Border Springs Back To Life At Blarney Castle Gardens

Battle of the Roses. 

Pink v White in Blarney Pergola.

The pink roses have now joined the white in Blarney border.

A living archway

Flowering Dogwood

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Border Springs Back To Life At Blarney Castle Gardens 

White roses crown the Pergola

Just one of many Alliums

The Laburnum archway flowers begin to fade.

That AI is a load of bull! The boss surveys his recent handiwork.

Poppy flower about to fade away

Pictures 02.06.2026

Going with the green at Blarney Castle Gardens.

Pictures: 13.05.2026

Down by the river

Judas Tree

Gunnera Manicata, also below

By the river

Bluebells

Blarney House

Blarney ablaze with colour these May days.

Pictures: 05.05.2026

Rampant ramsons

In the fern garden

A walk through the flowering shrubs

Wild garlic in the Fern Garden

A carnival of many shrubs in flower with a delightful duo of bluebells and wild garlic light up Blarney Castle Gardens

pics: 28.04.2026

Queue for the Blarney Stone!

Tulip Time at Blarney Castle 

Tulips coming on strong these days at Blarney and the display should last for a week or two more.

Amazing how quickly the magnificent cherry blossom

of just over a week ago has almost totally vanished.

Not too far away though the rhododendron offer vibrant pink

in the Himalayan Valley have some time still left

to show off! See the current display on this 27 second video.

 

The vibrant blossoms of
 rhododendron on the Himalayan walk.

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Cherry Blossom Time At Blarney Castle Gardens

Visit: 27.03.2026 

Blossom all around you as you walk towards the garden

 Prunus Shirotae close to the entrance

First days out for the cattle.
At least, the first time I saw them.

First flowers on the wild garlic.

In the Himalayan section, a hint of what's to come

Cyclamen, with is distinctive leaf pattern.

River, blossom and castle.

Time for a rest!

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Magnolia, you sweet thing...

Blarney Castle Gardens 

Pics: 20.03.2026

American (Yellow) Skunk-cabbage

Tearoom or temple?

Blarney House

Above, the Fern Trees Garden

On the boardwalk

Daffodils galore

Prunus Shirotae, just inside the entrance.

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Wishing Steps and Daffodils at Blarney Castle Gardens

11.03.2026 

Short videos of the Wishing Steps (remember you must walk backwards to have your wish granted!)

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More signs of Spring at Blarney Castle Gardens

Pictures 3rd March 2026

Castle, river, and Ester Barrett's St Hubert's Stag

Blarney House, opens to the public for a few weeks at the peak of the season

Castle, its tall watchtower and river.

Castle and Ester Barrett's Catch

Castle and its tall watch tower.

Castle, crocuses

Crocuses

Cut branches are used to make this fence.

Morning sunshine highlights moss on the branches.

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Resident Heron enjoys the sun at Blarney Castle Gardens

pics taken 15.02.26

The resident heron knows the sunniest places

 

A crowd of Crocuses

Daffodil rows

A host of daffodils. Some 40,000 bulbs in all!

An avalanche track of Snowdrops

Blarney House

The famous castle towers over nearby house in the garden

A bare tree except for lots of ivy

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Blarney Castle Gardens, a stroll on a February Saturday

Pics taken 07.02.2026

Mega Flower by Lynda Christian
Enamel decorated recycled metal

Teazel

Eternal Ascent by Blessing Sanyanga
Kilkenny Black Marble and stainless steel

Lost in the woods

Fern Tree Garden (above and below)

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Sunshine walk at Blarney Castle Gardens

Sunday Feb 1st 2026

Copse under a blue sky

Snowdrops

Blarney Lake viewing point

Daffodil road

Horse rests in the morning sun

On the lake, reeds in blue water.

Blarney House (south face)

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Crocus and Snowdrop. Blarney Gardens.

31st January 2026

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Photos from 19.01.2026

New viewing point at lake.

Two-Michelin starred Terre introduces new ‘Friends of Terre’ series, with first guest chef Michael Wilson of starred Marguerite in Singapore

Lewis Barker

Two-Michelin starred Terre introduces new ‘Friends of Terre’ series, with first guest chef Michael Wilson of starred Marguerite in Singapore

Fresh from retaining two Michelin stars at Terre in his first six months, chef Lewis Barker is introducing a new series of chef collaborations at the restaurant. The new ‘Friends of Terre’ series begins with a good friend of Barker’s, who brings his exquisite Australian-inspired, French technique-rich cooking to east Cork — chef Michael Wilson of Marguerite in Singapore. 

