Marty Recommends, a compilation of his “old favourites and timeless classics.” Very much the typical soundtrack to his radio show, his eclectic selection ranges from Van Morrison, Imelda May and Sammy Davis Jnr to Pavarotti, Alfie Boe and Ennio Morricone.

“Oh, did I mention I have an album coming out?” he says, mock-innocently. “Let me tell you about the album! Marty in the Morning – you listen to the show so you know what we do. We take James Taylor and we marry him with Puccini, or we take whoever it is and we marry it with something that might not necessarily seem to fit. I’m told that there hasn’t been a CD like this, which is one kind of classical and crossover and what you would call contemporary.

“Like you have the great American songbook – Ella Fitzgerald meets Van Morrison and it meets John Martyn, meets Jethro Tull. It’s a very different sort of a mix, so for me it was a no-brainer. I’d had the idea before and done nothing with it, but it was Universal who came and said, ‘What about an album?’”

An avid music fan, he chose all the tracks himself. “I chose it all, blank page and away I went. There was some stuff I wanted to put on I couldn’t get permission for. Maybe down the line there’ll be another one, who knows, but the point is you have to get permission and Universal went off and said, ‘Right, we’ll get the permissions’; some came, some didn’t. We couldn’t get The Beatles! And you know the Beatles song I wanted?

The last track on The White Album, ‘Good Night.’

We used to sing it to our children when they were babies, and I wanted to put ‘Goodnight’ on it, and I couldn’t get a Beatles song.”

His hugely popular Lyric FM show is just the latest incarnation in a four decade broadcasting career that has seen many ups and downs.

30

From the Rose of Tralee to the Eurovision Song Contest to afternoon TV chat shows to lottery programmes, Whelan has won and lost more high profile gigs than almost any other Irish presenter you could mention. Thankfully, the happily married father of two has always swiftly bounced back.

He says his biggest career setback came when Century Radio collapsed months after he had left RTE to join the fledgling station in 1989.

“Well, Century was a huge wallop because I stood outside my own hall door and wondered what we were going to do,” he recalls. “We had a little baby at the time, Jessica – and she’s still my baby – so that was an absolute, ‘What have I done?’ You know, you lose a job, you lose a gig or things change. I’ve done the Eurovision for years and years. I’m very much associated with it and love it and, please God, will continue to do that until whatever happens and I stop… whatever, you know. It’s very much a part of me and what we do, but you don’t know when things will change.

“I presented The Rose Of Tralee for six years,” he continues. “It’s a long time to do a particular type of gig. They often say four is your max for anything. I did that for six years. Mary Kennedy and I did Open House in the afternoon for six years, and all successfully, and you can look at the figures and they all stand up, but they do change.

Change, when it comes and you didn’t instigate it, is tough.”

Little wonder that his motto is from Frank Sinatra’s classic ‘That’s Life’. “When you’re down, you have to get up,” he explains. “It’s picking yourself up, dusting yourself down, and getting back in the race. But you see, I’ve always had to do that. In my career it has so often been the case because you get the knock, and all it is is a change in direction, but you don’t know it at the time. At the time you think you’re finished. So I’ve been finished about eight times, but I’ve worked it out nine times! If you can do that, you’ll be alright.”

Marty in the Morning is on Lyric FM weekdays, 7am-10am. Marty Recommends is out now on Universal Music Ireland.

31

GOFEATURE

MARKUS FEEHILY – MY LIFE AFTER WESTLIFE Striding out of Westlife’s shadow, Markus Feehily has released his debut single. As it hit the airwaves, he talked to Craig Fitzpatrick about finding himself as a solo artist and being free from boyband “rulebooks”.

PHOTO:

I

t was June 2012 when Mark Feehily last left the stage, one of the biggest of them all. All sung out after completely Westlife’s twelfth and final live farewell in Croke Park, he departed with his three Westlife comrades to rapturous applause. Now, two and a half years on, he’s ready to return to the spotlight. And this time he takes the stage alone.

In the interim, he’s been doing what he does best: singing. Holed up in the studio, working on his own material, he’s been searching for his own voice. When Westlife called it a day after 14 years and over 40 million album sales, there wasn’t much soul-searching required. The Sligo man, now 34, always knew music was his way forward.

“I thought in my head: ‘I need to discover what I am as a solo artist’,” Feehily, now going by “Markus”, says today. “I didn’t know what ‘my music’ was going to sound like until I’d written 10 songs. Then slowly but surely I saw a style emerging that was naturally really influenced by gospel, soul and R&B. I didn’t want to just go and try and create ‘an authentic American soul sound’ or ‘American R&B sound’. I wanted to work with some producers that weren’t necessarily from that world so hopefully we’d create something a bit more unique.”

His new sound hit airwaves in February, as first single ‘Love Is A Drug’ debuted on RTÉ 2fm’s Breakfast Republic... Not The Nicky Byrne Show.

A bust-up?

“No, no, not at all! I just doing what I was told!”

As for the song, it’s a soul number that recalls the sweep of a Bond theme. “Definitely a bit of that,” he nods. “It’s got those big strings. I wrote it with a guy called Steve Anderson, whose been in the business for along time. It’s produced by Mojam., these young new producers in London [who have worked with Sam Smith]. So it’s got quite a modern beat but also an old school, epic, widescreen feel to it.”

Kathrin Baumbach

What he won’t miss about Westlife is the old committee decisions “where everyone has to be happy with something.” He’s finally calling the shots.

“I’ve been free to do whatever I want. There’ve been no rulebooks. Though there were no ‘chains’ in Westlife or anything. I loved it. I learnt how to fit into that scenario. Because at the start, I never felt like I fitted into that ‘boyband’, ‘pop star’ thing.

I don’t mean musically, I don’t mean I was always cooler than it. I didn’t feel like I looked like a pop star. When I was growing up, I never dreamt about being a pop star, I just dreamt about being a singer.”

Being in the studio this time around has also been a totally different experience.

“The songs are genuinely coming from within me, from experiences that I’ve gone through myself.”

Lyrically, he says the debut album will be open and honest but not “’Alanis Morissette honest’” in terms of naming names.

“My album isn’t about one person. It’s not a break-up or make up album. But it is very honest.

Someone who heard a few of the songs – works in progress – said that ‘there’s pain in there’. I tend to write more about that kind of situation. If I’m having a lovely day, I’ll just go for a drink with my mates. But if I’m having a dark day, that’s when I go into the studio and feel like I can close my eyes and let it rip.”

It’s been a cathartic process.

“Absolutely. I ended up writing some songs for Westlife and did try and apply a little of that stuff to Westlife, but I was never going to really change anything.”

In a “really great place” during this time of change, Feehily still dreams of one day starting a family. How close is he to that dream in 2015?

“I’m no closer or further away from it. I know for a fact I’d really love to have kids. I am in a relationship but we’re not looking to have kids

32

at the moment. To me, that’s the biggest prize in the world: to be able to have a kid or create a life.

It overshadows anything that you could ever do.

It’s the most amazing thing ever. Ideally, though, it would happen at a time when you’re ready to commit 100% to something. I’d rather do it when it was the right time and I could completely devote myself to it.”

It is almost a decade since Feehily publicly came out as gay. He remembers it today as a “massive” moment.

“I was never myself until I did come out,” he affirms. “It was that anticlimactic thing where I thought everything was going to change and then a week or two later everybody stopped asking about. So everything for me changed, but nobody else. Everybody else stayed the same. A lot of people before they come out fear that their whole world’s going to fall apart. That they’re going to lose their friends and family. It’s a big part of why people struggle to come to terms with it and struggle to come out. One thing I always try to share with anybody who might be in that situation is that actually, you’d be very surprised at how little changes, if anything changes at all. Apart from your happiness. It changed my life.”

He says he struggles to remember what it was like being that “different person” during that “dark time” when his sexuality weighed heavily.

“It was always there, it was like a big dark cloud.

And then being in that situation but trying to be in a happy, smiley boyband...”

Is he optimistic about the same-sex marriage referendum in the Republic in May? “I feel very excited and positive about the fact it could be about to all happen. It’s all well and good if everybody outside the LGBT community are supportive and – I hate the word ‘tolerant’ because what’s there to tolerate? – accepting. Moving forward in a positive way about things. But... The important thing is to actually vote. It’s everyone outside the LGBT community joining in that is the mass support that will push it through.

“One side of it’s love and romance. But the most important thing about this particular vote is that we have equal rights... It’s pretty evident that Ireland has massively changed, which is amazing.

We’re now at a point where, to take it to the next stage, people need to voice their support. I have faith. I just hope everyone outside the LGBT community are aware of its importance.”

‘Love Is A Drug’ is out now

37

GO DESTINATION:

Belfast

Northern Soul

One of Ireland’s most widely-read columnists, Róisín Ingle talks about how her favourite train journey, from Dublin to Belfast, really is a family affair.

"I’ve had some great conversations, but I’ve overheard some good ones too."

A

s a mother of two with a busy journalistic schedule – she has a hugely popular column in The Irish Times, where she is also Daily Features Editor – and a burgeoning book career (recently co-writing The Daughterhood), it's fair to say Róisín Ingle has rather a lot on her plate. It makes sense, then, that she savours any chance to relax.

train; looking out the window and watching the world go by. Because of that, I quite look forward to train journeys.”

Róisín is currently celebrating the success of her new book, The Daughterhood, which she co-wrote with her friend Natasha Fennell. It’s an exploration of the good, the bad and the guilty of mother-daughter relationships, and is currently riding high on the bestsellers chart.

Indeed, personal connections are also a large reason for her choice of favourite route; the line from Dublin to Portadown is one with which she’s become very familiar. Having lived in Belfast for two years, it was

“I love travelling on the train,” says Róisín, “because I find it’s a time when I can switch off. Obviously, you have your phone and there’s Wi-Fi and everything, but you can have that daydreaming time on the

34

there that she met her boyfriend, Jonny. It’s now journeys to visit his relatives that see Róisín climbing aboard the Enterprise service.

“We go up to visit his mum – my mother-in-law-in-waiting, as I call her, or ‘Queenie’ – and his family, and the children get to see their cousins. They get so excited; it’s a kind of adventure for them!”

It’s a journey that also comes with plenty of excitement for Róisín herself – there are plenty of cherished memories attached to the northward journey.

“Before I moved to Belfast my marriage had broken down, and it wasn’t a particularly happy time in my life. I always associate the move with meeting Jonny, and a period of real positive change. So with those connotations, I always have a good feeling. Even in Connolly Station, sitting in the special waiting room for the train is a nice experience in itself.”

