MICHAEL: 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 back in Cork, but I'm not here for the beauty this time.

I'm here for the food and drink.

I want to know where it comes from, who made it, and most importantly, how it tastes.

So why not join me and pop the Cork?

♪ ♪ 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.

♪ MICHAEL: I'm here in the Port of Kinsale, known for its picturesque harbor, it's ancient fort, but most of all food.

And I have the perfect person to tell us all about it.

Suzanne, how are you?

SUZANNE: I'm great Michael.

How are you?

MICHAEL: I'm grand.

I'm grand.

However, I'll be even better when you've shown me around what is great about the food of this great town.

SUZANNE: I'd be absolutely delighted to.

MICHAEL: Tell us about it.

SUZANNE: Kinsale is a really historic town.

It's also real food town.

Everything about it has really been influenced by the harbor.

We're in a really unique position because even though we've only five, five and a half thousand people live here, we've over 60 venues where you can eat and drink.

So we're absolutely spoiled rotten and the standard and the quality is really high here.

MICHAEL: So what makes that standard so high?

SUZANNE: Because we have amazing ingredients.

We have like phenomenal provenance in the area and so really talented as well as what they do.

MICHAEL: So you are going to give me the best of what you've got?

SUZANNE: Absolutely, yeah.

MICHAEL: All right come on and show me.

SUZANNE: Okay, let's go.

♪ MICHAEL: Suzanne, Siobhan.

I have heard about the Black Pig here in the heart of Kinsale for the longest time, and I love the idea of pairing fancy great wine from France with great Irish produce.

SIOBHAN: Absolutely.

I mean that's- the Black Pig was kind of born out of our passion for wine and food and then knowing the fabulous array of producers that we have here in West Cork and throughout Ireland.

So it was a very easy combination and it works beautifully.

Yeah.

MICHAEL: Tell me about what you've brought to me today because I'm looking at this cheese.

You mentioned cheese and it steals my heart.

So tell us about it.

SIOBHAN: This is a Milleens cheese and Milleens is made by Veronica Steele in the Beara Peninsula.

It's a washed-rind, cow's milk cheese.

And then this one here is an oak-smoked cheese from Gubbeen, another famous family making cheeses since the 1970s in Ireland.

And that's from the Ferguson family.

And this is a harder style cheese.

So again, lovely with our homemade brown bread, which Miriam made earlier this morning.

And then a little butter.

And very simply, you know, I think these are products that stand for themselves and they're just so delicious.

MICHAEL: Where do I start?

SIOBHAN: Well, I'm gonna let you dig in.

I'm gonna give you a plate here.

MICHAEL: The best way, just leave it to me.

SIOBHAN: Can I pour you a little red wine?

MICHAEL: If you must.

(Suzanne laughs) SIOBHAN: So this is interesting Michael, 'cause this is made by an Irish man actually in the Rhone Valley.

SIOBHAN: Probably the closest thing we'll get to Irish wine.

SIOBHAN: I think so, yeah.

(pouring wine) There you go.

MICHAEL: Thank you.

SIOBHAN: Enjoy.

MICHAEL: This cheese is magnificent.

SIOBHAN: Isn't it lovely?

SUZANNE: Sláinte.

MICHAEL: Sláinte.

SUZANNE: Welcome.

MICHAEL: Thank you.

Here's to Kinsale.

BOTH: Sláinte.

MICHAEL: Have I mentioned I love my job?

SUZANNE: So do we, I love my job too.

SIOBHAN: Yeah, we love our job, yeah.

SUZANNE: Wine, cheese, you can't go wrong.

♪ MICHAEL: So Suzanne, we're here in the tap room and I hear you've a little treat for me.

SUZANNE: We have an amazing treat in the form of Paul from Bastion, which is our Michelin star restaurant in Kinsale.

PAUL: I always get, look at my shoes when people say that.

I can't take a compliment.

(laughs) MICHAEL: Well I suppose you're like everyone in this part of the world, but that is no mean feat.

Fair dues to you.

Did you come here because of the reputation for food or did you bring the reputation with you?

PAUL: I don't know.

I think we helped, we added to it a little bit, but it was already here.

It's been here since the 70s.

It's been Ireland's food capital since a long time.

MICHAEL: So what have we got here in front of us?

PAUL: We have some oysters from Jamie in Haven Shellfish.

These oysters here, we're about to open one up just for you.

MICHAEL: Okay.

