Acton’s Return

Acton’s Return

 Lots of joy in Kinsale and surrounding areas at the return of Acton’s Hotel. Now a refurbished four star establishment, it reopened on Thursday March 14th and hit the ground running. Indeed, its value to the local business and tourist interests was underlined by the sell out figure for its first Saturday night.

On Saturday at breakfast, a proud staff member told me that the breakfast room would be so much busier on Sunday: “We have one and hundred fifty booked in.” Not bad at all for the first weekend, especially considering that the hotel had been under repair since the end of 2011.

Oh yes, that proud staff member wasn't an exception. We had received the warmest of welcomes at the impressive reception desk. Later in the bar, that friendly courtesy was very obvious.  And it continued right through to the breakfast room, another impressive facility here. Just loved it all the way.

Eggs Benedict

The Sidney dining room hadn't reopened at that point but the bar area was very busy with both food and drink. Our only food there was the breakfast and that was top notch. There is a terrific selection for both the Continental type and the Irish type, lots of quality choices.

The hotel looks very well both on the outside and inside. Our room was spacious and well equipped (the Wi-Fi worked without a hitch) and the bathroom too was excellent, big and fully equipped.

And the hotel is very central for the town itself. It is on the Pier Road and a very short stroll will take you into the middle, to the restaurant area. Places you might look out for are the Lemon Leaf (for breakfast, lunch cakes) and the newly opened Finn’s Table (a classy restaurant run by John and Julie Finn, ex Dillon’s). Janey Mac and Bruno’s were others on my list but I didn't get to them this time.

Breakfast: vegetarian option

We did make a short trip to the west though. First stop was the Old Head, all closed up at the moment, even the golf course is shut. But at least there are some fine views, both left and right, by the entrance. Then down to the beach, especially to Garrettstown for a walk and also to see the many surfers in action.

Over then to nearby Ballinspittle for a snack. Quite a snack actually, in the Diva Boutique Bakery and Cafe. Completed the round trip then by calling down to beautiful Sandycove on the way back to Kinsale.

Many reasons to visit this area and Acton’s is just the latest! Highly recommended.

Old Friends at the new Finns' Table

Old Friends at the new Finn’s Table

Great to meet up with John and Julie Finn, back in their element, having just opened up Kinsale’s newest restaurant, Finns' Table in Main Street. The talented friendly couple who made such a success of Dillon's in Timoleague are, after a few months in the wilderness, back doing what they know best. And that is good news for restaurant customers in Kinsale and the surrounding area.

Indeed, many Kinsale people used make the short drive over to Timoleague and quite a few have already been visiting the new establishment. Obviously this is a major boost for the Finns as Julie underlined: “We'd like to thank Kinsale for being so supportive to our new chapter.”

You won’t miss Finns' on the Main Street. Beautiful colours catch the eye as do those pretty white shutters that cover the lower half of the windows. It is amazingly comfortable inside, beautifully decorated. Julie tells me she loves her flowers and she has daffodils scattered all around.

Took all that in and then started to study the menu. You may take it that there will be regular changes to the menus (they do an early bird). “We have lots of new produce coming daily like local lobsters which in turn means daily changes to both menus!” 

After a very tasty Goat Cheese Amuse Bouche and gorgeous bread, we took the plunge. Great to see so many local producers listed and I picked the Ummera Smoked Salmon and Ricotta terrine with pickled cucumber (€9.50). Loved it. CL’s choice was Marinated Toons Bridge Feta, beetroot, chestnut mushroom and rocket salad (€9.00), another smashing opener.

Lots of fish on the menu. We do eat it regularly but this time, knowing that the meat came from the Finns' family butcher shop, we made a change. Grilled Irish Sirloin Steak with Tobacco onions, lightly creamed mushrooms, black pepper sauce and steak fries (€26.00) was my choice, a massive piece of the tenderest meat. Highly recommended if you get the chance sometime.