On board, the comfort and luxury affords an opportunity to kick back and relax – Róisín also notes the impeccable service provided by the staff – though a writer’s mind, it seems, never stops working: “A lot of the ideas for my column come from staring into space and not doing anything. I don’t often get the chance to do that, so I relish the opportunity to do that on the train when it comes along. I’ll do work sometimes, but it’s more a thinking space for me.

“I’ll strike up conversations with people too,” she adds. “I’ve had great chats with people on the train.” She laughs: “And it’s also brilliant for eavesdropping! I love the Northern accents, and all the different stories you hear. I’ve had some great conversations, but I’ve overheard some good ones too.”

One of Róisín’s favourite stories of travelling on the route was when Robbie Millar – the proprietor of Shanks Restaurant in Bangor, who sadly passed away ten years ago – came on board to produce all manner of epicurean goodness.

“They got him in, a Michelinstarred chef, to cook for a press trip.

It was bizarre – all this incredible food coming out of the tiny kitchen.

It’s a fond memory, because we had a real laugh on that journey. He’s a person I sometimes think of on that train, because he was a lovely man I got to know in the North and it was such a great time.”

The Daughterhood is out now through Simon & Schuster

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The City of a Thousand Bands ‘80s Dublin on Mature Recollection They say that rock music thrives in the face of social adversity so it’s no wonder 1980’s Dublin was seen as the perfect breeding ground....

Four leading Dublin lights take part in a fascinating discussion on the time, the place and the music against which Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments emerged.

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ALL ABOARD:

We meet the people who make Irish Rail tick

West In Show

Anne Elliott has excelled in her role as manager of Westport

Station, which in 2013 won the prestigious Station of the Year award.

W

estport is one of Ireland’s most popular destinations. Situated along the Wild Atlantic Way, the seaside town has a bit of everything – blue flag beaches, beautiful walking and cycle trails, historic buildings, fantastic dining, lively nightlife and the world famous pilgrimage mountain, Croagh Patrick. They say you only get one chance to make a first impression count, and if you are travelling by train, Westport’s award-winning station certainly does that. Winner of the Best Connacht Station in 2014, and overall winner in 2013, Westport has one of the country’s most beautiful – and efficient – train stations.

The awards are done through a public vote by Iarnród Éireann customers, so it’s an achievement that station manager Anne Elliott and her staff can be proud of.

“Our standards are very high, and I think that was borne out by the number of people who voted for us,” she says. “We always want the station to be clean and tidy and have lots of information available, whether it be in relation to trains, or places people might want to visit around Westport. We have a lot of people travelling through the station, and we always try to give very good customer service, so that makes it all the better to be chosen by a public vote.”

Anne is from Castlebar, but cut her teeth working for Iarnród Éireann in Dublin. She has been the station manager since 1993.

“Originally I worked in Connolly Station, and for a brief time in Pearse Station. Prior to moving to Mayo, I lived in Skerries – it’s a seaside town, so it’s not unlike Westport. In Connolly I worked with a much bigger group of people, and while I was in operations, it was certainly different when I moved to a much smaller station. It took a little while to get used to, but I love it. I would never consider going back. Westport is such a lovely town.”

Although Westport itself is a small town of around 5,500 inhabitants, the station is busy due to the high number of visitors.

“Westport is a premier tourist destination and we have a great variety of tourists coming through the station. It’s very busy with groups of people, particularly at the weekends. We get a lot of older travellers during the week because the hotels do fantastic deals for

Fact File • Westport was originally the settlement of the Ó Máille Clan.

A number of the fortresses of the pirate queen Grace O’Malley are still standing in Clew Bay. • Well-known Westport natives include prominent politician Michael Ring, and Major John MacBride, Irish republican and father of Sean MacBride.

Although he is not a native, Matt Molloy of The Chieftains owns a pub on Bridge Street.

• Westport was awarded the “Best Place to Live in Ireland” by The Irish Times in 2012.

• The Great Western Greenway is the longest off-road walking and cycling trail in Ireland. It runs 12 kilometres from Westport to Newport, 18 kilometres from Newport to Mulranny, and a further 13 kilometres from Mulranny to Achill, making a total of 43 kilometres.

Train Info • Monday to Friday.

(Above) Staff of Westport Station receiving the Best Station award: John Casey, Irene O'Hara, Anne Elliott, Rosaleen Wallace and Joe Feeney. Back row (left to right): Ger Ruane and Paul Barrett

05.15 Westport/Heuston.

07.15 Westport/Heuston.

09.45 Westport/Heuston.

13.10 Westport/Heuston 18.15 Westport/Heuston

• Saturdays.

Same as Monday/Friday except no 05.15 Westport/ Heuston.

them. We get international tourists in the summer – French and German and Spanish, and lots of English people, especially those who have roots in Mayo.”

What are Anne’s recommendations for tourists?

“Well, there’s Westport House, Croagh Patrick, and we are on the Wild Atlantic Way which is very popular. We also have the Great Western Greenway, which runs along the old Westport to Achill railway line. It is a fantastic facility for walking or cycling and people of all ages do it, because you can do as many miles as you want. There are bike hire companies that will facilitate that – they’ll pick you up or collect your bike or whatever you wish to do, because not everybody will cycle 40 odd kilometres from Westport to Achill.

“The Westport to Achill railway line closed in 1937. Jonathan Beaumont wrote a book called Rails to Achill and we have a museum in the old Achill waiting area that explains the history of the railway.

• Sundays.

07.50 Westport/Heuston.

13.15 Westport/Heuston 15.45 Westport/Heuston.

17.45 Westport/Heuston

Anne Elliot It didn’t last very long. The idea of having a train service to Achill was because they hoped a lot of fish would be exported from Achill. That never materialised, but the history is very interesting.”

How about after dark? Westport is known to have fabulous food and pubs.

“There are so many! I couldn’t choose one over the other,” says Anne diplomatically. “The great thing is that there are so many restaurants, pubs and cafes, and there’s live music most nights.

There’s always something happening.”

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THE FOLLOWING SERVICES OPERATE FROM DUBLIN HEUSTON TO WESTPORT.

• Monday/Saturday.

07.35 Heuston/Westport – change at Athlone.

12.45 Heuston/Westport.

14.45 Westport/Heuston 17.10 Heuston/Westport (Friday Only) 18.15 Westport/Heuston.

• Sundays

08.00 Heuston/Westport (change at Athlone) 13.35 Heuston/Westport 15.35 Heuston/Westport 18.30 Heuston/Westport.

GOFEATURE

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COUNTRY H

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The huge resurgence in popularity of country music was very much in evidence at the Country to Country festival in Dublin’s 3Arena earlier this year. Colm O’Regan reports on the event and also meets the biggest star of the country new wave, Luke Bryan

F

ans of Hozier may well recognise the name Jason Aldean. When the Bray bluesman went to No. 2 on the Billboard Album Charts, it was Aldean who held the top spot.

What you might not know are the numbers – while Hozier sold 58,000 copies of his eponymous debut, Aldean’s Old Boots, New Dirt sold 278,000. Let that sink in, if just for a second. That’s close to a ratio of 5:1 – indeed, he nearly outsold the rest of the top 10 combined.

And, believe it or not, earlier in the year at a 3Arena show in Dublin, Aldean was among the support acts!

That’s because the headliners at the third annual Country to Country festival were Lady Antebellum, who are at another level again. Lady Antebellum have won seven Grammy Awards (that’s equal with Simon and Garfunkel, and one behind The Beatles). Another act on the bill was Luke Bryan, whose last album sold over half-a-million in its first seven days – that’s rarefied air shared by only Justin Timberlake, Jay Z, Eminem and Drake in 2013.

Make no mistake, country music is enjoying a major resurgence.

The biggest star of the new wave is Bryan, whose music has crossed over to some unlikely markets.

Remarkably, his brand of hook-heavy country has become a staple on college campuses from San Diego to Boston, right alongside the mainstream artists you’d expect to find.

“To stay relevant you gotta branch out,” explains Bryan when Go Rail catches up with him. “I have songs that go the sort of ‘traditional’ route, but country music is an awful lot more these days. I certainly take it to the limit in that sense, really push the parameters. For years, I played in honkytonks. I’d play a set of covers, and right when I walk off stage the hip hop and dance music comes on! That’s what the people wanted. My stuff is trying to take country music and put a more modern spin on it. You gotta move the needle at some point.”

He’s far from the only one. Another of the acts who played the 3Arena show, Florida Georgia

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Line, saw their popularity explode when Nelly remixed their song ‘Cruise’, which was fitting, since much of their output verges on hip hop anyway.

Elsewhere, Taylor Swift has made the transition from country darling to pop princess without so much as a makeover, while the hard-rocking Eric Church – who visited The Olympia last year – has been on tour with Metallica. “All those guys,” says Bryan, “have done an amazing job of using a country music foundation and growing it on a bigger scale.”

Among the territories where the genre has once more exploded in popularity is Ireland, with thousands descending on 3Arena in March for Country to Country. Go Rail was in attendance, and it was impossible not to be struck by the fervour with which Irish fans are once again embracing country music. The event was a godsend for vendors pushing discount cowboys hats, but also a treat for the punters, whose enthusiasm made for a hugely enjoyable atmosphere.

“I’m from Dublin,” said Sean O’Leary, a convert since a roadtrip to Nashville. “We’re not exactly a country music area! But when you’re on the DART, and it’s raining, it just makes your day better. It’s a happy buzz, put it that way.”

Indeed, the mood around the venue was nothing short of ebullient. There were people from Norway and Germany who arrived especially for the show, and legions of fans from Northern Ireland also made their way down. Though there were undoubtedly many fresh converts to country music in the crowd, the acts paid dutiful homage to their artistic roots. Bryan’s set, for example, included nods to Alan Jackson and Johnny Cash, much to the appreciation of the knowledgeable audience.

Liam Maher, a Wexford man, was one fan with a long-running connection. “My father always listened to Irish country when I was growing up,” he told Go Rail, “and I branched into American country from that. It’s different to what you’d hear tonight, yeah, but you know what the background is.”

On stage, Bryan informed the crowd of his own Irish heritage, though life away from his roots has been treating the singer very nicely indeed.

Days after his Dublin show, he gigged to 200,000 college students at his annual Spring Break extravaganza at Panama City Beach, Florida.

“I think people everywhere – no matter what country – will enjoy good music,” he tells Go Rail.

“But the stories and the fun that country music has – the highs and lows – I think that translates easily. The traditional values of country, and the cowboy ideas, people get that.”

Does Bryan also think that’s why the Irish fans have bought in?

“Well, I would imagine the fiddle was born in Ireland,” he laughs. “And we like a good party, so there y’go!”

