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.

This is Galway, one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities in Ireland.

And these streets have busked the likes of Ed Sheeran, Hozier, and Seamus O Flatharta, who we'll meet a little later on in this show.

This place is alive with great food, culture, and music.

♪ ♪ ♪ ANNOUNCER: Ireland with Michael is made possible by... ♪ ANNOUNCER: Whether traveling to Ireland for the first time or just longing to return, there's plenty more information available at Ireland.com.

♪ ANNOUNCER: CIE Tours.

Sharing the magic of Ireland for nearly 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: Galway City, a European capital of culture located in the mouth of Galway Bay, is alive with music.

(people chattering) ♪ On the streets, you'll hear every sort of style and genre.

So to start us off on the right foot, I ducked into the pub to meet a woman who can do it all from reeling folk tunes to mellow jazz.

♪ If you ever go across the sea to Ireland ♪ I am so happy to be in this room with this lovely person.

When I think of this great city, I think of the quintessential Galway girl and that is Michelle Lally.

How are you?

MICHELLE: Thanks.

Oh, it's great to see you.

I'm doing brilliant.

MICHAEL: Now I first met you about 10 years ago, I was so lucky to have you as a singer, as a guest artist on my first PBS special.

I was amazed that you said yes and you came along and we put on a pretty great show if you don't mind me saying.

(Michelle chuckles) And since then you've come home, you're not a touring artist as much anymore but you sing an awful lot here in Ireland, right?

MICHELLE: I do.

I do.

And I love just touring around the country and doing smaller gigs.

Yeah, I mean I cut my teeth in doing the larger venues and touring the States and touring the world really, you know, with De Dannan.

But yeah, I'm very much a home bird, I'm just at that point I suppose where I'm really enjoying touring around Ireland, and doing smaller gigs, and meeting people, and I came out with an album there last year.

♪ And maybe at the closing of your day ♪ ♪ You will sit and watch ♪ ♪ The Moon rise over Claddagh ♪ ♪ And watch the Sun go down in Galway Bay ♪ MICHAEL: So I've been asking everybody this around town.

What is the secret to Galway?

MICHELLE: That would be telling... (Michael and Michelle laughing) Ah, no, look, I think the lovely thing about Galway is that I think it's the people, I think it's a city that doesn't feel like a city, it feels like a lovely small town.

Everybody knows everybody.

Everybody is very friendly.

We've got great music here from everything from trad, to jazz, to pop, and there's so much to see and do in Galway.

And we have so many different cultures here as well, which makes the city even better.

Do you know?

It just enriches what Galway is all about.

MICHAEL: Of course.

And I think everybody that comes to Galway feels so welcome.

And I think the magic about Galway is that there are so many people that come to Galway and they don't leave.

They might come for two weeks or three weeks initially, but they find, they fit in so well here they don't want to leave, and they stay, they don't go home.

And it's happened to many, many people.

So, ah, it's hard to pinpoint what the secret is.

I think there's so much to Galway.

It has so much to offer.

It's just a magical place.

♪ For the strangers came ♪ ♪ and tried to teach us their ways ♪ ♪ They scorned us just for being what we are ♪ ♪ Well, they might as well go ♪ ♪ Chasing after moonbeans ♪ ♪ Or light the penny candle from a star ♪ This song is one of my favorites.

I grew up watching all the old movies and musicals, and this song is from one of my favorites, "The Quiet Man."

And it was also a huge hit for Bing Crosby, back in the '40s.

♪ And if there's going to be a life hereafter ♪ ♪ And faith I am so sure there's going to be ♪ ♪ I will ask my God to let me make my heaven ♪ ♪ In that dear old land across the Irish Sea ♪ ♪ I will ask my God to let me make my heaven ♪ ♪ In that dear old land across the Irish Sea ♪ ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: Of all the towns in Ireland, Galway is a walking city.

So there's no one better to take us around than the man who walks for a living, giving one of the most insightful and entertaining tours of these streets that you'll get from anybody.

BRIAN: Michael.