Dessert: Rosewater Yoghurt Panna Cotta with poached Rhubarb

CL’s also cost €26.00 and that was the Roast Rack of Lamb with Roast Sweet Potato, Parsnip puree and Rosemary jus, another splendid dish, delicious and tender and so well balanced.

They have quite an extensive wine list. You may buy by the glass, by the half bottle and by the bottle.


Open Thurs thro Monday from 5.30 with an early evening menu from 5.30-6.45 and a la carte running from 5.30 till late.
Phone: 021 470 9636
Email: info@finnstable.com

The Lemon Leaf Cafe

The Lemon Leaf Cafe

 Quite a few rooms in the Lemon leaf Cafe in Kinsale. You’ll be at home in any of them, although many costumers gravitate towards the glass roofed one, so bright and airy. Pick a seat or  a sofa and study the menu.

 It is open seven days a week. You may have your breakfast here, Scrambled Eggs on their toasted artisan bread or maybe the Bagel special (local handmade sausage and smoky bacon on toasted bagel with homemade tomato and apple chutney). And much more.

Breakfast is served until 2.00pm but in mid-morning, perhaps you’d like their coffee (Ariosa from County Meath roasters) and a scone. Oh, just to mention as I know many of you, just like me, like to support local producers, that the Lemon Leaf also makes it a priority. Here you may choose meat from Lordan’s in Ballinspittle, bread from Tom’s Artisan Bakery in Kinsale, Durrus cheese, Clonakilty Black pudding, free range eggs from Beechwood Farm and Katie’s Bandon chocolates – including the very popular sticky hot chocolate. 

If you’re in for lunch, you’ll be trying some of those tasty products. Maybe a Beef Burger with Durrus cheese on toasted ciabatta or perhaps a Feuille De Brique (baked filo parcel with daily filling, served with couscous & mixed baby leaves). Soups and sandwiches also. No shortage of choice here at any time.

And this is also a family friendly place. Not alone do the kids have their own tasty looking menu, but your small one may well get his own little table, next to yours, and when he or she is finished the meal, will have a bunch of crayons or similar supplied to pass the time.

We arrived on a sunny mid-afternoon looking for something sweet. We were in the right place. They have a good selection of cakes and an even better selection of beverages. All the delicious cakes are home baked and the selection varies according to the day.

Lemon drizzle slices (€2.20) and a Lemon Cheesecake (4.50) were our choices with a pot of excellent tea. My tea was Earl Grey, made with the biggest tea bag I’ve seen in a while, a third bigger than normal I’m told! Enjoyed the visit.

By the way, if you are in a rush and can’t linger a while, you may make a visit to their on-site store and buy quite a few of the products to take home and enjoy.

Monday to Friday 8.30AM TO 4.30PM
Saturday and Sunday 8.30AM to 5PM
Call             021 4709792    

70 Main Street,
Kinsale, Co. Cork

Loved 24 Hours in Kinsale

24 Hours in Kinsale

Arrive  2.30pm 15th March: Coffee and cake at the cool Lemon Leaf Cafe.

3.30pm Check in at Actons

4.30pm Quay side walk.

7.30pm Dinner at Finn's Table

Saturday 16th March 10.00am. Town Walk

11.00 Check out of Acton's

12noon: Garrettstown surfing

1.30pm: Lunch at the Diva (Ballinspittle)

2.30pm: Sandycove.

As Others See Us. Swedish Journalist Visits Cork.

First "met" Swedish writer Pelle Blohm on twitter, thanks to a Corkman, Mark O'Sullivan @markstkhlm, an ex Tramore Athletic player, who lives in Sweden and also Philip O'Connor, Swedish based Irish sports journalist @philipoconnor . Pelle is a regular visitor to Ireland, has been Grand Marshall at a Swedish Patrick's Day parade and owns an Irish wolfhound.


Pelle Blohm (@PBlohm on twitter): Freelance writer about football and culture and stuff in between. TV-expert-commentator in football. 


