Carissa Casey braves gale force winds to discover a new foodie trail on the largest of the Aran Islands, Inis Mór.

Today Ireland’s islands are as remote as you can get but, fadó, they were likely an important stop on a well-travelled trade route. It makes perfect sense when you climb to the top of Dún

Aonghasa on Inis Mór, and see the sea spread out below. There were no roads in times past, ships were the main form of transport for both people and things.

So, this now isolated island was once the centre of the known universe and a hive of activity.

We had spent the previous night enjoying all that Galway city has to offer, staying over at the delightful Corrib House (corribhouse.com). It’s a lovely spot, with views on to Lough Corrib and the Salmon Weir and just a five minute walk from Spanish Arch. The building dates from the 1830s and has been sensitively restored, the bedroom décor is charming and comfortable and there’s a cosy ambience throughout.

Being attached to a popular tearoom, you’d expect the breakfast at Corrib House to be superb and it certainly was. All the ingredients were wonderfully fresh and locally sourced. Our only complaint was that we didn’t have the time to enjoy it more. We were catching the 9am ferry to Inis Mór for a foodie tour with resident Gabriel Faherty.

ISLAND FOOD TOUR

As luck generally has it in Ireland in November, there was quite the storm blowing as we drove out to Rossaveel. The last time I’d visited the island the boat was fine but on the old side. Aran Island Ferries (aranislandferries.com) has a fancy new vessel which made short work of the strong waves. That said, there was still a fair bit of lurching which didn’t bother me but left the other half on the green side.

Gabriel was there to meet us and, as if ordered to by some unknown hand, the sky began to clear and the sun came out. Our first stop was for tea at Tigh Nan Phaidi, a lovely little thatched roof cottage near Dún Aonghasa. Aside from a menu of locally sourced produce, Tigh Nan’s also boasts a resident robin. The little fella was making an appearance when we arrived, hopping from chair back to the bottom of the fire grate and warbling away lest any other robins move in on his five star patch.

Gabriel is the brains behind the Food Tour, an islander, former fisherman and now a goat’s cheese maker. He has plenty of highly entertaining stories to tell and an insider’s knowledge of island life. He also seemed to be related to everyone we met on the island and even someone I was emailing about something else entirely, after we left.

The walk up to Dún Aonghasa was the perfect way to stretch the legs after the journey over and hear about a wide range of food related activities on the island. Aside from Gabriel’s Goat’s Cheese (I was especially looking forward to sampling more, having already tried it a few months back), there’s a new range of seaweed food products, a honey maker and, of course, Aran Island’s very own gin.

Dún Aonghasa was never a fort in the traditional, military sense, the local guide Olwyn Gill explained. It was more likely the seat of power, in those days a mix of civic and spiritual government.

The large square area behind the highest point was probably a market place for local produce.

It may have taken 3,000 odd years but, it seems, Inis Mór is getting back to selling its produce to visitors far and wide, this time in both a local and a digital market ­ e time to visit the island is most definitely off season. ­The constantly changing weather suits the place and there are far fewer visitors competing for islander’s time. Gabriel took us to one of his favourite spots, the Western End, where the sea crashes against the sea and the rocky shore is strewn with seaweed.

A TASTE OF SEAWEED

Inis Mór is an extension of the Burren, with the same karst landscape of bedrock.

In the past, the islanders would haul seaweed from the shore and cover the land in order to enrich the thin layer of soil. Seaweed was so valued that each islander had a patch of the beach to harvest. ­ Ere was also an external market for Dulse, from which iodine is extracted. And for farmers in the field, Dulse was a snack to keep them going on a hard day. Jenny O’Halloran took over the running of seaweed food enterprise Bláth na Mara (blathnamara.ie) from her father Máirtín Ó Conceanainn. With her husband Dave (a marine biologist) they hand pick and dry all their seaweeds. ­ They’ve also recently introduced their own Seaweed Aioli, Mackerel Pate and Pesto (delicious). With glowing skin (she was just back from a sea swim) Jenny is a walking advertisement for the benefits of using seaweed in your diet. Dulse, for example, is packed with Iron, Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium as well as a host of vitamins and the all important Omega oils We met Jenny in her new ‘tasting room’, renovated from the old store room in her family home and appropriately called An Stór.

ARAN GOAT CHEESE

­ The real treat was yet to come, as we headed for Gabriel’s place to see his herd of goats and his cheese-making operation (arangoatcheese.com).

Goats are friendly creatures, or maybe it’s just Gabriel’s herd. It’s clear he has an affinity with them but they’re also fine with being petted by strangers. When the barn doors are opened for them, they trot obediently from barn to pasture. ­ Their milk is the main ingredient for the cheese and Gabriel takes us through the process and, at last, we get to sample.

He has a range of other Irish artisanal products at hand so we try it with local honey made by beekeeper Marrek Goss and Wild Wood Blackberry Balsamic Vinegar which is spectacular.

It was a full day and we headed to Domer House run by the lovely Alice for some downtime before dinner at Joe Watty’s Pub. ­ The following day it was back to reality but with our bellies and bags full of the most delicious delicacies.

For more visit arangoatcheeseandfoodtours.com

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