GOBUSINESS

40

SCREEN D

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When The Factory was forced to leave Dublin’s Docklands, it could have signalled disaster. Colm O’Regan visits the newly rebranded Bow Street Academy for Screen Acting, where the move now looks like a blessing in disguise

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aving been set up in 2009 by directors Kirsten Sheridan, Lance Daly and John Carney, The Factory had quickly established itself as an important resource for filmmakers, and later as the premier centre of excellence for screen acting in the country. Despite its success, relocation was necessary last summer, but it’s brought the operation to a new home befitting its bright future.

Maureen Hughes and Jim Sheridan

Olivia Romao, Emma Long and Chelsea O’Connor

Peter Coonan

“It was a good fit for us,” says Creative Director Shimmy Marcus, proudly showing off the new home of the Bow Street Academy for Screen Acting, in Smithfield. “It’s an old courthouse, and it was pretty easy to convert the courtrooms into studio spaces we could work with. We were in business two days after we got the keys.”

The major business at hand is the Programme for Screen Acting, Ireland’s only full-time, year-long course dedicated to screen acting. There are currently 32 students enrolled in the course, and Shimmy reveals that supply can’t quite meet demand.

“We are oversubscribed,” he says. “The demand for places increases each year. It’s only been running for three years at this point, but strong word of mouth has helped.”

Some of those mouths have been more famous than others. As well as the full-time acting course, the facility also hosts an Actors Studio – of which 120 current and former students, as well as invited talent from outside Bow Street – are members. The walls of the building are lined with photos of a veritable who’s-who in Irish and international film, who have passed through to help the students… and, on occasion, themselves!

“We’ve had people like Danny de Vito, Richard Dreyfuss and Tim Roth,” says Shimmy, “as well a lot of the Irish talent like Cillian Murphy, Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson. We also had Jim Sheridan here recently – he came for one afternoon to workshop his project The Secret Scripture. He ended up staying for a week and using 20 of our actors in the film.”

That development is illustrative of the outstanding work that is being achieved at Bow Street by Shimmy and his team, which also includes casting director Maureen Hughes and general manager Paul O’Connor.

They have worked to create an environment in which the cream of Irish acting talent can flourish.

A welcoming community for those involved in filmmaking, the facility includes everything from common rooms and kitchen facilities to a gym, brilliantly named The Gym Sheridan. It’s all in the name of helping the students to become the best actors they can be.

“We’re not just training them to get the odd gig here

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and there in Ireland,” Shimmy explains. “We’re training them to compete for roles in the UK and America.

With the advancements in technology, you can film an audition right here without having to jump on a plane.”

That, of course, goes a long way to explaining why Irish acting talent is enjoying something of a golden era.

“It’s a really exciting time at the moment,” he enthuses. “Jack Reynor won the Best Actor award at Sundance, Mo Dunford won the Shooting Star at Berlin. Saoirse Ronan has already been Oscar nominated. There’s a lot more talent coming through too, with the likes of Brian Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Seána Kerslake. I know people might read those names and think ‘who?’, but wait until a year from now!”

Indeed, a year from now Bow Street will have expanded further. The summer sees a new Advanced Programme introduced, aimed at experienced actors who wish to rise to the next level, and they’ve recently been working with Screen Training Ireland to offer a wider range of courses for the acting community at large. Add in the freshly-inked partnership with Spotlight UK, one of the biggest casting services in the business, and there’s a lot to be excited about. Certainly, it’s a far cry from the precarious position in which the Bow Street team found themselves less than twelve months ago.

“Nama wanted back the building where we had The Factory,” Shimmy explains. “We had finished a fiveyear lease, and they didn’t want to renew it. That was a very difficult time, because we didn’t know if we could continue. Fortunately, we found this place, and so many of the actors that had been through our doors said ‘you have to keep this going. There isn’t anywhere else.’”

And while the story now has the happiest of endings, for Shimmy – and the artistic community as a whole – it was a stark reminder of the challenges they face.

“It was a kick in the teeth,” he confesses. “It’s frustrating that, in times of economic hardship, the arts always seems to be the one area to take the biggest cuts. That’s probably when we need the arts more than ever, to reinforce our sense of self-esteem and faith in ourselves. We’ve always punched so far above our weight. People say ‘you must get so much state support’, but I don’t think we’ve had a cultural and intellectual free-thinker in government since Michael D Higgins. I certainly can’t think of anyone else who’s championed the arts since then.”

Thankfully, there are plenty of people willing to work hard to lift Irish acting to new heights.

“The reality is that it’s a tough business,” Shimmy reflects. “We’re not waiting on handouts, or dependent on them. It would certainly make life a lot easier for us, but our primary focus is far more philanthropic than finance driven. We have this insane goal to create the best pool of actors available, and give them a home they can believe in. We have to be practical – we have to pay the bills and pay the rent. It will always be a struggle to do that, but that’s part of our challenge as well.”

GOSPORT

SWING WHEN YOU’RE WINNING

One of golf ’s rising talents, Offaly’s Shane Lowry talks about overnight success and why he can’t think of himself as a superstar. words: Colm O’Regan photo: Kathrin Baumbach

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f things go according to plan, that might change sooner rather than later. The Offaly man, who burst onto the scene when he won the 2009 Irish Open as an amateur, is in impressive form approaching what might be the biggest period of his career.

Pull Up To The Bunker

S

hane Lowry is the perfect man to discuss a new app that aims to revolutionise the way people learn the game of golf.

Simply Golf is a smartphone app that connects golfers with club pros in their local area, taking the hassle out of booking golf lessons and making the game even more accessible.

“It’s not as intimidating as walking in off the street into a golf club,” Shane says. “For someone who might not know how to start, they can just click on this app. It’s going to do two things: it’s going to introduce people to golf, and it’s going to create more money for golf pros, which is a good thing for everyone really.”

Take it from a top-class professional: everyone can do with a lesson from time to time.

“You can always get better!” Shane laughs.

“No matter what level you’re playing at, you can always learn more, and different coaches and golf pros will help you along the way.”

The app is now available in Ireland for iPhones, with the Android version due to arrive in the coming weeks. It will be launched in the US in the summer. You can find out more, and download the app, at simplygolf.com

“Speaking to my coach recently,” Lowry muses, “he reckons I’m handling myself better than ever on the course, especially around the week of a big tournament.”

In the recent WGC Cadillac Championship, Lowry did well enough to stay in contention until the final round, where he shot an unfortunate 74.

“I played alright,” he says, “certainly well enough to do better than I did. I was a bit disappointed coming away, but that’s the way golf is. Unless you win, you’re kind of unhappy. One bad round, one back nine, even one hole can ruin your week.”

Golf is all about mental strength: to be up there among the best, you have to be able to handle adversity. One of the greatest examples is Padraig Harrington, who finally burst back into the frontline recently by winning the Honda Classic, in Palm Beach. Padraig is one of Shane’s best friends on tour – though the affable Clara man is not planning to copy his mate’s approach precisely.

“Padraig is a bit different,” he grins. “Padraig does things his own way! But I’ve learned a lot from him, and continue learning. I was watching the final round of the Honda Classic, and I was saying – selfishly – I hope Padraig wins so he’ll be around the week of the Masters. That was one of the reasons I wanted him to win, because it will be good to have him there.”

A leisurely dinner with Shane ahead of the delayed final round in Florida had helped to get Harrington into the right frame of mind. Now, Lowry is looking for the favour to be returned.

He’s gearing up for his first trip to Augusta in search of the famed Green Jacket, and his Irish colleague has already been giving him advice.

“I don’t know what to think,” he smiles. “I’m trying not to build it up too much. Padraig said to me: ‘The Masters is everything you think it will be... and more’. I think that kind of sums it

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up! I’ve got a house rented for the week, and my dad and brother are coming over, along with my fiancée and a couple of my close friends.”

They’re not just going for a holiday: Shane is aiming to win. “In a sense,” he says, “I’m treating it as though it’s just another event, no different to any other. I definitely won’t be going into it thinking I can’t win.”

For years, players traveled to Augusta fearing a Tiger mauling, but those days are long gone.

Indeed, Lowry has moved ahead of the former World No.1 in the rankings; the thought still brings a smile to Shane’s face.

“If you had told me 10 years ago that I’d pass Tiger Woods out in 2015, I’d have laughed at you! But that’s the way it is; we all got better, and Tiger got worse. Everyone, no matter how high they get, is going to have a fall from grace.

There’ll be kids in however many years’ time who’ll pass out Rory McIlroy – or whoever it might be at that point – and they’ll be thinking the same thing. That’s just the way sport goes.

But I’m only 27. In other sports, if you haven’t peaked by now, you might be looking at a downward spiral. Golf is different – hopefully I’ve got plenty of years left!”

The aforementioned McIlroy will start among the favourites in Georgia. He’s another one of Shane’s buddies. But those alliances are left behind at the first tee box.

“For the 18 holes, you’re out there to compete and to win. That’s the only reason I’m there, anyway. Though I do have a lot of friends in golf, I’m not there to make friends.” He grins. “No one ever became one of the best golfers in the world by making friends.”

Why has Ireland, north and south, produced such a high number of quality players?

“I think one thing we have going for us in Ireland is that golf is there for everyone,” he reflects. “If you look at America, a lot of golf is still about country clubs and rich people. There’s not a lot of opportunity for working class people to go and play. If you go to mainland Europe it’s similar. But in Ireland and the UK we’re lucky.

It’s not hard to take up the sport.”

Of course, European ambitions are also on Lowry’s mind – a strong 18 months would put him in line for a place on the Ryder Cup team in 2016. Some players have said that being part of the victorious side in that tournament is even better than winning a major. So, if the GoRail genie offered Lowry the choice right now?

“That’s a great question,” he says, before breaking into an enormous grin. “Well, if I win a major, I’ll probably make the next Ryder Cup team anyway! I’ll take my major!”

Roll on Augusta…

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G O E A T

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Arun with a

V I E W Stuart Clark has lunch with Arun Kapil, the adopted Corkman who’s spiced up Irish life with his Green Saffron brand and is soon to star in his own TV series.

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t’s early April and the sun is streaming through one of the picture windows in The Cliff Townhouse, the Stephen’s Green offspring of The Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore, County Waterford.

words ph o tos

st ua rt

c la rk

kat h r i n

b aumb a c h

Describing itself as “a restaurant with rooms”, the former is where the founder of the Green Saffron spice empire, Arun Kapil, has suggested we hook up for a long-lunch. Having sampled 33-yearold wunderchef Sean Smith’s wares before, Go Rail arrives an eager beaver 15 minutes before a somewhat flustered looking Arun joins us.