This first ‘Friends of Terre’ event will take place over two dinner services on Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th June, with a collaborative menu that will be a 50/50 showcase of both Lewis Barker’s Terre and Michael Wilson’s Marguerite. With two canapés from each kitchen on the menu, the chefs will also cook a starter, main course, a dessert and two petits fours each. 

Michael Wilson

Before arriving in Cork in late 2025, Lewis Barker spent a decade in heavyweight kitchens from Europe to Australia and Singapore, becoming the youngest chef in Singapore to win a Michelin star at just 27. It was during his time in Singapore that he met and became friends with Michael Wilson.

Wilson, a Melbourne-born chef, worked in significant Australian kitchens with Andrew McConnell and Guy Grossi before moving first to Shanghai, where he opened Phénix, awarded a star after just five months, and then to Singapore, where Marguerite was awarded a star in 2022, eight months after opening.   

These two dynamic and talented chefs share a global experience, an approach founded in technical precision and technique, and an appreciation of the seasons, as well as creating graceful food with both complex storytelling and bold flavours.

In Terre, Lewis Barker is evolving his own unique experience into something that’s also deeply connected to and reflective of the Irish landscape. In Marguerite, Michael Wilson celebrates provenance and produce while weaving a story of Modern Australian cuisine. 

Wilson’s Marguerite is set in Singapore’s Flower Dome, the world’s largest glass greenhouse that houses flora from every corner of the globe. Wilson’s creative cuisine is appropriately nature-inspired, following the seasons and in conversation with the natural world around it, where native Australian botanicals are thoughtfully layered to create a refined and elegant expression of Modern Australian cooking.

A dinner of craft and camaraderie, the Terre x Marguerite dinners by Lewis Barker and Michael Wilson are at Terre in Castlemartyr Resort on Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th June, with the nine-course menu available each night for €220 excluding wine pairing

To book visit HERE or email info@terre.ie for more information.

In Terre, Lewis Barker is evolving his own unique experience into something that’s also deeply connected to and reflective of the Irish landscape. In Marguerite, Michael Wilson celebrates provenance and produce while weaving a story of Modern Australian cuisine. 

Wilson’s Marguerite is set in Singapore’s Flower Dome, the world’s largest glass greenhouse that houses flora from every corner of the globe. Wilson’s creative cuisine is appropriately nature-inspired, following the seasons and in conversation with the natural world around it, where native Australian botanicals are thoughtfully layered to create a refined and elegant expression of Modern Australian cooking.

A dinner of craft and camaraderie, the Terre x Marguerite dinners by Lewis Barker and Michael Wilson are at Terre in Castlemartyr Resort on Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th June, with the nine-course menu available each night for €220 excluding wine pairing

To book visit HERE or email info@terre.ie for more information.

Goat’s cheese from Co. Galway named Supreme Champion at Artisan Cheese Awards

 Goat’s cheese from Co. Galway named Supreme

Champion at Artisan Cheese Awards

 

Galway's Killeen Farmhouse Cheese is one of my favourite producers and great to see that their  gouda-style Extra Mature Goat’s Cheesehas been named Supreme Champion at the 10th edition of the Artisan Cheese Awards. Following a record breaking 643 entries into Britain and Ireland’s largest cheese competition, the highly coveted trophy was presented during an Awards Supper at St Mary’s Church in Melton Mowbray on Saturday 23 May.

Made by Dutch-born Marion Roeleveld, one of the most distinguished cheesemakers in Ireland, Killeen Extra Mature Goat’s Cheese was originally based on a traditional gouda recipe. The cheese is made with pasteurised goat’s milk and animal rennet, and aged for between 12 and 18+ months.

Marion’s partner, Haske, founded the 50-acre goat farm in Portumna, Co. Galway in 1990, and the couple started making their first cheeses in 2004. Over the past two decades, Killeen has gone onto become one of the most highly decorated cheesemakers in Ireland, and are now making cheese from the milk of all 200 goats on the farm.

