Final part in a two-part series. Perched above the Atlantic Ocean is the Old Head Golf Links, where duffers like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicholson summon the golf gods. We enjoy a casual lunch of cod and chips on the outdoor patio of the Lusitania Bar overlooking the sea where if you’re lucky you’ll see one of 15 species of whales. The tony club has recently added contemporary suites and a spa for overnight guests.
Back at Castlemartyr, a massage and facial before a short walk into the village of Straffan to Pat Shortt’s Pub for a farm-style dinner and a rollicking evening of traditional Irish folk music. A fish chowder of ling, haddock and salmon; beef braised in Beamish stout; and apple rhubarb crumble accompany pints of black-and-tans, made with half Guinness stout and half Smithwick’s ale.
A midmorning stop at the old Jameson Distillery (a bit early for whiskey), then on to the K Club, a 19th century Georgian manor along the Liffey River. The beautiful drive takes us past the Galtee Mountains and through the “Golden Vale” where the counties of Limerick, Tipperary and Cork meet. Sporting two 18-hole Arnold Palmer-designed courses, The Kildare Hotel Spa and Country Club, as it is otherwise known, is home to the Ryder Cup and a favorite haunt of U.S. presidents and rock stars. Tea, scones and watercress finger sandwiches followed by a sampling of Ireland’s most exquisite cheeses — creamy St. Killian, tangy Cashel Blue, wonderfully lemony Cratloe Hills and the earthy Milleens.
At dinner Chef Finbar Higgins and his staff of 18 Michelin-star graduates signal serious dining in the private Pantheon Suite with luscious langoustines, oysters topped with citrus foam and a risotto strewn with morels.
Daybreak brings the fifth straight day of sunshine and we’re off to Tully in County Kildare and the Irish National Stud to visit the Horse Museum, Japanese Gardens and stables of priceless breeding stallions. It was a premier stop for Queen Elizabeth on her recent royal tour of Ireland.
We head for Dublin and begin with a tour of the historic Guinness Storehouse, where they are celebrating 252 years of brewing beer. We learn that Guinness sells a staggering 10 million glasses every day in more than 150 countries around the world. A top-drawer lunch of Irish mussels in Guinness cream, Irish beef stew and chocolate mousse, made with Guinness of course, and topped with red currants is prepared for us by chef Justin O’Connor in the private Rainsford Room. On site are two public restaurants, the Brewer’s Dining Hall and the Gilroy Restaurant. The Gravity Bar, 144 feet above the city, affords spectacular views of Dublin.
At the Fitzwilliam Hotel, a super-glam contemporary hotel across from the tranquil gardens of St. Stephen’s Green, there’s time to hit the city’s best shops on Grafton Street, a stone’s throw away.
Pimm’s cup served in the penthouse before a five-minute walk to the ornate, yet very hip, Cliff House Townhouse, a beautifully restored Georgian period hotel and restaurant. East Coast potted monkfish, braised Fermanagh lamb with confit shoulder and garlic sauce, chocolate tart with candied orange and petit fours.
After breakfast in bed we walk to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, dropping in at the Queen of Hearts, an adorable tea shop, to gather up some lemon scones and apple crumble.
Today’s modern Irish chefs herald the “new” Irish cuisine, returning to the ingredients found on the land and in the surrounding sea, and that culinary shift is the country’s most recent appeal.
