Use this guide to find food and beverages from Ireland, ingredients called for in some recipes, or locations and events mentioned in this book.
To find an Irish shop in your area where some of these products are available, contact Enterprise Ireland, 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154; phone 212-371-3600. Or try Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, 400 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611; phone 773-871-6749, or visit www.bordbia.ie.
For information on travel to Ireland, including accommodations, culture, sports, and festivals, contact Tourism Ireland, 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154; phone 800-223-6470, or visit www.tourismireland.com.
For information on a specific region of Ireland, visit www.corkkerry.ie for counties Cork and Kerry; www.visitdublin.com for Dublin city and county; www.ecoast-midlands.travel.ie for counties Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, North Offaly, Westmeath, and Wicklow; www.irelandnorthwest.ie for counties Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo; www.irelandwest.ie for counties Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon; www.shannonregiontourism.ie for counties Clare, Limerick, North Kerry, North Tipperary, and South Offaly; www.southeastireland.com for counties Carlow, Kildare, Tipperary, Waterford, and Wexford; www.discovernorthernireland.com for counties Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.
Depending on the cut of bacon required, traditional Irish bacon and ham can be found in many Irish butcher shops as well as from specialty grocers in the U.S. Contact Traditional Irish Foods, phone 877-474-7436, or visit www.foodireland.com; Irish Grub, www.irishgrub.com; Schaller and Weber, phone 212-879-3047, or visit www.schallerweber.com.
This festival is held each May in the seaside town of Bantry, in County Cork. For details, contact the Bantry Tourist Office; phone 011-353-27-50229, or visit www.corkkerry.ie.
Baileys Irish Cream sponsors this tour of historic Belfast pubs. A professional guide, who provides both history and humor along the way, leads the tour. For details, contact the Belfast Tourist Office, 47 Donegall Place, Belfast; phone 011-44-28-9024-6609, or visit www.gotobelfast.com.
These awards, sponsored by Edward Dillon and Company, Dublin, honor Ireland’s top regional pubs. To find out this year’s winners, visit www.edwarddillonco.ie.
June 16 is “Bloomsday,” the day James Joyce’s novel Ulysses takes place. For information on annual events in Dublin, contact the James Joyce Centre, 35 North Great George’s Street, Dublin; or visit www.jamesjoyce.ie.
To find out what supermarkets sell Kerrygold Irish butter and cheeses, contact the Irish Dairy Board U.S.A.; phone 847-256-8289, or visit www.idbusa.com. To buy Kerry-gold products, contact Traditional Irish Foods; phone 877-474-7436, or visit www.foodireland.com.
To buy imported Irish farmhouse cheeses in the U.S., such as Cooleeney, Cashel Blue, St. Tola, and Carrigbyrne’s St. Killian, contact Murray’s Cheese Shop; phone 888-692-4339, or visit www.murrayscheese.com.
This rollicking festival is held annually in the village of Clarenbridge, in County Galway, to celebrate the return of native oysters in September. For details on the event, visit www.clarenbridgefestival.com or www.irelandwest.ie.
The British National Trust has owned one of Ireland’s Victorian pubs, the Crown, since 1978. This popular tourist venue in Belfast receives thousands of visitors from around the world each year (see pages 128 and 131). Visit www.crownbar.com.
A lively, animated evening of literature and laughs from professional actors who perform passages from the works of well-known Dublin literary figures, such as James Joyce and Brendan Behan, as you quench your thirst in several pubs around the city. For details, visit www.dublinpubcrawl.com.
Led by two professional musicians, the tour takes you to several pubs in Dublin’s Temple Bar area and gives you an opportunity to participate in song while you down a few pints and learn the story of Irish music. For details, visit www.musicalpubcrawl.com.
This world-class homage to oysters is held each September in the city of Galway. For details, visit www.galwayoysterfest.com, or www.irelandwest.ie.
Ireland’s number-one paid visitor attraction, the Guinness Storehouse is a contemporary “museum” devoted to the history and production of Guinness stout, one of Ireland’s most popular drinks. Visit www.guinness.com.
The Dublin-based architectural and design company McNally Design Group is the parent group of the Irish Pub Company. They design and construct authentic Irish pubs around the world. Visit www.irishpubcompany.com.
To obtain a copy of the Irish Pubs of Distinction brochure, which lists member pubs by county, visit the Vintners Federation of Ireland at www.vfi.ie or www.pubireland.net.
To order Lakeshore mustard in the U.S., contact Bewley Irish Imports; phone 800-BEWLEY, or visit www.bewleyirishimports.com.
McCann’s brand Irish oatmeal is available in most supermarkets. McCann’s, Flahavans, and Odlums brands are available from Traditional Irish Foods; phone 877-474-7436, or visit www.foodireland.com.
To find out where you can buy authentic poitín (bottled as Bunratty Potcheen), contact Camelot Importing Co.; phone 800-4-CAMELOT.
Some brands of oak-smoked Irish salmon are available from Traditional Irish Foods; phone 877-474-7436, or visit www.foodireland.com.
Cameron’s Professional Cookware makes a stove-top smoker that can be used to smoke poultry, fish, meats, and vegetables. For details, visit www.cameronscookware.com.
Irish whole-wheat flour, such as Odlums and Howard’s brands, is available from Traditional Irish Foods; phone 877-474-7436, or visit www.foodireland.com.