“Sorry I’m late, but I’ve had an insanely busy morning,” he apologises. “Marks & Spencer have asked us to help give their fresh Indian range a makeover, so there’s been lots of trying out different recipes and talking to our suppliers in India, which I’ll be going back to soon as part of a new RTÉ television series that’s airing in the autumn. We’re also shooting in different parts of Ireland so I think it’ll be a really fun programme.

Previously, I’ve been fortunate enough to do The Afternoon Show, Late Lunch Live, Kitchen Hero with Donal Skehan, Pies And Puds with Paul Hollywood and The Cookery School on Channel 4 with Richard Corrigan who’s been a massive supporter.”

Before upping sticks and moving to Middleton in County Cork in 2000, Arun was one of the leading lights of the UK dance music industry.

“We had five studios in London, a big club night, Pacha, every Wednesday and a record label, Funky Peace Productions, which released the first ever DJ mix-set,” he recalls proudly. “I was involved with the Sugababes and was one of the pioneers of the rave scene. 40,000 people in a field; it was wild!”

Not the most obvious of career choices for the

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son of a respectable Hindustani GP who’d grown up in Scunthorpe.

“Having left India as a young man and married a Yorkshire lass, my dad had a bit of a rebellious streak himself!” Arun notes. “One of my first jobs was working as a busboy in Ronnie Wood’s Cajun Creole restaurant, which had a very rock ‘n’ roll vibe and got me into that sort of musical lifestyle.

After a while, though, it became just a bit too crazy. At the age of 30 I went, ‘Hang on a minute, you’re not sleeping. You haven’t had a girlfriend for longer than a month. It’s time you looked after yourself a bit!’”

Not content with modifying his lifestyle, Arun completely changed it by enrolling in a course at the Ballymaloe Cookery School where Myrtle Allen took him under her wing.

“Getting to hang out with Myrtle was phenomenal!” he beams. “I helped her write her Good Food Producers Of Cork book, which introduced me to loads of really great people. It was a culture shock but one that I relished.”

As much as he loved working with the Allens, his entrepreneurial streak meant that Arun was itching to set up his own food business.

“It occurred to me that you could only get a very limited range of fresh spices in Cork, so I phoned Dad up and said, ‘Can any of our relations back in India help me source and import them?’ He put me in touch with one of my uncles in Uttar Pradesh who tragically had a heart attack and died as he was preparing to send over the first parcel, but his daughter stepped in and Green Saffron was born.”

Currently sourcing his wares from over 100 farmers in different parts of India, Arun secured a pitch in 2005 at Mahon Point Market where you’ll still find a Green Saffron stall today.

“The first thing we do with a new sauce is put it on the stalls – we’re also at the Wilton Farmers Market in Cork and the Limerick Milk Market – and see what customers like/don’t like about it. It’s only when the reaction’s overwhelmingly positive that we’ll consider adding it to the supermarket range.”

At this point a very charming waitress arrives with our starter. Having spotted a couple of our

G

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T

A MATTER OF TASTE Stuart Clark Brings You The Latest Foodie News Dining in the Dylan and (below) cheese & charcuterie in No.1 Pery Square

Mixing It With The Best Go Eat! was treated to an aroundthe-world cocktail masterclass from Rob Caldwell, resident mixologist at Peruke & Periwig (31 Dawson Street, Dublin 2. (Tel. +353 1 672 7190. peruke.ie). Whether reinventing classics (the fizz in his Mojito is prosecco rather than soda water) or engaging in mad scientist experimentation (the hopinfused Hoptimus Prime involves a blowtorch and herbal incense) Rob’s shaken and/or stirred creations are spot on.

favourites, Lemon Tart and Crème Brûlée, on the desert menu we’ve decided to be virtuous and share a McGrath’s Spiced Beef, Rocket, Cheddar & Hazelnuts.

“I love the texture of the meat, and the combination of ingredients they’ve put with it,” Arun ventures.

“We’ve so many top producers here.

Caherbeg pork is wonderful, as is Irish beef. Glenisk yoghurt and Keogh’s crisps, to name just two, are outstanding brands.”

Afforded 2014 Cookbook of the Year status by Go Rail, Arun’s Fresh Spice includes recipes for such mouthwatering dishes as Roast Herbed Salmon with Cardamom Sauce and Asafoetida Risotto with Walnuts and Celery Leaf, Winter Leaves & Spiced Squash.

“It’s basically saying that spices are an everyday seasoning and not just confined to Indian or Thai cooking.

At the Dublin book launch, we served a traditional Irish breakfast that we spiced up with a bit of this and a bit of that. The idea is for people to have fun and experiment.”

Which brings us to our mains; a traditional Boeuf Bourguignon for yours truly and Steak Tartare with Shallots, Capers, Oyster & Egg Yolk for Arun.

“Absolutely delicious,” he declares.

”I order steak tartare out a lot, and that’s one of the best I’ve had.”

I’m just as impressed with my melt-in-the-mouth beef, which is coated in a deliciously sticky and winey sauce and accompanied by a generous dollop of buttery mash.

“From the front-of-house staff down to the food, you can tell this is a really well run restaurant,” ventures Arun who ramps the praise up even more when his Lemon Tart with Elderberry Sorbet & Creme Fraiche arrives.

“Their pastry chef is very, very good,” he enthuses. My Crème Brûlée and accompanying Shortbread Biscuit gets a similarly rave review.

“The quality and variety of food in Ireland just keeps getting better and better,” Arun concludes. “I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to match the buzz of being in the music industry, but I’ve actually exceeded it.”

& Chorizo Tomato Sauce and, underlining that French influence, a generous Choucroute plate comprising of Ham Hock, Pork Belly, Pork Sausage, tangy homemade Sauerkraut and a selection of moutardes for slathering purposes.

The pastry chef also gets 10 out of 10 for the best Tarte Tatin Go Eat! has had this side of Paris – and believe us we’ve tried a good few!

Breakfast is also a big thing at Sash with the Eggs Benedict top of the recommended list.

Owner-run rather than being part of a chain, No.1 Pery Square has a relaxed boutique feel, super-friendly staff and beautifully decorated rooms named after celebrated Irish writers.

Adding to its appeal as a place of foodie pilgrimage are The Wine & Artisan Shop, open daily from 10am-6pm, and regular Classes & Tastings, the latest of which on April 16 delves into the world of Organic & Bio Dynamic wines.

Tavern A Great Time

The Pery Best Fine dining at affordable prices is the credo at Sash, the contemporary Irish restaurant – albeit with a pronounced Gallic twist! – which occupies the first-floor of Limerick’s No.1 Pery Square hotel (Tel. +353 61 402 402. oneperysquare.com).

Among the star performers when we visited were the Crubeen Terrine with Apricot Chutney & Sea Salt; Pan Seared Halibut with Chickpea

Arun is taking part in the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Lit Fest of Food & Wine, which runs from May 15-17. litfest.ie / greensaffron. com The Cliff Town House (22 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2. Tel. + 353 1 638 3939. theclifftownhouse.com)

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Another boutique hotel that takes its food very seriously is the Dylan, a near neighbour of the Aviva Stadium (Eastmoreland Place, Dublin 4. Tel. + 353 1 660 3000. dylan.ie) which has been getting rave reviews all round for its five-course Tasting Menu.

Served in their smart yet relaxed Tavern Restaurant, delights include Pork Roulade, Smoked Pork Belly, Black Pudding & Crispy Bits; RibEye Steak, Braised Beef Mushroom Duxelle, Truffle Mousseline & Red Win Jus, and the Fairground Desert for two, which comprises a Toffee & Apple Doughnut, Vanilla Cone Marshmallow, Honeycomb Chocolate & Candy Gloss, and is brought to table on a mini-sweet cart.

The buzz in the Dylan bar is pure NYC boho with the Peppery Pleasure upping the cocktail ante in the capital.

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The self-proclaimed ‘real’ capital of Ireland, CORK combines metropolitan swagger with small-town intimacy. Blessed with a rich cultural, sporting and culinary heritage, it’s fantastic for a weekend break.

hours in

CORK

Mornings

Blackrock Castle Observatory

G ET T I NG T HERE

Start the day with a caffeine kick at one of Cork’s many independent coffee houses.

Coffee Pod branches are located across the city, while Cork Coffee Roasters on Bridge St. has a devoted following and Café Gusto on Washington St. is well-regarded too. For weekend brunch, 14A in the historic Huguenot Quarter is hard to beat.

Patrick’s Bridge

Kent Station is just a ten minute walk from the thoroughfare of St. Patrick’s Street. The No.5 bus runs from within the station car park, serving the city centre, UCC and Cork University Hospital.

Afternoons A 15-minute taxi journey away, Blackrock Castle Observatory has a stateof-the-art, space-themed visitor centre, with lots to interest children and adults. In UCC meanwhile, the gorgeous Glucksman Gallery is both an architectural and cultural landmark.

Evenings

Nights

Cork is at the forefront of Ireland’s foodie revolution and has a huge variety of restaurants. On Lancaster Quay, Café Paradiso is acknowledged as the country’s finest vegetarian eatery. High-class dining of a more traditional stripe is available at Jacob’s on the South Mall, while the Boardwalk bar and grill at Lapps Quay has a devoted following too. One of the most popular restaurants in the city is Isaac’s on MacCurtain St. A standard bearer for quality dining for 20 years, specialties include duck confit and free-range chicken.

If you fancy a pint it’s hard to go wrong in Cork, the spiritual home of Murphy’s and Beamish. The Bodega on Coal Quay is much beloved by the city’s hipster set, as is the Mutton Lane Inn, just off Patrick St., where craft brews and a cosy atmosphere are a house specialty. Also recommended are The Oval on South Main St. (indie tunes a specialty), Crane Lane Theatre (which has welcomed performers such as Ellie Goulding) and, just across Patrick’s Bridge, Sin É.

Insider’s Tip The wall running along Mutton Lane is home to the ‘Pana Shuffle’, an enormous mural created by native Corkman Anthony Ruby. A colourful tribute to the musicians and characters of the city, the faces featured are all based on real Leeside citizens - spend long enough admiring it and one of them is bound to pass by!

Ellie Goulding

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Trains run from Heuston Station, Dublin, to Kent Station on the hour, every hour from Monday to Saturday. Hourly services run from 07.00 to 19.00, and the last train departs Dublin at 21:00. On Sundays, a service operates hourly from 10:00 until 19:00, with a final departure at 21:00.

There are over 20 trains from both Cobh and Midleton which serve Kent Station from Monday to Saturday, with 12 regular services on Sunday.

Visit irishrail.ie for full timetables.

G O P L A C E S

Inis Meain restaurant

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G O P L A C E S

To the waters and

THE WILD Stretching along Ireland's western seaboard, the rugged beauty of the Wild Atlantic Way makes it a natural draw for tourists.