Organiser of the Artisan Cheese Awards and International Cheese Judge, Dr Matthew O’Callaghan OBE, said: “In over 70 years of eating cheese that has to be one of the most memorable cheeses I have ever tasted. It is certainly the best goat’s cheese in the UK and Ireland. When cut it is brilliant white inside. The texture is a hard, slightly crunchy feel in the mouth. Taste is clean, slightly sweet, nutty, very pleasant and extremely moreish.”

Around the UK, the Best British Cheese trophy went to St Jude from St Jude Cheese in Wheatacre, Norfolk, the Best English Cheese was awarded to Lucky Marcel from Feltham’s Farm near Templecombe, Somerset, the Best Scottish Cheese went to Elrick Log from Errington Cheese in Carnwath, Lanarkshire, and Best Welsh Cheese was presented to Caws Teifi Cheese in Llandysuln, Ceredigion, for its Teifi Heritage. The Best Irish Cheese trophy was awarded to Templegall from Hegarty’s Cheddar in Whitechurch, Co. Cork, as the highest scoring Irish cheese below this year’s Supreme Champion.

The Artisan Cheese Awards Dinner took place during the 15th Artisan Cheese Fair in Melton Mowbray, Britain’s largest cheese festival. Judging for the Artisan Cheese Awards was conducted a week earlier on Thursday 14 May, when an 80-strong team of judges, made up of major cheese buyers, cheesemongers, experts and commentators, assessed this year’s entries at St Mary’s Church, Melton Mowbray. Each Class was judged during the morning session, when Gold, Silver and Bronze accolades were awarded. Class winners went through to the final judging round to decide this year’s Supreme Champion and Reserve Champion cheeses.

Artisan Cheese Awards 2026 – trophy winners:

 

Supreme Champion

Killeen Goat Extra Mature, Killeen Farmhouse Cheese

 

Reserve Champion

Raedwald, Fen Farm Dairy

 

Best Small Producer Cheese

Yarlton Sleights, The Creamery at The Newt

 

Best Micro Producer Cheese

Dingle Goat’s Cheese, Dingle Goat's Cheese 

 

Best Specialist Cheesemakers Association Cheese

Poacher 50, Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese

 

Best Young Cheesemaker

Jake Goldstein, Primrose Creamery

 

Best British Cheese

St Jude, St Jude Cheese

 

Best English Cheese

Lucky Marcel, Feltham's Farm

 

Best Irish Cheese

Templegall, Hegarty's Cheese

 

Best Scottish Cheese

Elrick Log, Errington Cheese

 

Best Welsh Cheese

Teifi Heritage, Caws Teifi Cheese

 

Best Fresh

Ele, Padstow Cheese Company Limited

 

Best Soft

Brefu Bach, Cosyn Cymru

 

Best Semi-Soft

St.Helena, St Jude Cheese

 

Best Hard

Teifi Heritage, Caws Teifi Cheese

 

Best Blue

Sparkenhoe Shropshire Blue, Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co

 

Best Cow

Lucky Marcel, Feltham's Farm

 

Best Sheep

Pavé Cobble, White Lake Cheese

 

Best Goat

Sinodun Hill, Norton & Yarrow Cheese

 

Best Vegetarian

Yarlton Sleights, The Creamery at The Newt

 

Best Organic

Witheridge in Hay, Nettlebed Creamery

 

Best Raw Milk

St Jude, St Jude Cheese

 

Best Farmhouse

Killeen Goat Extra Mature, Killeen Farmhouse Cheese

 

Best Raw Milk Farmhouse

Templegall, Hegarty's Cheese

 

Best Territorial

Mrs Kirkham’s Tasty Lancashire, Mrs Kirkham’s Cheese

 

Best Protected Food Name

Hartington Dovedale Blue PDO, Hartington Creamery

 

Best New Cheese

Raedwald, Fen Farm Dairy

 

Best Washed Rind

Raedwald, Fen Farm Dairy

 

Best Smoked

Knockanore Oakwood Smoked Raw Milk Cheddar, Knockanore Farmhouse Cheese

 

Best Flavoured

Killeen Goat with Fenugreek, Killeen Farmhouse Cheese

 

Best Affinage

Sheep Rustler, White Lake Cheese

 

Best Stilton

Blue Stilton, Cropwell Bishop Creamery

 

Picture credit: Martin Elliott mepics.me / Artisan Cheese Awards

 

Embrace the Art of Al Fresco Dining with Newbridge Silverware

Embrace the Art of Al Fresco Dining 

with Newbridge Silverware

 

As the days grow longer and warmer, there is no better way to celebrate the season than by gathering family and friends outdoors for relaxed dining and memorable moments. Newbridge Silverware's elegant collection of entertaining essentials brings style, sophistication and practicality to every garden party, patio lunch or evening celebration.

