MICHAEL: Hello, and welcome to Ireland with Michael.

I'm Michael Londra, and in this show, I get to tell you everything I love about my home country the best way I know how, through music.

Today, I'm in Northern Ireland to wander Slieve Gallion, an ancient land with a castle that manages to dwell in its past while looking to the future.

Then, on to the city of Derry, spanning the River Foyle.

It's a place which has come together under a shared identity to transform itself into a cultural destination with the finest of food, drink, and, oh yes, some great music.

♪ ♪ ANNOUNCER: Ireland with Michael is made possible by: ♪ MICHAEL: The music, the folklore, and the hospitality.

It's all in Ireland.

♪ ANNOUNCER: CIE Tours, sharing the magic of Ireland for 90 years.

♪ ANNOUNCER: Aer Lingus has been bringing people home since 1936.

If you are thinking about Ireland, Aer Lingus is ready when you are to take you home.

♪ (birds chirping) MICHAEL: Tell me the story, Matthew, of Killeavy Castle.

MATTHEW: Yeah, well, Killeavy Castle, it was built here on the eastern base of Slieve Gallion in 1836.

The Foxall family were the first family that owned the castle.

They sold it to the Bell family, who moved in in 1899, and then us, the Boyle family, Killeavy Castle in its present state, bought it in 2013.

MICHAEL: And so, tell me, it's not just about the castle itself.

It's a small castle as castle goes, but he built something all around that castle.

MATTHEW: Yeah, so, I suppose the area we're in is not known for tourism.

So, Mick decided to buy the castle.

The castle is a four- bedroom dwelling, but as well as that, Mick decided to build a 45-bedroom hotel.

So we have our castle, we've got 45 bedrooms.

We do around 130 weddings a year, along with many other events and gatherings.

MICHAEL: Now, we're right on the base of Slieve Gallion.

Could you tell me a little bit more about the area itself?

MATTHEW: Yeah, so, as you mentioned, we're on the eastern base of Slieve Gallion.

We are in a UNESCO Global Geopark here.

MICHAEL: Well, will you do me a favor?

Would you show me around the estate?

MATTHEW: Absolutely.

Look forward to it.

MICHAEL: Let's go.

♪ GARETH: Well, I'm the Estate Butcher here for Killeavy Castle.

We rear all our own cattle here, all our Longhorn cattle.

MICHAEL: Longhorn cattle.

Now, when I think of that, I think of Texas, and we're a million miles away from Texas.

Are they local to this area?

GARETH: No, they wouldn't be local.

They would be an English longhorn, which would be the native animal of this place many years ago.

MICHAEL: Why do you think the castle wanted to have the cattle on the land, and why would they bring on a butcher?

GARETH: Well, I think it was farm-to-fork, so it is.

It's to be sustainable, that we produce all our own beef on the ground here and we can stand over it.

MICHAEL: Am I able to- GARETH: Oh, yes.

MICHAEL: Oh, my God.

Are you telling me that tonight when I sit down in the restaurant, just going to try one more bit, that this is the beef I'm going to have?

GARETH: It will be, yes.

MICHAEL: Gareth, I can't wait.

♪ ♪ MICHAEL: Tim, I have heard the name Tim Britton for about 20 years, and you only live up the road from me in- TIM: Down the road.

(laughs) MICHAEL: Oh, down the road in Fairfield.

TIM: Yeah.

MICHAEL: In Iowa.

So, how in the name of God do you end up being one of these master pipe makers?

I don't know that story.

TIM: Well, that is actually simple, because I started out playing when I was very young.

And so, there was, I think, three makers alive at the time, maybe four.

So it was very hard to get a set, basically.

And I ran into a guy named Michael Copeland, and he was like, "Maybe we could just make you some drones for your practice set," you know?

And so I was like, "Yeah."

Now, these are those drones.

♪ ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: The uilleann pipes, there's always a mystery to the instrument for me.

I love the instrument.

It's one of my favorite traditional instruments.

But it's so intricate and, because of the layer upon layer of buttons and pipes, I always wonder, do you need to be a good carpenter, or do you need to be a good plumber?

TIM: Yeah.

MICHAEL: Or is it a mix of it all?

TIM: It's all the above, really.

That's how it was explained to me, as well, right?

Right from the get-go, you kinda have to be, you know, a woodworker, obviously, a metal worker, and a leather worker, and a reed maker.