MICHAEL: Brian Nolan.

BRIAN: Welcome to Galway.

MICHAEL: How are you?

BRIAN: You made it at last and you brought the weather.

MICHAEL: You're welcome.

BRIAN: Time to go for a walk, come on.

MICHAEL: We will.

BRIAN: You're walking on the street that Christopher Columbus walked on in 1484.

I know you don't believe me, but he came here 1484.

The local wag said he came here looking for directions.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

Brian is one of my favorite people in Galway, wildly entertaining and a wealth of information.

Some of his stories, however, can get very Irish.

BRIAN: Anyway, this street, it hasn't really changed in 500 years.

MICHAEL: Which is why I was a little surprised to find out that Columbus surely did come to Galway, even if it was a few years earlier than we heard, in 1477.

BRIAN: This would have been exactly where he walked on.

He would have come through here to say a prayer of thanks for a safe journey to the Church of Saint Nicholas.

MICHAEL: It was in fact Saint Nicholas's, patron saint of seafarers, where he visited.

And there we went next, where a market was underway.

BRIAN: I've been coming to this vegetable shop for 30 years, probably.

They know my potatoes.

They have them at the back here for me.

Alright.

MICHAEL: Your potatoes.

BRIAN: You know my potatoes.

Alright.

So, we've held the market here every year, every year for the last, oh, 700 years.

1484, Richard the Second was the King of England.

He gave us a city charter allowing Galway to elect a mayor and a city corporation and hold a market here every Saturday.

Of course, he got the taxes.

MICHAEL: And you got the potatoes.

BRIAN: And I got the spuds.

(both laughing) MICHAEL: The fair weather we brought to this seaside city didn't last for long.

And pretty soon some Irish sunshine was falling from the sky.

We run for cover beneath the great dome of Galway Cathedral.

We are here in the heart of the city, Brian.

The Luminosa String Orchestra are playing behind us in this magnificent cathedral.

Can you tell me about the age of it and what it's made from?

BRIAN: They started building this on the site of the old city jail.

For 200 years.

There were 400 prisoners incarcerated here.

MICHAEL: Huh!

BRIAN: And then they demolished the jail in 1928.

By 1960, they had started this cathedral and they built it from the ground up using limestone and granite acquired from the quarries in Ballinasloe and Menlo and Connemara marble.

As you can see it's beautiful here at the Cathedral.

I think it's fantastic.

It's the newest the youngest cathedral in Europe.

MICHAEL: I would like to take us out of the city actually to see one of the oldest cathedrals.

BRIAN: So, we'll be going from the 20th century right back to the 8th century.

MICHAEL: Fantastic.

Let's go.

♪ ♪ Out of the city we go heading south to visit the impressive ruins of that medieval monastery.

This country bordering the vast Karst Burren of County Galway was once heavily wooded.

It was from these trees that St. Colman Mac Duagh emerged in the sixth century.

And according to legend, in this spot where his jeweled girdle fell, indicating to him the place to set down a monastery.

The abbey would grow over the next 600 years to as many as three or four hundred monks becoming the most important church for the Celtic dynasty of the Ui Fiachrach, kings whose holdings extended from the Atlantic to the mountains of the Burren.

Blood was spilled here when family split and nephew fought uncle bitterly for these lands.

But though some have died by blade on this site, none have died by lightning.

So it's said that this sacred ground will not permit it.

The claim was put to the test in a great storm which did indeed strike a man.

But whatever forces are at work here, they proved to be mighty indeed as he was flung into the air and landed in nearby County Clare, and it was there, a safe distance away, where he expired instead.

So Brian, tell us a little bit more about the place.

BRIAN: I love to call this Ireland's NASA.

This is where we launch our spacecraft from.

See that tower there?

(Michael laughing) (Brian chuckles) It's Ireland's tallest round tower, 36 meters, about 120 feet or thereabouts.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

BRIAN: And it leans by about nine degrees to one side.

MICHAEL: Yeah, I see.

BRIAN: Not quite as much as the Leaning Tower of Pisa but it's much older than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

MICHAEL: Oh.