 

This summer, transform your outdoor table into a beautiful setting with carefully selected pieces designed to elevate every al fresco occasion.

Adding both charm and character to your table is the delightful Bird Salt & Pepper Set (€40), a beautifully designed accessory that brings a playful yet elegant touch to outdoor dining. Perfect for casual lunches or stylish evening entertaining, it is a conversation piece that complements any summer tablescape.

 

As daylight fades, create a warm and inviting atmosphere with the LED Lamp with Silver Plated Base (€60). Combining contemporary style with timeless elegance, this portable lamp casts a soft ambient glow, making it ideal for evening dining under the stars.

 

No outdoor gathering is complete without delicious sharing platters. The beautifully crafted Ceramic and Wood Cheese Board Set (€50) offers the perfect way to present artisan cheeses, charcuterie and appetisers. Complementing this is the stylish Ceramic and Wood Condiment Set (€50), ideal for serving olives, dips, chutneys and other accompaniments with effortless sophistication.

 

Raise a glass to summer entertaining with the elegant Wine Glass Set of 6 (€30). Whether serving crisp white wine, rosé or sparkling refreshments, these glasses bring a refined touch to every occasion. For refreshing soft drinks, cocktails or iced beverages, the matching Hiball Glasses Set of 6 (€25) provides a stylish and versatile addition to your tableware collection.

 

Together, these carefully curated pieces reflect Newbridge Silverware's commitment to quality craftsmanship, timeless design and memorable entertaining. Whether hosting a casual garden brunch, an afternoon barbecue or an elegant evening gathering, the collection makes outdoor dining both stylish and effortless.

 

This season, create unforgettable moments around the table and embrace the joy of al fresco living with Newbridge Silverware.

For more information or to browse the full collection, visit www.newbridgesilverware.com or their showrooms in Newbridge.

press release

The River Club Brings Italian Aperitivo Culture Leeside with Scúp Gelato

The River Club Brings Italian Aperitivo Culture to Leeside with Scúp Gelato

This summer, the ultimate summer terrace experience awaits at The River Club, as The River Lee unveils Sundaes & Spritz - a playful new summer terrace theme and collaboration with award-winning Irish gelato makers Scúp Gelato. Bringing a splash of Italian sophistication Leeside, the hotel’s riverside terrace has been adorned with a fresh palette of white and blue florals, with striking delphiniums taking centre stage. Once again transformed for the season ahead, it promises to be a must-visit destination for long summer afternoons, leisurely spritzes, and relaxing city-escape moments.

A family-run Irish producer renowned for crafting some of the country’s finest artisan gelato since 2014, Scúp Gelato and The River Club are united by a shared passion for quality Irish produce and craftsmanship, with Scúp creating its gelato using premium locally sourced dairy from farms close to its headquarters in Co. Wexford. The partnership brings a distinctly Italian influence to the terrace experience, drawing inspiration from the relaxed elegance of aperitivo culture — where spritzes, sweet treats, and long summer gatherings take centre stage.

On the menu, guests can choose from three signature sundae options. The River Club Signature Sundae featuring raspberry jelly, custard, Scúp Irish gelato, fruit coulis, blondie, cream, and nuts, the Terrace Super Split combines Scúp orange ice cream, Aperol granita and prosecco, while the Whoopsie Daisy is dropped vanilla and cherry gelato, chocolate crunch topped off with crushed sable biscuit. These pair perfectly with a choice of four spritz cocktails: The 'Pana' Loma, a take on the classic paloma; The Last Port of Call, combining Boatyard Double Gin, Graham's White Port and a refreshing cucumber note; The Grand Stretch, featuring Ketel One Vodka, passionfruit syrup, prosecco and soda; and The Riviera Spritz, an alcohol-free option with lychee, pomegranate, mint and alcohol-free sparkling wine.

Sundaes & Spritz in partnership with Scúp Gelato at The River Club will run from the end of May throughout the summer season, offering a laid-back riverside destination where guests can unwind, gather, and enjoy a taste of Italian-inspired summer living in the city. On Thursdays throughout the summer, the River Club terrace will offer complimentary Scúp gelato scoops to guests between 6pm and 6.15pm, served from the River Club gelato bike with the purchase of a cocktail.