It's a whole other... You know, whether you make pipes or not, you know, it's a good idea to be able to make reeds.

Even if you're not your own favorite reed maker, the more you make them, the more you understand how to adjust them, at the very least.

And they require constant adjustment.

♪ ♪ ♪ (birds chirping) MICHAEL: The Green Holiday Cottages offer cozy accommodations with unbeatable views.

But I've come here to try my hand at a truly unique experience.

(sheep bleating) So, Mark, when you told me you were going to teach me how to build a stone wall, this was not what I had in mind.

But I guess somebody has to start somewhere.

(chuckles) MARK: Well, yes.

And believe me, your back will thank me.

(Michael laughs) MICHAEL: Now, here at the cottages, you don't only let people who are staying at the cottages do this.

You have a whole stone wall building experience for corporate groups and for any tour buses who show up, right?

MARK: Yeah, we've developed the experience just as a way of introducing people to an ancient traditional art but also explaining a bit about the history of Ireland through this exercise.

You know, the building of the walls, why it was important historically.

So what we have done here is developed an experience where you can have the real dry stone wall experience but in miniature.

I call it Irish LEGO.

(Michael laughs) Now, the principles I've already explained to you are very simple.

We start with this bottom row, which would be your larger stones, and it's called the butt row.

So, it'll be laid out like that.

And you have to remember about- the spaces between the stones are important, and what you're looking for amongst this rubble is something that'll fit nicely into those gaps.

MICHAEL: Oh, very good!

MARK: Yeah.

MICHAEL: Yes.

MARK: Find the space.

♪ MICHAEL: Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you're breaking me here.

Oh, I need a smaller one.

My father is a builder and, while I'd love him to see what I'm doing, I don't want any critique from him or, indeed, you.

MARK: No, no.

Do you think he'd be proud?

(laughs) MICHAEL: Well, he'd be something.

It's just as well I can sing in tune, let's put it that way, 'cause I won't be making a living as a builder.

MARK: No.

Well, as I say, one of the tests I do, once people have tried it, is just to give the table a bit of a shake.

MICHAEL: Oh.

That went well.

(Mark laughs) ♪ I'm sitting on the great historic walls of the city of Derry, right in front of the Tower Museum, which holds an array of fantastic history on this ancient city.

But there's one exhibit that I particularly want to see, and I've got an old friend to show me around.

Charlene!

CHARLENE: Hi, Michael!

How are ye?

MICHAEL: How are you?

CHARLENE: It's great to see you again.

I'm fine.

MICHAEL: Thanks for having us back, and thanks for laying on this weather.

CHARLENE: Oh, no, it was a pleasure.

I was just in there in the Derry Girls experience.

I said a few prayers to the Child of Prague from the show.

MICHAEL: Oh.

CHARLENE: Hence the good summer.

MICHAEL: And obviously, it worked, again.

CHARLENE: It did, yeah!

Brilliant!

MICHAEL: Are you going to show me around this museum?

CHARLENE: I will, certainly.

It's amazing.

MICHAEL: Let's have a go.

Come on.

CHARLENE: Yeah, definitely.

So, we're just- MICHAEL: Charlene McCrossan manages the five-star Derry City Walking Tours.

You might remember her from the previous episode of Ireland with Michael, where she gave us a fantastic tour of the walls of Derry.

So, Charlene, you are now hosting Derry Girl tours.

CHARLENE: I am indeed.

Well, I'm an original Derry girl.

The school that you see in Derry Girls is the school that I went to.

So, yeah, who better to tell about the ins and outs of the show than an original Derry girl?

And it's really popular, it's fantastic.

MICHAEL: Because it really was and is still a global success.

CHARLENE: It is.

We have visitors from all over the world coming to this city now because they've watched the show and loved it.

I always say people where English isn't even their first language have watched it with subtitles, and people, where English is their first language, have also watched it with subtitles.

(chuckles) MICHAEL: That would be half of North America.

CHARLENE: (laughs) Yeah, of course.

Yeah, I know the Derry accent can be strong, thick, and very fast, as well.

MICHAEL: So, what do you think- it was the secret to the success?

CHARLENE: I think it's just that nostalgia.

I think Derry Girls, what it does, it tells you what happened in your own family home growing up.

MICHAEL: It's funny because I am from the southeast corner of Ireland, a world away from Derry, but I had exactly that childhood, just with a different accent.

CHARLENE: Yep, there ye go.