Pelle played professional football at a high level and had stints in places such as Derby and China as well as more local contracts at home and in Norway. In this You Tube clip you see him scoring against Torino in the 1992 UEFA Cup.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfXF5JewthY


Met Pelle at his B&B, @HandlebarsBandB  on the Lower Road, just after his arrival by train from Dublin and we headed off to Mahon Point Farmer's Market and Kinsale for a few hours. The ink was hardly dry on my short blog account of the day when I got a tweet from Mark saying an article by Pelle had appeared in his (Pelle's) local paper, the NA in Örebro, and told me "it was a good plug for Mahon Point Farmers Market and Kinsale".


See what you think. Must warn you though this is a Google translation, prone to error, though Mark says it is a pretty fair translation. I have added my own interpretations where there is doubt (in brackets).

CHIDED (BY) A CAB DRIVER DUBLIN

Talking football tends to be one of the best ways to break the ice

with the taxi drivers wherever you are in the world. It name drops a

name of a player or team and I usually talk to be running and the

atmosphere on top.

This early morning Dublin was not quite as usual. I jumped into a taxi

to take me to Heuston Station and by train to Cork. After a little

morning buzz about the weather chaffisen (the driver) asked:

- What do you do then?

sleepy as I was I took the easiest route.

- I work with football.

It (he) exploded in the front seat.

- Stupid, fucking, wankers those footballers. All they do is drinking,

gambling and whoring. Then went he with a long rant about working-class

boys who flooded with sick money that they do not have a clue how to

care for. 

Idiot British club owners and a crazy industry. Of course, I

was silent, sit well here and look out over empty dark streets, I

thought. After all, he had a point with his outburst. Although his

words breathed old Irish morality Catholicism. Thinking of adding a

diplomatic comment somewhere but just then we were there.

Down in Cork I met Billy Lyons. A man who through friends and the amazing network

Twitter gave away five hours of their (his) time to show me around Cork's

surroundings. A man who talked the strangest accent I've heard in

English. He almost sang out the words that fit together without

interruption. Each sentence ended and began, remained an enigma. Then I

was still warned of the singing Cork dialect. I took a chance with yes

and sometimes no other times. It worked pretty well. 

Pelle in Kinsale

Billy drove past the soccer fields on top of the round green hills (in Kinsale) and talked to (about) local football as he is passionate about, I saw the old Charles Fort from the 1800s, the beautiful summer town of Kinsale and the famous pub Bulman. 

Billy is a food writer took me to Mahon Point Farmers Market outside of town (Cork) where I walked around and greeted the vendors of local Cork Products. Tasted pâté, cheeses, bread and mushroom soup. Got a rant (explanation) about sushi with an Irish twist and juices and jams from the area. Fantastic day together with a very hospitable and proud Cork Nationals. 

Later on vincaféet (wine cafe?) L’Atitude 51 at the edge of the River Lee's southern channel, I read in the NA (his local paper) if someone wrote a nidlåt (anthem?) of Örebro. We are poor in Örebro on writing good songs about our city. Ireland is a master in this branch. 

Here are so many songs at any time of the country, towns and villages. Pride and love, joy and pain that is mediated through the music. We should call Örebro musicians to

write more songs such as Nikola Sarcevic and his song Hometown. 

They should be put online and on CD's, paid for by the municipality and

used to promote Örebro. Instead of Phil Lynott's tribute to Dublin.

Mats Ronander of Örebro. Or a variant of Luke Kelly's song about

Belfast. "The town I loved so well" in Örebro robes of Karin Wistrand.

End of Pelle's article.

You can see the original article, which was written in a McCurtain Street bar where, according to Pelle, the Wi-Fi was good and the coffee wasn't, here 

LUNCH STOP AT THE BULMAN

THE BULMAN

Enjoyed lunch at the Bulman yesterday. I was accompanied by Swedish journalist Pelle Blohm who was as surprised as me at the relatively high temperatures. But it still wasn't warm enough to sit outside.