Peter McNally looks at the best cultural attractions, food options and activities available on the breathtaking coastal route.

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xtending to over 2,500 kilometres – from the Inishowen Peninsula, Donegal to Kinsale, Co. Cork – the Wild Atlantic Way is the longest signed coastal route in the world. This breathtaking coastal route has one foot in Ireland’s storied past, and the other in its vital present.

To help you get the most out of your experience along the Wild Atlantic Way, Go Rail will show you the best of its outdoor activities, both on and off land, giving you the opportunity to get up close to the staggering scenery and local attractions. From the surfer’s paradises of Donegal, Sligo and Mayo, to the extraordinary beauty of the Galway countryside and Cork’s picturesque beaches – there is so much to see, do and explore on Ireland’s west coast.

Take A Walk On The Wild Side The best way to experience the sights and sounds of the Wild Atlantic Way is to get out amongst the beautiful scenery and to confront the rugged nature head-on. This part of Ireland offers a wide variety of outdoor activities that will give you a grander engagement with the striking surroundings. The proximity of the Atlantic Ocean accounts for the popularity of watersports in the region, and in recent years there has been a surge of interest in various land based adventure sports.

Donegal is home to some of Ireland’s most well-known and celebrated surfing spots. From the world-class reef break of The Peek and the ever-consistent Tullan Strand in Bundoran, to the blue flag beach at Rossnowlagh – Donegal has a wave for surfers of all experience levels. More challenging waves can be found in the wilds of Inishowen, Fanad Head, and at the ominously named Bloody Foreland. Each year Bundoran hosts the hugely popular Sea Sessions festival

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(seasessions.com), which is an important date on the surfing calendar.

Not to be outdone, the nearby county of Sligo can lay claim to one of the best big wave surfing locations in the world. Attracting local and international big wave surfing talent, and hundreds of spectators, the infamous Mullaghmore wave sees the brave and the bold riding swells of up to 15 metres high off Mullaghmore Head. In recent years Sligo has become Ireland’s adventure capital and visiting adventuresligo.ie is an easy way to see what’s on offer and to help to plan your trip.

A great way to get out and see the stunning countryside along the Wild Atlantic Way is by taking one of the many cycling routes available. Clifden, in Co. Galway, is a cycle hub that provides access to routes that take in such attractions as Kylemore Abbey & Garden, Connemara National Park and spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean and the imposing Twelve Bens mountain range. Bikes can be rented relatively cheaply from Mannion Bike Hire in Clifden (clifdenbikes.com). Unique to the area is a route that takes you through the Derrigimlagh blanket bog. A mosaic of tiny lakes and peat, crossed by a single narrow road, the Bog Road will take you past monuments to two remarkable events of 20th century history.

The blanket bog is home to the scattered remains of the world’s first transatlantic radio station. Built by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi, the station transmitted the first transatlantic radio signal in 1907, but was burned to the ground during the War of Independence. Not far from this is a white memorial in the shape of an aeroplane wing, dedicated to John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown. Alcock and Brown crash-landed unharmed in the Derrigimlagh Bog in 1919 after completing the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic.

G O P L A C E S

OTHER MUST-VISITS:

• The Garden Café and Murphy’s Ice Cream in Dingle • Gregan’s Castle in Co. Clare • Connemara Smokehouse Économusée • Ummera Smokehouse in West Cork • Sheep’s Head Peninsula, West Cork (for the award winning Durrus cheese) • Man Friday’s, Finn’s Table and Crackpot in Kinsale.

(top) Sea Sessions and (bottom) Inis Meain restaurant

The Taste of Land and Sea Appetite sufficiently stimulated, The Wild Atlantic Way is replete with some of Ireland’s finest food destinations. Options run from gourmet dining to artisan food festivals and delicious fresh fish and chips. With a wealth of produce from the sea and the fields at their fingertips, the artisanal food producers and sustainable farmers of Ireland’s west coast supply the local restaurants with the finest, freshest ingredients. From seafood straight from the Atlantic Ocean to the uniquely flavoured Connemara Hill Lamb, the geography of the island and its food are hard to separate. Signature tastes exclusive to each region add variety to the menu of the Wild Atlantic Way. The many food festivals hosted throughout the year offer visitors a chance to try an enormous selection of locally-produced cuisine. Beginning in April (2–6), the Galway Food Festival falls on the Easter Bank Holiday weekend and takes place over five days. Last year the festival attracted 70,000 visitors to the city, with events including a festival food village, tours, tastings, demonstrations and a food-truck village (galwayfoodfestival.com). In May (1–3), the

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Connemara Mussel Festival celebrates its 10th year as one of the west’s premier food events (connemaramusselfestival.com). Set in the small village of Tullycross, the festival last year won the McKenna’s Guides Food Festival of the Year award. A showcase of the very best Connemara has to offer, this small festival attracts visitors from near and far to appreciate the excellence of the mussels from Killary Harbor. In June Féile an Phráta – An Spud-off Mór takes place in Dingle, Co. Kerry. “A unique celebration of the humble potato and its important role in the lives and diet of the rural community”, Féila an Phráta challenges growers across the Dingle peninsula to produce the perfect spud. Finally, in August the A Taste of Donegal Food Festival takes place on the last weekend of the month, and brings together the best of local produce, live entertainment, celebrity speakers and chefs (atasteofdonegal. com).

For those who don’t mind getting their hands dirty in the pursuit of an inimitable dining experience, Sligo Boat Charters (sligoboatcharters.com) welcomes you on board for a full day, half day, or evening trip to track down and catch your own dinner. The larder of the Atlantic Ocean is packed with everything from flatties to mackerel, which you can then have cooked for you at the nearby restaurant Austies in Rosses Point, or cook for yourself on a local island barbeque. Just south of Sligo, under the huge skies of north County Mayo, Denis Quinn of Wild Atlantic Cultural Tours, meanwhile, is pioneering the growing pastime of foraging (wildatlanticculturaltours.com). On an afternoon with Denis you will be guided over the mudflats and rocks of Killala Bay in search of edible seaweeds, cockles, mussels, clams and winkles on the soft sands uncovered by the low tide.

There are a number of must-visit food destinations along the Wild Atlantic Way, ranging from quaint seaside cafés to award winning gourmet restaurants in spectacular locations. Top of the list for an experience thoroughly exclusive to the Wild Atlantic way is Inis Meáin on the Middle Island of the Aran Islands, just off Galway Bay (inismeain.com). Inis Meáin was described

by Food & Wine magazine as “a contemporary restaurant the critics are raving about in one of the most uniquely beautiful spots in the world”.

G O P L A C E S Through the restaurant’s floor to ceiling windows diners are placed in the middle of the prevailing elements, be it brilliant sunshine or howling Atlantic gales. The ingredients are sourced almost entirely from the island itself and combined to create a four-course dinner that changes nightly.

Aniar in Galway City is a Michelin-awarded restaurant with a dynamic atmosphere (aniarrestaurant.ie). The restaurant describes itself as a ‘terroir’ and as such its menu takes its cue from the surrounding landscape, letting the course of the seasons dictate what is available at a given time.

Within viewing distance of the Aran Islands, Vasco in the heart of the Burren in Co.

Clare is a remote find (vasco.ie).

Using only the best of local and foraged produce, Vasco offers an interesting menu at any time of the day. With ingredients like the famed Burren lamb and game at their disposal, alongside a varied seafood menu, Burren Farmhouse cheeses and microbrewer beers, Vasco is well worth the drive along the dramatic coastline.

The historic port and fishing town of Kinsale in Co. Cork has been referred to as the ‘gourmet capital of Ireland’. Fishy Fishy is an award-winning restaurant run by husband and wife team Martin and Marie Shanahan and has been hailed by Lonely Planet as “arguably the best seafood restaurant in the country”.

THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY BY RAIL

Railtours Ireland, in partnership with Iarnród Éireann, offers a variety of tour packages designed to bring visitors to the most popular destinations along the Wild Atlantic Way. Ranging from 1-day to 9-day tours, travelling by Iarnród Éireann affords you the chance to simply sit back and enjoy the ever-changing scenery unfold.

Packages include: One Day Tours • The Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, The Burren and Galway Bay • The Ring of Kerry • Connemara and the Wild Atlantic Way • The Aran Islands, with a scenic flight over Galway Bay • Cork, Blarney Castle and the Queenstown/Titanic Story Multiple Day Tours • The Grand Atlantic Tour (4-day Tour) • The Royal Atlantic Tour (5-day Tour) • The Titanic Rail Trail and the Wild Atlantic Way (9-day Tour) More information is available at irishrail.ie/fares-and-tickets/ tours-by-rail

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G O P L A C E S MATT MOLLOY’S 5 GREAT THINGS ABOUT WESTPORT

• • • • •

Croagh Patrick: Magnificent views and great for climbing and hiking.

Westport House: A family-oriented camping and adventure facility.

The Great Western Greenway: The longest off-road walking and cycling trail in Ireland.

Westport is a jump off point for Achill, Sligo, Donegal and Connemara.

Beautiful Blue Flag Beaches: Bertra, Old Head, Clare Island and Carrowmore.

Matt Molloy (left) with The Chieftains

The Tonic of Wildness Irish traditional music is known throughout the world. Over the past half-century its influence can be seen in everyone from Bob Dylan to homegrown heroes like The Frames and Damien Dempsey.

The Wild Atlantic Way is home to some of the best destinations available for lovers of the ceol agus craic. Go Rail spoke to celebrated Irish musician and flautist for The Chieftains, Matt Molloy, about what is so enticing to visitors about the traditional music of Ireland. Matt runs a pub in Westport, Co. Mayo called Matt Molloy’s, and when he is not on tour with The Chieftains he can be found behind the bar or joining in with a nightly session. Molloy’s has a reputation as a must-visit destination for anyone interested in live traditional music, attracting some of the best-known names and providing visitors with the chance to be dazzled

by Matt’s playing in an intimate setting. Having toured the world with The Bothy Band, Planxty and of course The Chieftains, Matt has a unique perspective on the attraction of traditional Irish music.

“There always have been visitors from abroad, since maybe the ’70s with The Clancy Brothers and The Dubliners," he comments. "The backpackers and trekkers were always coming for the music, going up to Doolin. It is unique, and I’m aware of that from travelling the world for the past 40 years.

Traditional music and pub culture has been a great feature of Irish tourism that people love.

“Those in charge of Irish tourism were slow to recognise the importance of the music and traditional culture. People love the music. We notice it ourselves when touring – there are now traditional Irish groups in Japan and South America. Traditional music really has become quite international. Sometimes it can be like the League of Nations in the pub! You could have, say, a tenor from Germany come in, and if they can do something we try to engage them. We like to share a few beers, have some fun and send them home happy.”