PAUL: So little oyster knife.

MICHAEL: So I've never eaten an oyster before in my life.

What is the key to eating and enjoying oyster?

SUZANNE: Well, I would say the key to eating them is actually to pair them with a really good local stout.

MICHAEL: Oh, very good.

SUZANNE: Yeah.

MICHAEL: Why the stout?

SUZANNE: Because like stout tends to have a sort of more bitter flavor to it, and oysters tend to have like a more salty flavor.

But if you actually put them together, the stout actually makes the oyster sweeter and the oyster makes the stout less bitter.

Drink a bit of the stout.

MICHAEL: Oh yeah.

SUZANNE: Then shoot the oyster.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

SUZANNE: And then take another drink of your stout.

MICHAEL: Anyone who knows me knows that I love me stout, so... SUZANNE: Stout.

MICHAEL: Stout first.

SUZANNE: Stout.

MICHAEL: Right.

PAUL: Man's first oyster.

SUZANNE: Tell you.

MICHAEL: I love this bit.

SUZANNE: Yeah.

♪ PAUL: There she goes.

SUZANNE: Yeah.

MICHAEL: Oh yeah.

That is absolutely fantastic.

And it says everything about Kinsale to me.

I'll be back.

We were wrapping up in the Tap Tavern when I saw this fella.

And like all things Irish, there's a story involved.

I'll let the owner Mary, regale you.

Mary, I'm very lucky.

I've been to hundreds of pubs all over Ireland, but I think this might be one of the finest that I've been in.

How long have you been in operation here?

MARY: I was brought up here, I grew up here.

I went to school from here.

So I'm still here.

MICHAEL: Do you have people from all over the world coming in?

MARY: All over the world.

MICHAEL: I couldn't believe the story that I heard a couple of minutes ago that you got a call from outer space.

MARY: I did from Dan Tani, the astronaut.

I wasn't here when he called 'cause he's a friend of ours.

He rang me back.

MICHAEL: So are you telling me that an astronaut flew up to outer space and you are the person he thought of to call?

MARY: Well I'm not sure if I was the only one, but I know he rang me twice.

(Michael laughs) MICHAEL: Anyone could ring you once.

(Mary laughs) ♪ Not quite as far as outer space, but coming all the way from Scotland, here's Laura Keegan.

♪ ♪ I wanted to just think a little and talk a little bit about blending Scottish culture and Irish culture.

LAURA: Oh yeah.

MICHAEL: And you do it seamlessly.

And I was watching ye earlier, and I don't quite know what you've done, but it's magical in that it's- there's nothing jarring about the two cultures.

Obviously we've got similarities.

LAURA: Yeah.

MICHAEL: But your culture is very unique as well.

LAURA: Yeah.

MICHAEL: How you do that?

LAURA: Yeah, I think a lot of it is, you know, looking at both different cultures and like for example, a lot of the songs and the music, there is such similarities.

Like the fact that Loch Lomond and... COLM: Red is the Rose.

LAURA: Red is the Rose.

It's the same tune but with different lyrics.

And then similarly, there's a piece that Colm's just brought- actually we've just released called the Hurling Man.

COLM: Yeah, yeah.

LAURA: And that was originally written about shinty.

So although we're quite different, there's so many similarities and also the welcoming nature of Scotland.

Like I really feel when I go to Ireland, I'm at home, 'cause it's so similar to the kind of the environment.

COLM: Yeah.

And likewise, when I'm in Glasgow.

It just feels like a different county in Ireland, you know, and straight across the road.

MICHAEL: I'm sure she's delighted to hear that.

(Colm laughing) COLM: I mean that in a nice way as well.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: The Montenotte Hotel has always prided itself on its luxurious accommodations.

High on a hill overlooking the Republic of Cork City, they've added something new, eco suites.

Nestled among lush greenery, these suites are designed with a unique shape, offering guests a truly idyllic experience.

Each suite has its own terrace providing seamless indoor-outdoor living.

It's also only steps away from their own cinema, and my personal favorite, the Glasshouse.

Jake, we're here in the Glasshouse, your fantastic cocktail bar in the Montenotte Hotel.

But more importantly, I am looking at what I've heard all about.

You guys have a very special drink here in the hotel.

JAKE: We do indeed.

MICHAEL: What is it?

JAKE: So this is our Montenotte Gin actually.

We've got our very own gin for the hotel, which is quite unique.

We actually- we get the Blackwater Distillery to distill it for us.