And when it first came out, I thought it was only going to be something in Ireland or maybe even in England, Scotland, and Wales, as well.

But you see that it's America, Australia, Canada, you know, it's just unbelievable.

♪ MICHAEL: What's incredible, Charlene, is that this show was able to take real-life issues that were happening in Derry at the time and make us look at them in a different way.

CHARLENE: Definitely.

It's an education in itself, the show, because, toward the end of season three especially, that you look at the girls voting on the Good Friday Agreement.

Michelle has a brother who's in prison, and Michelle and Erin fall out, which is what would've happened- In this city at that time.

MICHAEL: Of course.

It's great to be able to look at it 25 years later now and look at how successful the agreement was and what it did to this incredible city.

It transformed it.

CHARLENE: And it's still a continuing process to this very day.

That peace process, it's still continuing in our everyday lives.

And it will continue for many years to come, as well.

MICHAEL: If only the rest of the world would learn from you.

CHARLENE: I know!

Well, we've a lot to teach, anyway, that's for sure, because we've been through a lot.

♪ MICHAEL: Charlene, I always say on Ireland with Michael, there's a story around every corner.

We came into this museum to see the Derry Girls exhibit, but you've got a hundred other stories here for me.

CHARLENE: So many other, and this one behind me is amazing.

It's one of the spooky stories that we have attached to our city's history.

MICHAEL: So tell us this ghost story.

CHARLENE: There was a man called John MacNaghten, and he wanted to date the daughter of a well-known man in the city.

And she was only 15 years old, but he took her and married her in secret.

And the father forbade it, and the father went to- he decided he wanted to kill the father.

And the father and the daughter were in this carriage right here.

The father always sat on one side of the carriage, but on this particular day, they'd swapped places, and John MacNaghten shot through the carriage, and he actually shot his wife, Mary Ann Knox.

And then he was taken to Lifford jail, and he was going to be hung, and the rope broke, and everybody says, "No, stop him, stop him, this is a sign that he shouldn't be hung."

And he says, "No, you have to finish the job "because I do not want to go down in history as Half-Hung MacNaghten."

♪ MICHAEL: The area behind me was a star fort built in 1841.

It evolved to become an army barracks, but as Derry changes, so does the area behind me.

It is now the location of a four-star luxury hotel.

So, let's go meet the executive chef of the Ebrington.

Lads!

NOEL: Michael, how are you?

Great to see you.

MICHAEL: Noel!

Leigh!

NOEL: Welcome.

MICHAEL: How are you?

LEIGH: Morning, sir.

A pleasure.

MICHAEL: Noel, the last time I saw you was in New York City.

NOEL: Yes.

MICHAEL: But now I'm on your home territory.

NOEL: Yeah.

MICHAEL: And I've heard all about the food in this part of the world.

NOEL: It's quite amazing.

MICHAEL: Tell us about it.

NOEL: I think one of the great things is that we portray very much here at the Ebrington about local produce, right?

And really, what is it?

It's about taking the best of local produce, cooking it as little as possible, and serving it with great flair.

And I think that's what the Ebrington showcases very well.

MICHAEL: Well, okay.

It's all very well saying that, but you have to walk the walk.

I suggest that you take me out and maybe we can find some of that local fare and bring it back here.

NOEL: I think so.

LEIGH: Sounds good.

NOEL: I think that'll be- MICHAEL: All right, so- NOEL: Excellent.

MICHAEL: Right!

Off we go!

(claps) ♪ It doesn't get much more local than 20 miles up the road to Dart Mountain Cheese.

Owner Julie Hickey makes not one but eight world- class cheeses, and she's invited us to see how it's done.

Well, hello!

Well!

Okay, so, it's kind of cold in here, which I guess is to be expected, but what exactly are you doing here, Julie?

(group laughs) JULIE: I've been asking myself that for the last 15 years.

I'm fermenting, I'm creating food.

I'm engaging in alchemy, I guess you could say.

I'm turning liquid to solid, and this is what you see before you.

MICHAEL: Noel, what are you looking for when you come out here to the mountains?

NOEL: I think what we're looking for obviously is taste of quality.

And we always think of quality that we have to go and have other worldly cheeses on our cheeseboard.

When I was so surprised when I came and I'd seen and I tasted, and I think Leigh will agree, the taste here is on a world scale.

JULIE: So, if you wanna grab that there.

MICHAEL: And what is this?