To reserve a table visit theriverclubcork.ie

press release

A right royal booze cruise in the Kingdom

A right royal booze cruise in the Kingdom 

Kerry comes up trumps with beer and whiskey.

Always enjoy a visit to Kerry and last week's visit was no exception, even if the weather played spoilsport. 

If you visit only one off licence in the county, then the Carry Out on the Muckross Road is the one. I've been visiting regularly for the past few years and they never let you down. It is well stocked and local beers are prominently displayed. This time I bought a bunch of cans from the Dingle Brewery (Dick Macks), some Tom Crean and Sullivan's Red Ale. As we drove off, the boot already had the sounds of a wine-buying trip on the Loire or the Rhone or Dordogne.

After a very enjoyable private visit in Killarney, we made our way to the Parknasilla Resort, our home from home for the next three nights. More on the hotel and its many facilities here. The drinks list came in for immediate scrutiny and I was delighted to note that they had no less then four craft beers on tap, a lager and IPA from Tom Creans (over the road), a Pale Ale from Blacks of Kinsale and the Red Ale from Sullivans of Kilkenny. It is the first time I've had that red ale on tap and it was magnificent. Sullivans don't dabble in a multitude of styles but the few they produce are top notch.

From Carry Out, Muckross Road, Killarney

Quite a selection also of Irish whiskey, as you'd expect, including the local favourite, the Dingle Whiskey Single Pot Still, a very enjoyable dram indeed. I was one of the early visitors to Dingle where the witty guide, an ex-guard, relieved me of ten of my euro, a fee I was glad to pay after an engaging visit. Good to see how the distillery has come on over the years. On the other hand, it is sad to see the newer Killarney Distillery in limbo but hopefully that will change some time soon.

Dick Mack's IPA

On the third night of our visit, we had dinner in the second of the Parknasilla restaurants, the Eliza Doolittle, named after a character in the George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion.This is a relaxed place,  the social heart of the resort, and also serves excellent food (lunch and dinner). It is also the hotel's bar and the same drinks list is available here. Our sips for the night included a pint of that irresistible Sullivans and a drop of the Method and Madness Single Malt whiskey.

Excellent seasonal cider at Carry Out, Kenmare

There is so much to do here that you really don't have to travel outside the 500 acres osf seashore and woodland of the estate. But I had a hankering to walk to the top of Bray Head on Valentia Island. The pathway up has been much improved since my last visit but the fog was bad this morning and we had to turn back about two thirds of the way up this usually spectacular walk. On the way down, we stopped in the very friendly Skellig Seafront Restaurant for a scone and pastry and a cuppa and I noted they also sell the Waterville brewed McGill beer. Recommended if you find yourself strolling around Portmagee.

Foggy walk

Also recommended is a visit to Portmagee Whiskey with its unusual domed enclosures that include, a big surprise to me,  a traditional Seine Boat, boats that you may see in competitive action, with 12-man crews, at the Portmagee Regatta, the ultimate race of the season for an "uniquely localised sport". A few years back, a Bantry man told me, as we bumped across an angry bay in his rib, how he crewed one (they are distinctive and may also be called a long boat) from the town. Indeed, I have seen a bunch of them in competitive action once, not in Portmagee but at the mouth of the Bidasoa River as it enters the Atlantic Ocean between Hendaye in France and Hondarribbia in Spain.

The domes of Portmagee Whiskey and, below, the impressive Seine Boat that is displayed here.

We didn't of course forget the purpose of the visit and called to the shop onsite where, having sampled a few, I decided on one of the 9-year olds. Looking forward to trying that in due time.

Glass of Rosé in Eliza Doolittle

The booze cruise wasn't quite over yet and the Tom Cream brewery in Kenmare was our next stop. Here, on Saturdays, you may book a guided tour and hear the story of Tom Crean, Ireland's famous Antarctic explorer and of course taste their award-winning beers, including their latest, an non-alcoholic beer, with the apt name of Last Man Standing.

I've known these beers, brewed by Bill and Aileen, fairly well over the years and stocked up again, just to add to the tinkle of glass in the back of the car. Slainte! Or should I say Santé?

Also on this trip

Meals at Parknasilla Resort a highlight of three-day trip to County Kerry