Home Gallery Salesroom FAQ Links Email

Our trip to Antrim and the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
April 9-23, 2013

Dingle, Dinner with Michael and Dara

Saturday, April 20


Dara’s delicious cooking:



You are viewing PAGE 12 of this travelogue.

Here are links to the other pages. A new window will NOT open.

Page 13: Sun – Cottage, Global Village Restaurant, Dick Mack’s Pub.
Page 14: Mon – Dingle, An Canteen Restaurant, Pack and Return Home.
Page 01: Tue – Prep and Travel to Dublin.
Page 02: Wed – Drive from Dublin to Barbican Gatelodge in Antrim.
Page 03: Thu – Giant’s Causeway.
Page 04: Fri – Bushmills, Dunluce, Waterfall in Glenarm Forest.
Page 05: Sat – Drive from Antrim to Dingle, Murphy’s Pub.
Page 06: Sun – Dingle and Music at Courthouse
Page 07: Mon – Shopping in Dingle.
Page 08: Tue – Loch a'Dúin, Doyle’s Restaurant, Music at Courthouse.
Page 09: Wed – Cottage, An Canteen Restaurant, Michael & John at Mighty Session
Page 10: Thu – Fenit Pier and Bana Beach
Page 11: Fri – Inch Strand, Sammy’s Cafe, An Canteen, Music at John Benny’s.
Page 12: Sat – Dingle, Dinner at Michael & Dara’s, Music at Courthouse.
Original, all-on-one-page version.

Press here to return to personal picture menu.

Dingle, Dinner with Michael and Dara

Saturday, April 20


Morning weather taken with EOS:


Morning weather taken with Elph:



Our wish list, from most to least important:

1. Climb to the top of Brandon Mountain, Cnoc Breanainn, highest mountain on the peninsula.
2. Climb to the top of Eagle Mountain, Sliabh an Iolair, second highest mountain on Dingle.
3. Cruach Mharthain, the 3rd highest mountain on the peninsula, behind Phil’s house, where Ryan’s Daughter was filmed.
4. ( The other side of Loch a'Dúin valley )
5. Coumaloughig (Valley of the Lakes) in Feohanagh River Valley
8. Dick Mack’s when it’s not packed.


I woke up at 9:00 and found KC next to me playing scrabble on his iPad. I fell back asleep and woke up an hour later to exactly the same thing. I got out of bed, came downstairs and mixed my smoothie, and took pictures of the second beautiful day in a row. KC came down around 10:15 and made coffee. Note to self: This is the first day I’ve mixed almond butter into the smoothie and it’s the first day I haven’t tasted the bladderwrack. It’s better this way.

We wanted to climb Cruach Mharthain , given the gorgeous weather, but we also needed to do some things in Dingle so we decided to go in early (for us), have breakfast at John Benny’s Pub, and climb the mountain in the afternoon.

I took a quick shower and we were on the road at noon. For breakfast, I had eggs benedict with cheese instead of ham and KC had a cheese omelet. We shared a pot of tea and played cribbage while we waited. I forgot to get pictures of the food but it was good and we both cleaned our plates.

Sign on the wall next to our seats at John Benny’s Pub:



We walked up to Green Street,bought some earrings from Tig Maya, and a wool sweater from Lisbeth Mulcahy on our way to Dingle Crystal . Sean’s bike was in front – he had been sprucing it up now that the weather was improving.

Sean and his bike in front of Dingle Crystal :



We had come to place our crystal order. We knew we wanted four roly-polys in the Dingle Flame pattern, our favorite glass ever, but we disagreed on the four smaller glasses: KC wanted 2 shots, and 2 liqueurs, I wanted 4 liqueurs because we already had shots. KC was adamant – he’s become more interested in whiskey recently and wanted to use the shots for nosings. We ended up with 2 and 2.

We confirmed tomorrow’s dinner date and then continued on to the bread shop where KC bought a few pastries. We also stopped in the cheese shop for some Appenzeller and an award-wining local cheese made with nettles. They had a beautiful loaf of bread covered with sesame seeds which we snagged as well. On our way back to the car we stopped in Spar for cream, soda, and chocolate; and then in Garvey’s Market for a bottle of wine to take with us tonight.

We drove home and found a book stuck in our mail slot – the book on making cider that Brian had told us about! By then it was almost 2:00pm, and too late to climb Cruach Mharthain , so we called Phil and Alec and left a message on Phil’s cell inviting them over for coffee.