BRIAN: And you can see the hill behind here, the Burren hills, filled with limestone and gorgeous flowers, and it's a beautiful place to visit.

So that attracted McDuagh.

This was the pathway if you like the path between the Burren, where the cattle were, and the east Galway, where the track to Dublin was to do the High Kings in Tara, that type of thing.

♪ MICHAEL: After thoroughly exploring the monastery, I bid farewell to Brian as I ventured north again, well beyond the city into a very special place to meet some very talented young people.

I'm standing on the North West Frontier of Ireland in the Gaeltacht, the Irish speaking part of the country in Connemara.

We're in County Galway, only a few miles from the hustle and bustle of the city.

But here, we're a world away, to meet the O' Flaherty family who carry the traditions of Gaelic and of Irish music into the 21st century.

Caoimhe agus Seamus, Taimid anseo.

We're here in Connemara.

I am delighted to be here with you.

Can you tell me about this beautiful spot and maybe a little bit more about how it influences you as artists?

SEAMUS: Absolutely.

So we're here in the village of Ardmore in the Connemara Gaeltacht, the Irish speaking region of Galway.

And I suppose there in itself that the language has a huge influence on our singing.

We would have been brought up through the Sean-nós style of singing or the old style when directly translated.

So that's the real ancient style of our Irish song through the Irish language here in Connemara.

And I suppose, ah, we wouldn't have been exposed to anything else until very later on in life.

So even when coming into the trad scene, and the instrumentals, and stuff like that, it had a huge influence on the types of tunes we would have pursued, uh, arranging and stuff like that.

So, I have to say we're coming into our adulthood now we really starting to appreciate how lucky we were to grow up here speaking the language and being immersed in such a rich culture.

MICHAEL: But your culture it doesn't involve just singing, you're all, the whole family plays every instrument in the book from what I can figure.

SEAMUS: We do try all right, yeah.

There's a big mix of them in there.

The eldest brother, they were two older brothers, and they kinda roped into it so it was inevitable.

If it was in the family, we're going to do it and that goes back all the way through Dad's family and Mom's family as well.

MICHAEL: Well, I love...

Personally, I heard you singing some Sean-nós a while back.

I'd love you to give us a little piece of that today.

SEAMUS: A little bit, we'll do that.

We'll give you a verse of "Eileanóir."

♪ Mo ghrá thú den chéad fhéachaint thú ♪ ♪ Eileanóir a rún ♪ ♪ Is ort a bhím ag smaoineamh ♪ ♪ Tráth a mbím im shuain ♪ ♪ Mo ghrá den tsaol is a chéad-searc ♪ ♪ Tú is deise ná ban Eireann ♪ ♪ Chuaichín roimh an lá ♪ ♪ Bhí bua eile aici nach ndéarfad ♪ ♪ Sí grá mi chroí 's mo chead-searc ♪ ♪ A bhruinnilín deas óig ♪ ♪ Is tú is deise milse póig ♪ ♪ Chúns mhairfead beo ♪ ♪ Beidh gean a'm ort ♪ ♪ Mar is deas mar a sheolfainn gamhnaí leat ♪ ♪ A Eileanóir ♪ ♪ A rún ♪ MICHAEL: I could have stood there all day listening to that ancient music mingling with the ocean wind, but we had dinner plans.

♪ And the venue couldn't be more lush.

It seems that for centuries people have been buying up lakeside property and building gorgeous houses to max the view.

You can actually rent out this private manor home, but you won't be finding it on Airbnb.

You see, when Charles and Camilla visited a couple of years ago, this is where they stayed.

Now, I don't exactly have the funds at the moment to be staying where royalty lay down their heads, but luckily I have a friend on the inside, and what's even better, he's a chef.

I think I can smell it from here.

So let's hurry inside.

So of all the array of people that I know around the country, knowing one of the top chefs in Ireland, Andrew Rudd, it takes the biscuit.

What are you cooking for me today?