JULIE: This is just a cheese harp, and that's gonna begin the process of separating the curds and the whey.

MICHAEL: Okay.

So, a cheese harp, I can't play it, I take it.

JULIE: No, you're kind of wielding it like that.

MICHAEL: What do I need to do?

Yeah, I feel like it's like a- JULIE: It's a lightsaber.

MICHAEL: Club.

What do I need to do?

Show me.

JULIE: So you're just gonna- MICHAEL: Maybe you can show me.

JULIE: You're just gonna pass it through the body of the cheese and you're gonna see the beginning of the process.

MICHAEL: And I dip it right in?

JULIE: Yep, right straight to the bottom.

MICHAEL: Oh, very good.

Oh, look at that.

Like, what's the next step for this here?

JULIE: So, that next step- it'll just be scooped very gently.

This won't be a pressed curd, it'll just be scooped into colanders lined with cheesecloth and it'll drain and continue to acidify overnight.

MICHAEL: Oh.

JULIE: And then it'll be lightly salted.

And then it'll be ready to go.

You can eat this the day after it's made and it's lovely and light and fresh, or you can age it on and it'll develop a more pronounced flavor, so.

MICHAEL: Oh!

I'm gonna come back for that.

JULIE: Perfect, perfect.

♪ MICHAEL: Aaron, finally.

So, we finally got the cheese I've been waiting on.

This is the blue cheese, that's what I really want.

Some of this drizzle.

Here goes.

♪ Now, that was worth the wait.

♪ Whoo ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: Now, I've had gin in every corner of the planet, but I've never had the opportunity to make me own.

JAMES: Gin's just come on so much the last seven or eight years.

MICHAEL: James at Walled City Brewery is about to change all that.

So, you tell me, like a bus load of tourists can come here and spend an afternoon making their own gin, wait for it to be finished and then bottled, and they get to take home their own?

JAMES: It's even better than that, Michael.

They would be able to come here, make their own gin, we would give them cocktails, and we would do a bit of storytelling about the history of gin, as well.

MICHAEL: Where do we start?

I mean, I've genuinely no idea of the basic components of gin.

JAMES: So, there's two legal definitions to gin, first of all.

First of all, it has to be above 37.5% alcohol, okay?

Which is easy.

The second one is that it always needs juniper in it.

So, if you wanna have a little taste.

MICHAEL: Yep, it's right there at the heart of the flavor.

JAMES: And for thousands of years, juniper was always thought to be sort of a medicinal benefit.

In the ancient Greek Olympics, they would give it to runners to make them run faster.

So juniper's always been around and it's the key ingredient to gin.

MICHAEL: I'm sure after a few gins I'd run faster, too, though.

JAMES: You would, yes, I would say you would.

(laughs) I'd say you would, yeah, yeah.

The next stage is the fun part.

So, we've got a selection of little botanicals here that we could also add to the gin that would just make it totally unique, you know?

So, we've got elderflower, raspberry leaf, caraway seeds, pink peppercorns, rose petals, cinnamon.

You can add anything to it.

And that's really about making your own spin, you know?

MICHAEL: I mean, so I get to pick the kind of where the flavors lean.

JAMES: Yeah.

MICHAEL: How do we start this?

What is the- JAMES: Okay.

The first part is we'll start measuring out your botanicals into our little cup.

MICHAEL: Right.

One, two, and a little bit more.

Pink peppercorns.

JAMES: Probably go for two.

What we need is a bit of zing.

Lime or lemon?

MICHAEL: Lime.

JAMES: This is it.

So, I've already prepared one of our stills here.

MICHAEL: Okay.

JAMES: If you want to empty all your botanicals in here.

MICHAEL: Okay.

JAMES: We will be putting it on our hot plate.

And what's gonna happen actually is the- the ethanol's gonna heat up with the botanicals in it.

What'll happen is the alcohol will start to evaporate, so it'll have infused all the flavors.

And then, you can see I've got running water here, so that'll cool it down, condense it.

And out of our little still, we'll have our gin.

MICHAEL: I'm excited.

JAMES: Yeah.

♪ (liquid trickling) Now, we're going into the heads and the hearts.

So, this is really the core part of your gin.

Now, it's coming up very, very strong.

It's very, very concentrated at the start.

We're coming in about sort of 160 proof at this stage.

And at the start, you're going to get very much this- so, you added lime, it's gonna be quite limey.