I tidied up the cottage and then worked on the webpage while KC read the book Brian had left for him. It really opened his eyes about making home-made cider. It’s not as easy as juicing some apples and letting them sit in a carboy in the basement until it ferments.

The book Brian left for KC to peruse:



Phil popped in around 5:00 with a small container of home-made scones! I started one and KC finished it. It really hit the spot with the coffee KC had just brewed.

She stayed for a few hours. Among many other things, we talked about the fact that Declan was constantly moving his sheep to find enough for them to eat and how Alec had driven up north to buy fodder. She told us that the hens they used to have, which laid such delicious eggs, were killed one night by a weasel. What a shame.

We left the cottage again at 7:10 to meet Michael at The Courthouse for a pre-prandial drink. We were a bit late so I hopped out and KC went to park the car. Michael was late, too, so I talked to the bartender until he arrived. It was Mícheál, the same bartender that was there last Sunday, who lives near the cottage.

I asked him about the farm buildings next to his home and he said they belonged to his uncle who owned sheep and cattle. He corroborated the problem Phil had mentioned about there not being enough feed for the animals this year, due to having too much rain. He said it would affect next year as well because the current conditions meant there wouldn’t be enough grass to store over winter.

Michael came in with KC on his heels, they each had a pint, and then we went up to Michael and Dara’s apartment. Dara had dinner almost ready to serve so we sat right down and were eating within minutes. He had prepared a leg of lamb with gravy and mint sauce, roast potatoes, au gratin potatoes, broccoli, carrots and mushrooms with onions and rosemary. I couldn’t believe how much food there was! And, there was both red and white wine. I had the white, a Pouilly Fuisse, and KC had both. Everything was delicious and we both had seconds.

Delicious dinner with Dara and Michael:




After dinner, while we were talking, Dara managed to clean all the dinner dishes AND serve dessert – ice cream with strawberries. He is an incredible young man and a credit to his father. He left at 10:00 for The Courthouse and we followed about half an hour later. There was a phenomenal accordion player there and a woman with a gorgeous voice. We couldn’t see them, we were in the back room, so I have no idea who they were.

While we were in his apartment, Michael had been regaling us with horror stories about how the Garda nabbed people who had been drinking, so KC only had coffee and was very unhappy about it. As we were leaving he told me that if he wasn’t going to be allowed to drink, then he wasn’t going to any more pubs! We’ll see about that….

We were pretty tired so we left at midnight. When we got home, KC had one of the pastries he’d bought earlier and I updated the website. I went to be just after 1:00.


To continue to the next page, please use the links below.
A new window will NOT open.

Page 13: Sun – Cottage, Global Village Restaurant, Dick Mack’s Pub.
Page 14: Mon – Dingle, An Canteen Restaurant, Pack and Return Home.
Page 01: Tue – Prep and Travel to Dublin.
Page 02: Wed – Drive from Dublin to Barbican Gatelodge in Antrim.
Page 03: Thu – Giant’s Causeway.
Page 04: Fri – Bushmills, Dunluce, Waterfall in Glenarm Forest.
Page 05: Sat – Drive from Antrim to Dingle, Murphy’s Pub.
Page 06: Sun – Dingle and Music at Courthouse
Page 07: Mon – Shopping in Dingle.
Page 08: Tue – Loch a'Dúin, Doyle’s Restaurant, Music at Courthouse.
Page 09: Wed – Cottage, An Canteen Restaurant, Michael & John at Mighty Session
Page 10: Thu – Fenit Pier and Bana Beach
Page 11: Fri – Inch Strand, Sammy’s Cafe, An Canteen, Music at John Benny’s.
Page 12: Sat – Dingle, Dinner at Michael & Dara’s, Music at Courthouse.
Original, all-on-one-page version.


Press here for 2012 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2011 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2010 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2009 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2008 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2007 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Home Gallery Salesroom FAQ Links Email
OOAKFolk, Inc., and artist Barbara Healy are not affiliated in any way with the original manufacturers of the dolls pictured in this site. No photograph, text or graphic on this site may be copied without written permission from Barbara Healy. Copyright © 2004 OOAKFolk, Inc.

Last Revised: May 27, 2013
Site Questions? Press Tech Support to send email.