ANDREW: Ah, well, I'm gonna do, and this is from the estate, I'm gonna do a wild venison, which is just amazing, and I'm gonna flambé that in Dingle whiskey and I'm using some other ingredients here from the garden.

I've got some wild garlic.

I've got some potatoes.

I've got some carrots.

But I'm gonna jump straight into this.

I've got the pan really hot.

Now, here we have for the venison, I'm gonna season that with a bit of salt, so this is just amazing.

This is aged over a period of 42 days.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

ANDREW: And I'm gonna basically just kind of flambé that and I'm gonna turn it and get the heat going, get a crust going, and then I'm gonna finish it off with the whiskey and into the oven.

So now, the other thing I'm gonna do here is I'm gonna add a little bit more of a flavor component in here.

So I've got these beautiful wild garlic.

MICHAEL: That you can smell all around the kitchen.

ANDREW: They're incredible.

I've got some potatoes here.

So this is gonna be a bit of a one pot wonder.

And I've got some carrots here as well.

Now we've got enough heat in there, I'm gonna turn that a couple of times.

As you can see here that that's beginning to actually seal.

MICHAEL: Seal.

ANDREW: So I have the spinach here iin another hot pan.

So I've got some butter, some olive oil, and if you'll let me by you there for one second.

MICHAEL: Sure.

ANDREW: And this was harvested directly from the garden this morning.

MICHAEL: You work in this gorgeous property quite a bit, right?

ANDREW: I do, yeah.

I've been working here for about 10 years.

I'm really kind of bespoke events because it's available for hire.

MICHAEL: It sounds like the perfect vacation.

ANDREW: So it is just amazing.

So I'm gonna add into that now, my whiskey.

So we've got a fair bit of heat in there, and this is gonna add a nice little bit of flavor.

So... MICHAEL: Gorgeous.

ANDREW: If you know what I'm gonna do here...

There we go.

MICHAEL: Well, hey!

ANDREW: Okay.

So now that's gonna burn the alcohol off Michael: Uh-huh.

ANDREW: And that allows me then to put it straight into the oven, MICHAEL: Cool.

ANDREW: And I'm gonna finish that.

But that's gonna be a really nice dish.

And then we have our spinach here.

So the spinach, as you can see, it just needs to be very, very lightly cooked.

MICHAEL: Can I just ask, so you're not a local, so you are from Dublin.

Your restaurant is in Dublin, is that right?

ANDREW: Yeah, it's a private dining venue.

So what we specialize in is events and event management and bespoke curated events.

MICHAEL: Yes.

ANDREW: And this is one of the locations that I cook in.

MICHAEL: Ha!

ANDREW: And it's just fantastic.

MICHAEL: Well, I want to find out a little bit about the history of the place.

So we will see when I come back, when this is done, right?

ANDREW: If there's any left.

(Michael chuckles) MICHAEL: There better be.

While the venison cooks and my stomach rumbles, I get the chance to talk to the king in his keep, Dominic Gwyn Jones.

So, Dom, I'm here a couple of hours and I'm feeling very peaceful and I can't imagine how it must feel to be able to come here all the time.

How long have you and your family owned the estate?

DOMINIC: Well, my father bought the place back in the early '70s, uh, so it's really been part of the family for as long as I can remember.

Been very fortunate to have lived here.

And it's been a huge plus, and part of it, I guess, a very privileged life to have been brought up here and especially now with our kids.

MICHAEL: Yeah, I can't imagine having such a vast area of land to allow your kids to run and play and enjoy this beautiful serene surroundings.

DOMINIC: It's been very spoiling suddenly with, with everything that the Lough Cutra has to offer, such as the fishing and the horses here.

And I'm incredibly lucky, Michael.

MICHAEL: Having heard a bit of what life is like living on an estate of this scale, Andrew took me on a tour of those luxe amenities available to guests who rent out the place.

ANDREW: So isn't this impressive?

MICHAEL: Wow.

You are so lucky to get to work in a beautiful place like this.

You host events here.

ANDREW: We've done a few weddings, but most particularly about three years ago we had a group of 30 Americans who stayed here for 14 days.