Other must-visit traditional music destinations De Barra’s Folk Club in Clonakilty has, over 30 years, attracted musicians from far and wide to the small town in West Cork. The venue has

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built up this reputation through longstanding associations with such greats as Sharon Shannon, Christy Moore and the late Noel Redding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Currently John Spillane maintains a residency there.

On the island of Inis Mór, part of the Aran Islands, Tí Joe Watty’s is one of the area’s oldest and most traditional pubs. With live music nightly, a warm open fire and the Atlantic Ocean on all sides, Tí Joe Watty’s is an experience you could only have on the Wild Atlantic Way. Make sure to sample their Traditional Island Bar Food of locally caught lobster, crab, mussels and fresh fish, and their impressive craft beer menu.

Leo’s Tavern, or Tábhairne Leo, is situated in the Donegal Gaeltacht. The tavern is renowned as the birthplace of world famous musical talents Clannad, Enya and Moya Brennan – the children of owners Leo and Baba Ó Braonáin. Now open and featuring live music for over forty years, the owners were awarded the Freedom of Donegal

by Donegal County Council at the Errigal Arts Festival in 2005. Leo’s is a must visit for those interested in the history of Irish traditional music.

Doolin in Co. Clare is renowned for its traditional Irish music and for its beautiful surroundings – the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren are a short journey away. MacDiarmada’s, or McDermott’s, is a family run pub in Doolin that has been open since 1867. There is live traditional music every night from early spring to late autumn, and on the weekends throughout the winter. A winner of the Traditional Irish Music Pub of the Year in 2002, McDermott’s has won the Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor four years in a row. In nearby Miltown Malbay, The Willy Clancy Festival and Summer School is a yearly event. It is Ireland’s largest traditional music summer school and the festival is a great place to learn about the traditional culture, arts, language and literature that County Clare is famous for.

Tucked away in the west end of Galway City, The Crane is one of Galway’s best known Irish traditional venues and the first stop for music lovers due to this well earned reputation. A 70-seat room that offers an intimate and relaxing atmosphere, Upstairs at the Crane is a venue loved by both performers and audiences alike. It offers top-notch musical entertainment seven nights a week.

G O P L A C E S

one man …100,000 items Winner of Irish Design Institute museum design award, the Jackie Clarke Collection – one man, 100,000 items – spans 400 years of Irish history.

Visitor Centre, Café & Farmland Nature Trail

Book online & Save 20%

Visit Europe's largest stalactite on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way www.doolincave.ie E-mail: tours@doolincave.ie

Located in a restored 19th century bank in the centre of Ballina with a newly designed walled garden. Special features of the attraction include a memory booth where you can record your own memories and interactive touch-screens throughout. Suitable for all ages.

FREE ADMISSION Open Tuesday to Saturday 10–5 a: Pearse Street, Ballina, Co. Mayo, Ireland w: www.clarkecollection.ie t: +353 (0)96 73508 e: clarkecollection@mayococo.ie

Contact: 065 70 75 761

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G O P L A C E S

Local Attractions

TO SAVOUR

The Kenmare Bay Hotel & Resort The Kenmare Bay Hotel & Resort is ideally located on the outskirts of the beautiful town of Kenmare, near Killarney, and is one of the best-known hotels in Kerry. Nestling between the famous Ring of Kerry and located on the Wild Atlantic Way, Kenmare’s setting is unsurpassed anywhere else in the country and is the perfect base from which to explore the fabulous Kerry countryside.

The hotel has 126 bedrooms, 16 holiday homes and 14 luxury lodges. Children’s facilities include a Kids’ Club, a restaurant play area, outdoor playground, drop-in play room and a special kids’ menu. The hotel also features a beautiful Banqueting Suite, which boasts fantastic views of the Kerry Mountains. There is also a state-of-theart leisure centre.

A quiet walkway from the hotel leads you directly into the heart of the town in less than five minutes. A visit to Kenmare will stay in your heart forever.

Phone: +353 064 6679300 • kenmarebayhotel. com • info@kenmarebayhotel.com

West Cork Model Railway Village: “A Fun Day For All The Family” A visit to the award winning West Cork Model Railway Village is a treat for all the family. On the Inchydoney road overlooking Clonakilty bay, the Model Village is a fully scaled replica of the towns that grew up along the West Cork Railway in the 1940s. Handcrafted model buildings and figurines tell the story of how people lived and worked in those days, and give both child and adult an understanding of the local history, while G scale trains travel around the towns on ground level delighting all. Activities at the model village include a 30-minute audio tour on the Choo-choo road train, and an interpretive centre featuring film footage of the railway with original artifacts on display. There is also a Cafe and Craft shop in authentic 1950s railway carriages overlooking the bay, while for children there’s an indoor soft play area, as well as an outdoor play area with picnic tables.

Phone: 00353 23 8833224 • modelvillage.ie • E-mail: modelvillage@eircom.net

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The Jackie Clarke Collection The Jackie Clarke Collection is comprised of over 100,000 items of Irish history spanning over 400 years, from the early 1600s to 2000. On display in the beautifully restored 19th century building designed by Sir Thomas Manly Deane are artefacts from Wolfe Tone, Michael Collins, Dr Douglas Hyde and personal items from the leaders of the 1916 Rising. The collection also contains rare books, proclamations, posters, political cartoons, newspapers, maps, pamphlets and handbills.

Special features of the collection include a memory booth where you can record your own personal stories and memories, interactive touch screens and an urban walled garden.

Phone: +353 096 73508 • clarkecollection.ie • clarkecollection@mayococo.ie

(Clockwise from top) The Kenmare Bay Hotel; West Cork Model Railway Village; The Jackie Clarke Collection; Galway City Museum; Doolin Cave and Clew Bay Bike Hire

G O P L A C E S

Clew Bay Bike Hire Clew Bay Bike Hire have five rental shops along the Great Western Greenway. They also provide a free return shuttle service between their Westport, Westport Quay, Newport and Mulranny & Achill Island locations, so you can cycle as much or as little as you desire. Handily, they also offer an outbound shuttle service, allowing people to be transported from Westport to Achill for a return cycle. Prices range from €15 for a half-day bike hire (not including shuttle service) to €22.50 for the full day including shuttle transport. Clew Bay Bike Hire's service will ensure a memorable experience along the Great Western Greenway – and for good measure, electrically assisted bicycles are also available for hire at €40 per day.

Phone: +353 098 24818 • clewbaybikehire.ie • Email: info@clewbaybikehire.ie

Doolin Cave – A Journey To Europe’s Largest Stalactite

New Exhibitions At Galway City Museum

Doolin's Great Stalactite offers a unique opportunity to observe a stunning natural phenomenon. Entering the main chamber is quite the experience, as you emerge from total darkness to view the majestic stalactite, which is suspended from the ceiling like a chandelier. Formed from a single drop of water over hundreds of thousands of year, it is Europe's largest stalactite. In addition, there is also a farmland nature trail on offer, which takes a looped walk around the cave setting. It provides visitors with the opportunity to observe indigenous species of flora and rare and miniature breeds of animals. It also pays to plan ahead when visiting Doolin Cave – booking online will save you 20%.

Phone: +353 65 7075761 • doolincave.ie • tours@ doolincave.ie

Galway City Museum's new exhibition Galway & the Great War focuses on the subject of Irishmen who served in the British Army during World War 1. Remarkably, more than 200,000 Irishmen fought for Britain during the war. Of those, over 30,000 were killed in the line of duty, including at least 750 Galway men. This exhibition explores the people behind the statistics – those at the frontline and those left behind. Visitors can read personal accounts and view objects from this tragic period in our history. In the second half of the year, meanwhile, Galway City Museum will feature Yeats2015, an exhibition celebrating 150 years since the birth of William Butler Yeats, one of Ireland's greatest poets. This will be displayed in the museum foyer and will run throughout the summer season.

Phone: +353 091 532 460 • galwaycitymuseum. ie • Email: museum@galwaycity.ie

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G O P L A C E S

Moher Power To

THEM The Cliffs of Moher on the southwestern edge of the Burren are among Ireland’s most popular tourist destinations. Go Rail spoke to Paula Hawes from The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience about the special attraction of this signature destination, which in 2014 celebrated receiving more than one million visitors in a single year.

On 1,000,000 Visitors in a single year “Last year was a particularly successful year for the Cliffs of Moher. On October 20, for the first time in a single calendar year, we welcomed our one millionth visitor. The winner came from Florida and was awarded an all expenses paid return trip to the Cliffs of Moher, including air flight tickets, hotel accommodation and access to a number of local attractions around the Cliffs of Moher and Burren Geopark.”

On what contributed to this success “The Cliffs of Moher have been experiencing continuous growth for the last four years, and 2014 was the pinnacle of that. There were a number of factors – one of the most significant being the additional flights now coming into Shannon Airport, our gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way. The road signage of the Wild Atlantic Way launched last April, making the Cliffs of Moher a signature discovery point.

Travelling from north or south, we are situated right at the heart of the Wild Atlantic Way, at its midway point. The Cliffs are definitely a focal point for most visitors coming into the country and certainly on the bucket-list of things to see.”

On the unique attractions of the Cliffs of Moher

(from top) The Cliffs, the Visitor Centre and Paula Hawes

“This region is unique geologically. The coarse limestone geology gives way to a variety of natural features such as underground caves and tunnels.

In the crevasses there are beautiful arctic, alpine and Mediterranean plants all growing

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together – and they themselves have survived since the glacial period. The Cliffs of Moher are one of the most significant places to come and see nesting and breeding pairs of seabirds.

The cliffs themselves are naturally predisposed to provide an environment for birds to nest in, and the limestone rock has been gnarled and weathered by the weather and sea erosion. We very often would have wedding blessings at the Cliffs of Moher. A focal point of everyone’s visit to the Cliffs is to go and see O’Brien’s Tower. This is where the proposals usually take place. It’s a round tower from the early 19th century, built by the local landlord at that time, Cornelius O’Brien.

O’Brien would have been a descendant of Brian Boru, so the O’Brien family in this area were synonymous with the grand castles around the Shannon – Drumolin Castle and Bunratty Castle.”

On The Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark “The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark has been a Unesco identified region since 2012.

It’s a global geopark in its own right and really going from strength to strength. Within the Burren Geopark there are 14 historical geosites that you can explore on the trail, things like the Poulnabrone Dolmen, Iron Age forts like Cahercommaun Fort and wedge tombs from the early Bronze Age. The Poulnabrone Dolmen for example predates the pyramids in Egypt.