MICHAEL: What's in it?

Like, is there a particular flavor in the gin that you use?

JAKE: So the main botanical would be lavender.

So the lavender really comes through, but it's also got notes of rhubarb and pink peppercorns.

MICHAEL: So I guess it's in the tasting then.

Why don't you make me a gin and tonic?

Tell you what, make me that perfect gin and tonic.

Go on.

JAKE: Sounds like a plan.

♪ (pouring drink) MICHAEL: Devil's in the details.

I want to taste this lavender.

♪ Oh, it's great.

It's delicate and it's crisp.

I love it.

JAKE: Fantastic.

♪ MICHAEL: Out of the city and into the country.

They say Cork is the Texas of Ireland, bigger than the other counties, it too is a land of big sky, crystal bays and wide-open cattle pasture.

It's that grassland that we've come here for and for the cornucopia that can be produced on account of it.

♪ About a year ago, I had the pleasure of tasting Five Farms for the first time, and here we are on the south coast of Cork and I get to find out that story.

Would you do us a favor?

Would you tell me how in the name of God does this all happen?

JOHNNY: I believe that this was the best place in Ireland that could produce the highest quality Irish cream.

MICHAEL: I guess Cork is known for having that quality land and for producing great dairy cows.

What's the reason for that John Joe?

JOHN: It's primarily down, Mick, to soil type.

Soil type is excellent here for growing grass, and the cows love that.

So you'll get an abundance of grass into them, and, when Johnny came to us here with a proposition... MICHAEL: Did he just show off at the door one day and say, "Listen, I want to, I want to put together, I want to make a cream liqueur?"

JOHN: More or less.

(all laughing) That's Johnny, these Donegal lads.

JOHNNY: My idea was basically to celebrate the tradition of Irish cream manufacturing and creation.

What we decided to do was to dial up all the components like it would've been made originally.

MICHAEL: Right, right, right, right.

JOHNNY: So a lot more cream, a lot more whiskey.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

JOHNNY: And that's what you taste in Five Farms.

MICHAEL: And speaking of which, I think it's time to taste it.

♪ Tara, the two of us are here after a day on the farm, mucked up to our eyeballs, but I guess I've had a drink in worse places.

TARA: Exactly.

MICHAEL: What do you think is the most important ingredient of all of these?

TARA: I'd probably say the fresh Irish cream.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

TARA: It really does.

MICHAEL: I mean, I was tempted to say the whiskey.

But if the cream isn't good.

TARA: Exactly.

MICHAEL: Yeah, I totally understand.

But here we go, let's have a go.

Right so-- TARA: All right.

MICHAEL: Cheers.

Sláinte.

♪ Oh, I love it.

It's just gorgeous.

♪ After mucking about at the farm in Bandon this morning, we're here at the Bantry House and Gardens for some afternoon tea with the owner of this great estate, Julie Shellswell-White.

♪ Julie, first of all, let me apologize for being dressed like one of your groundsmen, but I've been wandering through the farms of Cork and thank you for welcoming us all into your home because it is indeed your home.

JULIE: It is, yes.

MICHAEL: And I'm sorry to say that I don't know an awful lot about this great house and I'd love you to tell me your story.

JULIE: This house, Bantry House, has been in my family since the 1700s.

It was my ancestor, Richard White, who bought it in 1739, moved in in 1765 and we've been here ever since.

MICHAEL: What is life like daily here for you running this great estate?

JULIE: Never boring.

I moved home in 2018.

I was in Dublin and I always say I haven't been bored since 2018.

So, Bantry House keeps us very busy as a family.

We host weddings, we have a B&B.

We serve afternoon tea, we're open for visits to the garden and to the house.

Sometimes movies are made here.

MICHAEL: So there are two things that I want to talk about.

First of all, the afternoon teas.

So anyone can come in here and have this magnificent display of food with afternoon tea in a great estate?

JULIE: Yes.

MICHAEL: So if I come to stay in this great house as a guest of your B&B what's the experience like?

JULIE: Very unique.

We have six bedrooms in the east wing and what I always think is most unique about our bed and breakfast is that the wing is connected to this room.

So in the evening when all the visitors go home, you have access to this room exclusively as a B&B guest.

You can pour yourself a gin and tonic, have a cheeseboard, have afternoon tea and just enjoy the room.

It's very special.

MICHAEL: Speaking of enjoying the room, it's time for us to have a cup of tea.