We were on our way back to Charlesfort after strolling around Kinsale and seeing the sights. Pelle enjoyed the town and especially the old fort, the eerie ruins of the barracks and, of course, the views.

Time for lunch now, after all that walking. First though a drink was required and I suggested a bottle of Stonewell cider. Pelle usually finds cider too sweet but he certainly enjoyed this one, as indeed did I.

 I spotted an Ummera product on the menu and couldn’t resist having the Smoked Chicken with Pine Nuts and Cashel Blue cheese on a salad (10.50). Very enjoyable, terrific taste and texture variations in the dish, and a great choice, even if I say so myself.

The morning had started with food as well. Pelle, just off the train, was plunged into the activity at Mahon Point Farmers Market to meet some hard-working Irish people and taste some great food. Thanks to the traders who welcomed him with open arms, people such as Barrie Tyner, Gubbeen, Madeline of Sushi fame, Martin Conroy of Woodside and the folks at Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms.

KINSALE'S WINE MUSEUM

KINSALE’S WINE MUSEUM

At Desmond Castle

St Patrick sipping!

In the church of St Patrice in Rouen (France), there is a 16^th century stained glass window* showing the Irish patron saint having a glass of wine at Tara in 433 while the High King looks on anxiously. Maybe it’s the King’s glass?

On the 17^th of October, 1710, Jonathan Swift wrote to Stella from London: “I dined today with your Mr Sterne ...and drank Irish wine”.

In 1780, John Windham recalled visiting Cork city: “There are no hackney coaches but there are plenty of chairs or sedans. ...These vehicles are extremely convenient for the followers of Bacchus who has a great number of votaries in this city.”

These anecdotes show that there has been a long association between wine and the Irish so it is no surprise that the Irish went abroad some of them became involved in the trade. The most recent example I came across is the late Michael Lynch in Argentina’s Mendoza.

Loads of similar info is in the Wine Museum in Kinsale’s Desmond Castle. Maybe not the efforts of Michael Lynch, but virtually every other Irish connection, certainly before 2000 when the museum was set up, is very well covered indeed and great credit here goes to Ted Murphy, the Corkman who put it all together.

Many of you will know of the Cork family Hennessey who ended up in Bordeaux, the very same family whose name still appears on Ireland’s most popular cognac (brandy). But did you know that we were also involved in the sherry trade? Terry, for example.

The French connection is strong (and getting stronger in places like Provence and the Languedoc) but the Irish were also involved in wine in America, Cronins and Foleys in California for example.

And not just North America. Some of you may be familiar with the popular Chilean wine: St Rita 120. In the early 19^th century, freedom fighter General Barnardo Higgins (father from Sligo) and 120 of his men (including General John McKenna, another Irishman) took refuge in the St Rita cellars during the battle of Rancagua. The wine is named in their honour.

Many many connections and loads of interesting facts and also some memorabilia. I could go on and on but, in fairness to Mr Murphy, I think anyone interested in wine should take a trip down to Kinsale and take your time as you wander through the two rooms that make up this museum. Highly recommended and the admission at three euro wouldn’t buy you a glass of wine in any of the town's restaurants.

The three euro will also get you into the castle which was originally built about 1500 as the Kinsale Customs House, one of its tasks being to collect a tax based on the tonnage and quality of the wine. In 1497, the English king granted the local Earl of Desmond the right to take one cask from every shipment for himself!

Occupied by the Spanish during the Siege of Kinsale in 1601, the most famous event in the castle’s history came in 1747 when 54 prisoners died in a fire. Most of them were French seamen and the castle later became known as the French prison.

·          There is a reproduction (photo above) of the window in the museum, donated by the Irish John and Eithne Lagan of the Xanadu Winery (Margaret River, Aus.). By the way, I love their Next of Kin wines (available via Bubble Brothers).