All these attractions give tremendous amount of narrative and contribute to the story of the Burren Geopark. It’s definitely a thriving region, very rich both culturally and historically, rich in botany and wild life, a great destination for the culturally curious.”

G O P L A C E S

PAULA HAWES’ FIVE HIDDEN GEMS OF THE BURREN & CLIFFS OF MOHER GEOPARK

Tour miniature West Cork on foot in one hour and step back in time and experience life of the 1940’s

•

• • • •

See the hand- made model towns of Clonakilty, Bandon, Kinsale and Dunmanway. In scale 24:1 and how the towns looked on busy market days.

Watch the G- scale model trains in motion Have a cup of tea in our authentic dining car Kids enjoy our indoor playroom & outdoor play area Browse through our gift shop in an old train carriage overlooking Clonakilty bay this is a must see for visitor to the area of west cork young and old alike.

A great day out for all the family. Unique road train tours from the model village to Clonakilty town and district. Wheelchair accessible throughout

West Cork Model Railway Village Clonakilty. Call (023) 8833224 Web:www.modelvillage.ie Email:modelvillage@eircom.net

The Burren Perfumery:

Due to the unique limestone upland of the Burren, 70% of Ireland’s wildflower species can be found there. At the Burren Perfumery you can wander through their garden, chat with their staff in their workshops or enjoy lunch in their organic Tea Rooms. Phone: +353 (0)65 7089102 • Web: burrenperfumery.com • Email: burrenperfumery@mac.com

St. Tola Cheese:

Tours of the St. Tola Cheese Goat Farm include cheesemaking demonstrations and a full tour of the working farm. Kids will love the chance to pet the beautiful goats during feeding time, whilst also getting a better understanding of farming and cheesemaking. Phone: +353 (0)65 6836633 • Web: St-tola.ie • Email: info@st-tola.ie

The Burren Chocolatier:

Hazel Mountain Chocolates is a boutique factory located at the foothills of the Burren Mountains. Here you can learn traditional ways of making pralines and truffles, and taste the most delicious chocolate pairings like the Burren juniper berries or violet petals. Phone: +353 (0)87 8779565 • Web: hazelmountainchocolate.com • Email: info@ hazelmountainchocolate.com

The Poulnabrone Dolmen:

One of the most photographed Megalithic monuments in Ireland, during the summer months there is a constant trail of people going to and from the Poulnabrone Dolmen. The dolmen has been dated to around 3600 BC, making it older than the pyramids in Egypt. Information can be found at burrengeopark.ie

The Burren Nature Sanctuary: Everything

needed for a family day out can be found at Burren Nature Sanctuary. There are animals to feed (including Norman the micro pig), nature trails, a fairy woodland, a disappearing lake and a state of the art adventure playground. Phone: +353 (0) 91 637444 • Web: bns.ie • Email: info@bns.ie

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FA S H I O N

Floral Print Top €18, Printed Trousers €18, Ankle Strap Sandals €18, all Heatons

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SPRINGING INTO FASHION From seventies boho fashion and fantastic florals to the purest white, this spring’s most striking fashion trends have something for everyone. Whether you a want head-turning high-fashion feel or a carefree fringed look, Roe McDermott shows you how to make your spring wardrobe pop.

W

e can hear Miranda Priestly’s voice in our heads. “Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.”

Still, it’s true, this spring florals are back with a bang, and there’s nothing subtle, monochrome or retiring about them, so it’s time to get brave, bold and bright. There were no wallflowers on this season’s catwalks, as the prints were boldly feminine and so very fresh. There were few minute or abstract prints, as big, bold and beautiful prints were all the rage.

Marni had show-stopping duster coats in orange and yellow, while Simone Rocha had a ‘Mad Flower’ collection of delicate blooms on arresting red satin.

Gucci, meanwhile, went for formal shorts on delicately muted lemon and lime tones, while House of Holland embraced '60s flower power with their bold accessories. Romantic flowing gowns combined primary colours, while more structured pieces like

blazers, jumpsuits and tailored tops contrasted arresting colourful prints on black backgrounds, for pieces that can easily be mixed and matched with your existing wardrobe. From bright botanics to striking stems, don’t hesitate to plant some gorgeous florals in your wardrobe now.

Our next hot trend is all about embracing your inner bohemian and letting your fashion sense fly and float free. Literally – fringing is back and if it’s windy, your look will really capture people's attention. Proenza Schouler’s catwalk showstoppers featured dresses and skirts spliced into unravelling strands that swish and swoosh with every stop. Elie Tahari took a more edgy approach with her tiered leather shreds which added a touch of rock chic to her ensembles.

Alberta Ferretti flashed back to the ’70s with a dreamy, romantic vibe, combining second-skin sheer fabrics with pretty floral appliques for a look that packs some serious flower power. To subtly bring this

trend to your wardrobe, accessories are easy, as fringed bags and heels are everywhere at the moment, and evoke the carefree retro feel of this dominant trend. Fringed kimonos are also going to be a summer staple, and can effortlessly elevate a simple top-and-jeans combo into a more unique look. Fringed belts and harnesses can also bring an edge to a simple outfit, without feeling like you’re being overwhelmed by strands of fabric.

We promise, we’re not just bigging up the all-white trend because of Solange’s incredible wedding party look – though let’s face it, it didn’t hurt. Angelic hues of ivory, cream, eggshell and purest snow tones have been floating through fashion spheres, and the results have been a stunning and sophisticated trend that will make you a beam of pure white light this Spring. Crisp and clean by colour, crisp and clean by shape – this season, white pieces ooze simplicity and elegance. Perfectly tailored white suits are undeniably eye-

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catching, with the strong silhouette combining with the bold, bright statement hue to make a serious impact.

By investing in white separates, you can blend in beautifully with the sartorially frosty fashionistas this season, and mix and match the pieces later for great colourblocking ensembles, or to brighten up floral prints this summer. While you can add pops of colour to your look with accessories, we’re fans of keeping the look simple and striking. White patent bags will last forever, while white shoes will become invaluable during the summer garden party season.

Whether you go for snowy hues or frothy vanillas, make sure your make-up has a touch of colour to keep you from looking washed out, and stay away from saucy spaghetti dishes – trust us on that one.

FA S H I O N 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

STOCKLIST: 1. FLORAL KNEE-LENGTH DRESS, COMING SOON TO DEBENHAMS 2. FRINGED BELT €18.99, DOROTHY PERKINS 3. FLORAL SHORTS €36, NEXT 4. FLORAL TOP €34, NEXT 5. CREAM FRINGE HEELS €49, DOROTHY PERKINS 6. STILETTOS €29.99, NEW LOOK 7. TASSEL SWEATER €62, NEXT 8. DARK FLORAL TROUSERS BY EDITION/PREEN €67.50, DEBENHAMS

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7.

8.

Coming soon to Miss Selfridge

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GO

REVIEW albums. movies. books

ILLUSTRATION: DAVID KEANE

VILLAGERS

pg 63

GOLISTEN. We run the rule over three new album releases from some singular songwriters as Conor O'Brien returns with Villagers' third LP, Brian Wilson gets in a collaborative mood and Matthew E White goes dark.

GOWATCH. Sci fi blockbuster Interstellar leads the way as we give our verdict on the latest films to come out on DVD. What We Do In The Shadows, A Most Violent Year, Wild and the Oscar-winning Birdman are also reviewed.

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GOREAD. X-Files star David Duchovny has his first published work of fiction with entertaining novel Holy Cow and the likes of Emer O'Toole and Neil Gaiman also have new books out that are worthy of your attention.

GOLISTEN. s o u n d

a f f e c t s

At perhaps the busiest time of the year for album releases, we select three new offerings that could well be soundtracking your summer.

Before we head into festival season and plenty of big gigs, established artists at home and abroad are making their bid for ‘Album Of 2015’. With quality sounds abounding as we get what every Irish person (and their mother) calls a grand stretch in the evenings, the Go Rail team have picked new releases from a trio of exceptionally talented songwriters.

We’ll start with the man who has often been referred to as the greatest songsmith of them all. Having made his name penning the likes of ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘God Only Knows’ in The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson is back with his 11th solo album, No Pier Pressure. The fact that Wilson, who has had struggles with drugs and mental illness, is still making records almost a half a century since his magnum opus, Pet Sounds, is cause enough for celebration.

Recorded on and off during the Beach Boys' 50th anniversary tour, as the punning title suggests, No Pier Pressure finds him enlisting the help of a disparate group of musical friends.

Harmony drenched opener ‘This Beautiful Day’ sets the pace and atmosphere. Familiar lush Californian textures backdrop ‘What Ever Happened’, which features his old Beach Boys pals Al Jardine and David Marks, who together wax nostalgic about the good old days and how things just aren’t the same anymore.

The guests keep on coming: She and Him’s Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, jazz trumpeter Mark Isham, Peter Hollens and Kacey Mulgraves all feature. It’s pleasant stuff but when Wilson goes solo on ‘One Kind Of Love’, he produces a highlight that makes you wonder about the

need for so many guest vocalists. Overall, enough decent tunes for fans to check out.

Moving on to a younger generation, we find 32-year-old Virginia soul man Matthew E White going dark. White is a big cuddly dude in a white suit with agreeably ridiculous hair and a jokey, disheveled demeanour, so it’s a surprise – even a shock – to find him moving past this caricature on his second album Fresh Blood.

A case in point is ‘Holy Moly’, a chirruping faux-gospel ballad that unspools in a thoroughly agreeable fashion until you hone in on the lyrics, which concern a real-life sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Evangelical community within which White was raised as a child. It’s quite a bait and switch, one White repeats on several occasions.

White had considerable success with his 2012 debut Big Inner – so much so that, by his own admission, he didn’t quite know how to respond to his sudden elevation. Rather than pander to fans with a repeat serving of that album, for the follow-up he has gone weirder and bleaker, resulting in a record full of beauty but also twitching with uneasy moments.

We finish with homegrown talent. Villagers have had a compelling and hugely successful career so far, guided by the singular voice and talent of Dubliner Conor O’Brien. Returning with their third album, O’Brien is ready for some bruised, beautiful honesty.

If 2013’s Choice Music Prize-winning {Awayland] was the artist looking at the world through the eyes of a child and channeling the playfulness that comes with that outlook into

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his sonic aesthetic, Darling Arithmetic is the artist, now in his thirties, analysing himself as a man. Turns out it’s something he could only achieve alone, retreating to his Malahide home to do so.

Put all writing, recording, producing and mixing down to Conor as he turns inwards and gets intimate. Throughout Darling Arithmetic, he sounds as if he’s right there in the room with you.