JULIE: Sure.

MICHAEL: And is it okay that I pour?

JULIE: Please.

Thank you.

♪ MICHAEL: How great is it to be in a room surrounded by magnificent portraits of your ancestors?

JULIE: Yeah, it's great.

MICHAEL: How does it feel?

JULIE: I suppose, not to sound silly, but it feels sort of normal because I grew up here.

But you know, obviously I feel very proud and I'm very, very, yeah, very proud of my heritage, you know, and I know a lot of people pay money to know their ancestry.

I have it hanging on the wall every day.

MICHAEL: It's right there on the wall here.

You have one special man over here that you want to talk about.

JULIE: So, throughout the 19th century were the were the Earls of Bantry, four in total.

But the second Earl, Richard, who's pictured here, the house was designed by him.

He formalized the garden and he collected most of the really special pieces that we have in the house.

MICHAEL: I have one more question for you.

Where are you going to put your portrait?

(Julie laughs) JULIE: I'm gonna get the biggest one and I'm gonna put it on the biggest wall.

(laughs) ♪ So we're standing in the Italian parterre now, which is a typical Italian- style formal garden.

MICHAEL: I'm just sorry that I'm not here to see these bloom.

I think we're about three or four weeks away.

I'd nearly stay.

JULIE: Yeah.

MICHAEL: Can I move in?

JULIE: Yeah, sure.

(both laughing) You'll have to work.

MICHAEL: Okay.

Move just a few minutes in land from Bantry House, and we come to Bantry Bay Pony Trekking, where I need to see a man or a woman about a horse.

You know, the crew behind these cameras couldn't be happier than when I am really uncomfortable.

But today, in truth, I couldn't be happier than to be here at Bantry Bay Pony Trekking for a badly needed lesson.

GEORGIA: What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna get you to hop up now.

MICHAEL: Grand.

GEORGIA: So you can walk up the steps and hold the saddle.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

GEORGIA: Put your foot in and now you're gonna swing your other leg over.

MICHAEL: Okay.

GEORGIA: Yeah.

Ready?

MICHAEL: Now, should I hold the saddle like that?

GEORGIA: Hold onto the saddle?

Yeah, exactly.

And just swing your other leg over.

Exactly.

And then you sit down and we put both feet in.

MICHAEL: Grand.

GEORGIA: Tell her, you can tell her, "Walk on, Penny," we'll go for a little walk... MICHAEL: Walk on Penny.

GEORGIA: We'll go for a little walk and you can practice your steering.

Okay, good.

♪ MICHAEL: So, Georgia, I wasn't prepared for the view when I just came over the top of this hill.

Are you ever bored by it, because... GEORGIA: No.

MICHAEL: I've never seen anything like it.

GEORGIA: It changes all the time.

The light is always changing.

So you've always got, like today it's lovely because you get clouds and shadows and stuff like that, so it always changes.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: I am a huge fan of this elevated music that the Bow Tides creates.

I'm particularly proud that in the middle of all of you is my girl Katie Grennan.

We have worked together for a long time.

I've known you since you were a wee little girl.

Really.

And I'm getting- I'm very proud.

KATIE: Thank you Michael.

MICHAEL: I'm a proud papa.

KATIE: Thank you.

MICHAEL: Particularly when I see you in this collective, because it's an elevated sound that I think takes Irish music to something that's a little bit different.

Tell me about that sound.

KATIE: Sure.

So we actually started as a pandemic project back in 2020.

All of us were grounded from our various other projects and we were looking to connect with some of our friends that we have known for a while.

And in isolation we put together pretty much an entire show full of arrangements.

And then once things started to open back up again, we were able to come together and play our first gig together without actually ever having the five of us been together in the same room.

MICHAEL: Is that right?

KATIE: Yeah.

MICHAEL: That's incredible.

KATIE: Yeah.

♪ ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: What's it like to be touring now?

I remember my touring days vaguely.

And it is tough.

Are you all from different cities or?

ERIC: Absolutely.

We live in Colorado and- on the Front Range of Colorado.

And I know Ellery Klein here makes home in Boston.

And we have two Chicagoans here, so... MICHAEL: So what's next?

Any chance of a recording?

KATIE: Yes.

Well we recorded our debut album back in 2022 and that was released with great aplomb.

And yeah, we might record another one coming up here.

♪ ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: Thanks for joining me on my travels Round County Cork.

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 ♪ ♪