One of the evenings, we had a banquet in here, so we had tables going right down the middle.

And we hired in costumes and we had a Celtic dinner and we just...

It was fabulous.

Okay, so this is the goth room.

MICHAEL: It is magnificent.

Look at that ceiling.

ANDREW: I mean, it's a wonderful place to sit down, chill, relax.

Could you imagine if you're here at Christmas time?

Christmas tree in the corner, you got your brandy, you know, you're reading a book, kids running around the place.

So this is the formal dining room where we would entertain guests every evening.

Different meal, different menu.

But you know what's really interesting in this room?

We have some interesting light bulbs.

There's just one other customer in the world, it's a significant palace in London.

MICHAEL: Buckingham?

ANDREW: Buckingham Palace is the only other customer for these light bulbs.

MICHAEL: Wow.

Now thoroughly wowed by the royal levels of luxury, we return to the kitchen where a meal fit for a king is coming out of the oven.

No king in sight, mind you.

I guess Andrew will have to make do with my commoner's taste buds.

It looks spectacular.

ANDREW: I could smell that all day.

I don't even need to taste it, I'm just gonna smell it.

And that garlic is coming through.

MICHAEL: So, a lot of people ask me, back in the States, what is quintessential Irish food?

What is distinctly Irish about this food?

ANDREW: Do you know what?

It's locally sourced, locally produced, and it's all about the provenance of the food, the provenance of the ingredients, the quality of the ingredients.

Nothing, none of this has been imported, you know, So we've cut down on the carbon emissions.

Everything that you see in front of you now MICHAEL: Yes.

ANDREW: Has been sourced on the estate, and this would be replicated throughout Ireland, you know, with restaurants, hotels, bars.

People buy local, if at all possible.

MICHAEL: Well, could we taste it?

ANDREW: We can taste it.

So here we go.

So I'm gonna let that rest.

MICHAEL: Yes.

ANDREW: Just for a little sec, and I'm gonna plate this up here as well.

So we have our lovely wild garlic.

We have our potatoes.

We've got some lovely baby carrots.

Here we go.

So here we go with our venison.

So I'm gonna do nice little thin slices.

MICHAEL: Yes.

ANDREW: Look at that, isn't that just divine.

MICHAEL: I don't just want to look at it though, Andrew.

ANDREW: And here you go.

MICHAEL: Look at the color.

ANDREW: Give that a go.

Now, you might need a little knife.

MICHAEL: Oh, yeah.

ANDREW: Unless you want to put the whole piece in.

MICHAEL: No, I'm going all in.

ANDREW: You going all in?

MICHAEL: Yeah, I want to taste this.

Mmm.

That is gorgeous.

ANDREW: Can you get the Dingle whiskey in that?

'Cause it- MICHAEL: I can.

ANDREW: It will burn off.

It's quite subtle.

MICHAEL: It stands on its own.

ANDREW: It really does.

MICHAEL: Andrew, this is gorgeous food.

ANDREW: Off you go again.

MICHAEL: I'm going in again.

(Andrew laughs) Thanks for joining me on my travels around Galway.

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

But for now, Slàinte, cheers.

Gorgeous.

ANNOUNCER: Want to continue your travels to Ireland?

A deluxe Ireland with Michael DVD featuring all episodes of Season 1 and 2 plus bonus concert footage is available for $30.

A copy of the Ireland with Michael companion travel guide featuring places to visit as seen in Seasons one and two is also available for $30.

A set of both is available for $55.

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

ANNOUNCER: Ireland with Michael was made possible by... ♪ ANNOUNCER: Whether traveling to Ireland for the first time or just longing to return, there's plenty more information available at Ireland.com.

♪ ANNOUNCER: CIE Tours, Sharing the magic of Ireland for nearly 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: OK, put your hands up in the air!

Come on, let's get a-waving.

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

♪ Ever true ♪ ♪ Like the Sun your smile has shone ♪ MICHAEL: Go on, Wexford.

♪ Gladdening all it glowed upon ♪ ♪