So the mid tempo proceedings are led by plucked acoustic guitar figures, occasional piano twinkles, a little brushed rhythm where necessary and some Mellotron magic for ambience. First single ‘Courage’ sets the stall out well. An alluring shuffle with an almost mantric set of lyrics that would amount to something of a stoic ode were it not for his trembling vocal, it finds serenity in the struggle.

This is an important record for Conor O’Brien, personally and creatively. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s his strongest work to date.

Captivating lyrics abound, but the music doesn’t always stack up so well. He’s penned tunes that imprint themselves upon you in a far stronger way before, and occasionally, as on the vaguely country ‘Hot Scary Summer’ and meandering closer ‘So Naive’, the melodies feel lightweight. As dispatches from his diary, this is a striking release. It is the pure love songs where he lets unbridled joy fly, though, that will catch the public’s ear. Best of all is ‘Dawning On Me’, a hypnotic, soothing gem that is one of the finest things he’s ever done.

GOWATCH. s p a c e

o d y s s e y

Roe McDermott takes a look at the most essential new DVD releases, with Christopher Nolan's acclaimed sci-fi drama Interstellar leading the way

One of the most successful films of 2014, Christopher Nolan's sprawling science-fiction epic Interstellar has just received a DVD release.

The setting is a near future in which Earth has suffered an environmental collapse, putting the future of humanity in jeopardy. Former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is recruited by an off-the-grid space NASA, taking to the cosmos to find a new home for mankind.

Nolan’s world-building proves endlessly aweinspiring. Earth is presented as striking and silty. Black holes are glimmering spheres of petroleum rainbows; other worlds are covered in glistening frost or sky-eclipsing tidal waves.

Meanwhile, the epic, vaguely hymnal score evokes the film’s foundations in both science and faith. Interstellar stumbles in its exposition, as hokey science, painfully scripted philosophical ideologies and obvious foreshadowing prove lofty and alienating. But the cosmological is grounded in the personal.

Amidst explorations of ego, manipulation, loss, regret, bitterness and possible extinction, Nolan occasionally gropes, but always manages to find light. In dust storms, in black holes, in the darkness of space, in the ruins of destroyed relationships – and in people. Always, in people.

For some uproariousness oddness in midApril, look no further than What We Do in the Shadows, a vampire-focused mash-up of Spinal Tap, Peep Show and The Addams Family.

Taikia Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s deadpan mockumentary shows that even the undead struggle with the niggling banalities of night-tonight life. Roommate compatibility, for example, can be extra tricky when there are centuries between you.

There’s Viago (Waititi), the camp 379 year old control freak; arrogant and self-centred 183 year old Deacon (Jonathan Brugh); 862 year old kinky glam-rocker Vladislav (Clement); and then 8,000 year old Nosferatu-type Petyr, who doesn’t get out much. Hoping for a quiet afterlife, the fanged posse settle in Wellington, New Zealand – but newbie vampire Nick (Cori Gonzalez Macuer) and the ego-accentuating nature of reality TV threaten to destabilise their dynamic.

Waititi and Clement perfectly pitch their mockumentary framework. The brilliantly observed comedy is so laden with uproarious one-liners that it demands reverent repeat viewings. The combination of the outrageous genre concepts, realistic practicalities and perfectly unique and fully-rounded characters blends beautifully. Get some friends over for group viewings and silly surprising fun will be had.

Interstellar

At the start of May, you can finally watch Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu’s Best Picture winner Birdman from the comfort of your own home – and it’s well worth it.

This searing, hilarious, moving and wonderfully original examination of fame, truth and love is both a thematic and technical triumph, and a slice of cinematic perfection. Self-aware to the end, Birdman stars Michael Keaton as a Batmanesque has-been movie star, now desperately trying to claw back some credibility – or maybe just a little attention.

Adapting, directing and starring in a theatre production of Raymond Carver’s What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, he can’t quite escape the need for validation – or the voice of his former superhero persona in his head, telling him that he’s special. The meta aspects of the film follow through the direction to the other characters, as Edward Norton stars as Keaton’s volatile co-star, playing up to Norton’s own reputation as a difficult and tempestuous artist. Following his characters via what appears to be one fluid and unbreaking shot, Inarritu delves back stage into fame, our need for love, acceptance – and that elusive search for truth.

Dark, hilarious, smart and heartbreaking, it’s sheer perfection.

The critically acclaimed A Most Violent Year, released May 18, has all the glamorous trappings of a classic gangster film, but acts as a personal exploration of the American Dream through the eyes of a Latino business man during New York’s most violent year. The everincredible Oscar Isaac (Inside Lleywn Davis, Ex Machina) plays Abel Morales, a righteous

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Latino immigrant struggling to maintain a sense of morality, as he tries to grow his heating oil business in the face of violent competitors. The film offers a compelling examination of how immigrants’ energy, optimism and even their sense of heritage can be rapidly eroded by the cut-throat capitalism of the American Dream.

As Abel’s Lady Macbeth wife, Jessica Chastain is fierce and sneaky, adding to this anti-thriller’s habit of perpetuating violence and corruption off-screen, and burying Abel in the aftermath.

This is a shady, tense and intriguing film about what lurks in the darkness.

Later in May you can see the Reese Witherspoon vehicle Wild. The movie is immediately gripping from the very first shot, which begins with the sound of a woman screaming into a vast empty chasm below.

Ambiguity and desperate cries are motifs of Wild, which is based on Cheryl Strayed’s stunning 2012 memoir. Struggling with the death of her mother, the dissolution of her marriage and her own spiralling self-destruction, Strayed hiked over 1,100 miles across the Pacific Coast Trail in an attempt to “walk myself into the woman I told my mother I would be.”

Through subtle and unfailingly real interactions, Strayed’s journey is a personal walk through her own circles of hell; a staring down of demons and a shaky emergence on the other side. Nick Hornby’s screenplay wisely avoids sentimentality – Strayed is wonderfully flawed, and her journey, like the landscape, is filled with the grit and grime of real pain, as well as aching beauty.

GOREAD. b o v i n e

i n s p i r a t i o n

A wonderfully imaginative novel from X-Files star David Duchovny is among our list of recommended new books

KIMBERLY BUTLER

Neil Gaiman

With summer approaching fast, here are some intriguing reads for you to get stuck into come holiday season.

One man who clearly doesn’t believe in anything being too much is David Duchovny – best known as Agent Fox Mulder on The X Files.

You may not have been aware that, outside of his on-screen exploits, the actor also holds a BA and MA in English literature, and given that background it’s little surprise that his first foray into the world of fiction, Holy Cow, bodes well for future endeavours. Elsie Bovary, the titular bovine herself, accidentally discovers the truth behind industrial meat farms by viewing a television report and decides to take action and escape to India. What is, at surface level, an adventure story about a curious cow is also a fable dealing with such diverse topics as animal cruelty, materialism, racial tolerance and religious extremism. Both humourous and well-paced, Duchovny bestows his narrator with a goofy, exuberant linguistic style, which fits in with the wacky antics of the characters. Throughout, popular culture references abound; chapter titles refer to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd songs and Elsie hopes Jennifer Lawrence will play her in the movie of the literary outing. While it might not make the big screen, it remains an entertaining read for adults and young adults alike.

Of a considerably different nature – but no less engaging – is Girls Will Be Girls. Using her own experiences as a springboard, Emer O’Toole examines how gender roles are performed through everything from dress to speech, domestic labour and body language, using the work of philosophers, sociologists and gender theorists along the way. While the subject matter may not be light – and the scope of knowledge employed in the exploration of issues is both extensive and impressive – O’Toole succeeds in creating an entertaining and witty account, accessible and relevant to readers of all gender identities. Part autobiography, part heartfelt plea to change the way we look at gender, it is – above all – an encouragement to question much of what we think we know of gender roles and what they mean in modern society.

It’s compelling reading for all, but certainly no teenage girl should go without a copy.

Named for the new phenomenon in universities whereby potentially distressing works of fiction

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are highlighted before reading, Trigger Warning – a short-story collection from fantasy icon Neil Gaiman – does exactly what it says on the tin. Filled with horror stories, eerie tales, weird poetry and unsettling sci-fi yarns, it’s the perfect read to send chills down your spine. The author excels from the off, with opening story ‘Lunar Labyrinth’ – a supremely atmospheric tale of a creepy maze that attracts visitors from near and far – proving a delightfully surreal gem, echoing writers like Edgar Allen Poe and Robert W Chambers, whose ‘The King In Yellow’ was heavily referenced in the wonderful TV series True Detective. Elsewhere, stories such as ‘The Ocean At The End Of The Line’ and Sherlock Homes tribute ‘The Case Of Death And Honey’ are equally impressive. Bearing endorsements from heavyweights like William Gibson and George RR Martin, Trigger Warning is a treasure trove for fantasy and horror fans; one to enjoy while there’s still a bit of darkness in the evenings!

GOWIN. GO RAIL COMPETITION

WIN AN OVERNIGHT STAY AND EVENING MEAL AT MOUNT WOLSELEY HOTEL, SPA & COUNTRY CLUB

The Wolseley Hotel, Spa & Country Club is located on 200 acres of beautiful countryside in County Carlow. It boasts 143 luxury bedrooms and over 30 holiday lodges, in addition to an 18-hole championship golf course and tennis courts. In addition, the award-winning leisure centre has a state-of-the-art gym featuring machines with integrated TVs. The renowned Wolseley Spa offers a range of exotic and luxurious treatments, while food enthusiasts are also catered for courtesy of Frederick’s Restaurant, which serves creative cuisine and Irish breakfast buffet among large windows and an outdoor terrace. Guests can also enjoy the rolling gardens overlooking the golf course.

THE PRIZE: The lucky winner will enjoy an overnight stay and evening meal at Wolseley Hotel, Spa & Country Club To enter, simply email your answers to gorail@hotpress.ie. Please include your contact details, and let us know on which train route or at which station you picked up your copy of Go Rail.

THE QUESTIONS:

(A)

(B)

(C)

HENRY SHEFFLIN PLAYED FOR WHICH HURLING TEAM?

WHICH HIT TV SHOW IS FILMED IN BELFAST?

NIALL HORAN IS A MEMBER OF WHICH POP GROUP?

1. Tipperary 2. Kilkenny 3. Cork

1. Better Caul Saul 2. Homeland 3. Game Of Thrones

1. One Direction 2. Take That 3. Boyzone

Iarnród Éireann are also offering 5 runners-up, 5 pairs of intercity tickets, please email your answers to gorail@hotpress.Ie Terms & Conditions: The prizes is valid for one year, and subject to availability. No cash alternatives will be offered. Entrants must be aged 18+. Go Rail may contact competition entrants with details of future special offers. Your details won’t be passed on to any third party. Please specify in your email if you would like to opt out of this.

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