But do you want to have a quick taste?

MICHAEL: All right, a little... Sure.

A little dropeen.

JAMES: These are why the cups are so small, by the way.

MICHAEL: Okay.

JAMES: Okay.

BOTH: Cheers.

JAMES: Sláinte.

(Michael coughs) All right!

MICHAEL: Okay, I understand what you're saying.

So, James, where are we at now?

We've waited a while.

Are we ready to pour it?

JAMES: Yes, we are.

So we've got 500 mils.

If you wanna go on ahead and pour it into your bottle.

MICHAEL: Okay.

Now, I'm glad I didn't have too much gin.

Opa!

JAMES: And you finally have your very own bottle of gin.

MICHAEL: Which I am very proud of.

JAMES: I think you should be.

I think it tastes great.

♪ Whoo ♪ ♪ (fire crackles) MICHAEL: Tom, I actually can't believe here, I'm sitting in your local pub talking to you, but it's to find you at home because you're a busy man touring all over the place.

I know you've just spent how many years with Choir of Man?

TOM: Seven years.

MICHAEL: Seven years.

TOM: Yeah, yeah.

MICHAEL: And so, you're now about to head off with the Shamrock Tenors all across North America and you must be excited, right?

TOM: Buzzing.

I've toured America twice with Choir of Man, 32-state tour.

So I've seen the country, I've seen how much that Irish heritage means to the American people.

So I'm absolutely buzzing to do it again, yeah.

MICHAEL: So, we were talking about, you know, the Irish language earlier, and you have a unique perspective on Gaelic.

TOM: My dad's from Ballyferriter in the Gaeltacht in West Kerry.

Met my mum in Lisdoonvarna.

And I would've spent my summers the Gaeltacht in Donegal as well.

So I've kind of got this mix of- of Kerry and Donegal Irish.

But we grew up speaking it.

I would've gone to primary school in in Ballyferriter for periods, as well.

So, yeah, it's something that's very important to me and the family.

MICHAEL: Look, I have you here, you're in a pub.

TOM: Yeah.

MICHAEL: And I think it's about time you sang me a song.

TOM: All right.

MICHAEL: But I'm going to ask you to do me a special favor.

TOM: Go on.

MICHAEL: I would ask you to sing me a song as Gaeilge.

TOM: As Gaeilge.

Right.

Okay.

All right.

(fire crackles) ♪ Bímse buan ar buairt gach ló ♪ ♪ Ag caoi go cruaidh 's ag tuar na ndeór ♪ ♪ Mar scaoileadh uaim an buachaill beó ♪ ♪ 'S ná ríomhtar tuairisc uaidh, mo bhrón ♪ ♪ 'Sé mo laoch, mo ghile mear ♪ ♪ 'Sé mo chaesar, gile mear ♪ ♪ Suan ná séan ní bhfuaireas fhéin ♪ ♪ Ó chuaigh i gcéin mo ghile mear ♪ MICHAEL: Thanks for joining me on my travels around County Derry.

I'm Michael Londra, and I hope to see you next time on Ireland with Michael.

But for now, cheers.

Sláinte.

ANNOUNCER: Want to continue your travels to Ireland?

Your choice of the Ireland with Michael DVD Seasons one and two or Seasons three and four with bonus concert footage is available for $30.

Ireland with Michael: A Musical Journey CD with songs from Michael and his guest artists, is available for $20.

The Ireland with Michael Companion travel book, featuring places to visit as seen in all seasons, is also available for $30.

This offer is made by Wexford House.

Shipping and handling is not included.

MICHAEL: To learn more about everything you've seen in this episode, go to IrelandWithMichael.com.

ANNOUNCER: Ireland with Michael was made possible by: ♪ MICHAEL: The music, the folklore, and the hospitality.

It's all in Ireland.

♪ ANNOUNCER: CIE Tours, sharing the magic of Ireland for 90 years.

♪ ANNOUNCER: Aer Lingus has been bringing people home since 1936.

If you're thinking about Ireland, Aer Lingus is ready when you are to take you home.

MICHAEL: Okay, put your hands up in the air!

Come on, let's get a-wavin'!

♪ In my heart, its rightful queen ♪ ♪ Ever loving, ever tender ♪ That's it!

♪ Ever true ♪ ♪ Like the sun, your smile has shone ♪ Go on, Wexford!

♪ Gladdening all it glowed upon ♪ ♪