(upbeat music) - [Darragh] My name is Darragh McCullough.

I'm a writer and farmer from County Meath.

I'm interested in absolutely everything that's around me, and I do love showing my homeland off.

You know that saying, "Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life?"

Well, here I am presenting a TV show where I curate a money-can't-buy trip for different writers that I'm gonna show around.

The thing about us writers is that we're a curious bunch.

We're able to string a sentence together and we love getting out of the house.

So join me as I get to see what's around me through authors' eyes as we follow the "Writer's Way."

This episode, it's my pleasure to take Jan Carson along the "Writer's Way."

Jan is from County Antrim and has just published her fourth novel, the amazing "Few and Far Between."

Jan weaves incredibly sharp and funny stories that entertain and beguile.

And so she sits snugly on the list of Ireland's finest living writers.

I've arranged for Jan's trip along the "Writer's Way" to start at Killeen Castle, featuring a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course where the Solheim Cup has been hosted.

Killeen Castle's PGA golf pro is Emmanuel Riblet, who has agreed to take Jan out for her first ever round of golf.

- Good morning, Jan.

Welcome to Killeen Castle.

Beautiful day today.

Let's get on the golf course.

So this is Killeen Castle, so it was built in 1181.

French castle, you can recognize the, when we pass it, the Norman cross.

But they did some studies on golfers.

They live on average eight years longer.

- No.

- Because of being outdoor, sunlight, and also the social aspect.

So to live long, you need, first of all, to have a good social life and the secondly, a good diet.

But number one is social, yeah.

Tell me a little bit about yourself in terms of golf.

- Okay, I'm really gonna show myself up here because the Carson family have a rich history of crazy golf.

- Oh, yeah.

- And that's about it.

- [Emmanuel] The good news is the ball is on the tee, so it's much easier to hit.

If it was just on the ground, it'd be a much bigger challenge.

- Okay.

- So in terms of position, to get yourself in golf position is we're gonna bend forward from the waist and then you're gonna release the pressure slightly at the back of the knees.

Let's go.

Let's have a practice swing there, okay?

Very good.

Excellent.

- Yeah.

- I can sense it's normal that you grip the club tight because you're afraid it's gonna go shh.

Okay?

It's not gonna fly.

- Yeah, I'm gripping it like I grip a pen when I'm writing.

- [Emmanuel] Wow, brilliant.

What a great shot.

You see?

You never had time to think.

- Was that okay?

- Great shot.

Yeah, you went over there.

Straight down the middle.

- Yay.

- Well done.

Because golf is a bit, you know, complicated, complex.

As a coach, I make it super simple to get you to hit the ball up in the air the first day.

And once you do that, you have a bit of pleasure or satisfaction, yeah?

So hit it a lot softer than you think.

Okay?

Excellent.

Look at the result.

You did great.

You have it.

- Yes!

- Well done, Jan.

You did great.

Well done.

- Thank you.

This is definitely something I would love to do again.

It felt really bizarrely relaxing.

I think just being out here with the nature all around us as well, and a brilliant teacher.

Yeah, I would definitely have a go again.

I didn't think I was a golfer, but maybe I am.

You're a very good teacher though.

- Thank you very much.

I appreciate it.

And you're very good student.

Well done.

- [Darragh] While Jan was immersed in world-class golf, I immersed myself in a section of the Boyne River that flows through the historic town of Trim.

James Murray has an amazing setup at Boyne Valley Activities.

James patiently got me ready to hit the water and showed me some beautiful sights.

- When you start paddling, you're gonna reach forward into your feet.

You wanna go in at your feet and out at your seat.

Okay?

Biggest danger on the moving river is a overhanging tree or a couple of big rocks.

If you're coming into anything you don't like the look of, you need to go into reverse.

So the thumb stays in the same place, hands are in the same position, you just go in at your seat and out at your feet.

So you're pushing the water away like so.

Super stuff.

- Here goes nothing.

- No bother here.

(water splashes) Right, Darragh.

- Here we go.

- All you have to do now is start paddling.

If you're on a rock, that's it.

Well you're gonna just go to the left of that rock slightly.

Do you know what I mean, like?

And then the white water is kind of in the middle, do you know what I mean?

- Yeah.

- So we're just going to just skim the kind of, your right blade should be hitting that rock nearly on the way by.

- Right.

- After you.

- Ready to go.

So basically just right here behind me, Darragh.

- Yeah.

- No big drama.

Remember the main thing is to keep paddling once you hit the white water.

(bright music) Oh, good stuff.

So it's just nice and easy.

Perfect job.

Keep coming this way.

Super.

- [Darragh] You see the town, you see the bridges from a different angle.

This is a lovely bridge, isn't it?

And you know, you can't appreciate bridges from the road.

- [James] This is the oldest bridge in Ireland.

- Is it?

Really?

- 100%.

- [Darragh] How old do they reckon it is?

- [James] There are bridges that are older.

- Yeah.

- Not in use.

They're derelict and they're falling down and they're- - Yeah.

- At capacity.

This was built.

There was a biblical flood in 1300 that spanned the full length of the Boyne, and it washed every bridge out and every sort of structure- - Yeah.

- Up in 1300.

And this bridge was built in 1301, and it's been surveyed and it's checked out ever since on a yearly basis, so it's stayed completely intact.

There's been no work carried out on it.

There's been no strengthening.

- Wow.

- It's built as it was built.

- [Darragh] That's insane, isn't it?

Unreal.

800 years.

700 anyway, says you.

- [James] Whatever.

Yeah.

(water splashes) - James, that's a fair workout.

- No bother here, Darragh.

You're well able for her.

- Jeepers.

There was times now I was going, what am I after?

Let myself in for here?

- Ah, no, you're well.

We knew you'd be well able for.

We knew you'd be well able for.

- But, you know, it's slightly humbling that, as somebody, a local effectively, this is the first time I've been on the river in this part of the world.

- Yeah, yeah, I know, but look at it.

It was great to bring you out here and I'm sure we'll see you again.

- [Darragh] The Battle of the Boyne Visitor Center at Oldbridge Estate commemorates one of the largest battles ever to take place in Europe way back in 1690 when King William of Orange clashed with his father-in-law, King James II.

At stake were the British throne, French dominance in Europe and religious power in Ireland.

William was victorious, and the continent was changed forever.

I've arranged for war historian and Battle of the Boyne expert, Tola Collier, to give Jan a tour.

- The battle itself, as you well know, had very little to do with religion and sectarianism.

It was later very much adopted and became naturally central to the loyalist identity.

- Yeah.

- But the battle that happened on the day was more a power struggle based in Europe.

I, as a military historian, I look at it in terms of the wider context of the war, and of a revolution, if you will, in arms and strategy.

And the Boyne is a perfect example- - Yeah.

- Of that.

- Can you tell me a little bit about the actual battle?

Like, what was the formation?

What did it look like when you looked across this space on the day?

- Well, you're standing here or walking past the Boyne River.

That's the reason the battle took place.

The Boyne has to be defended and crossed.

So we're walking over to the famous battle oak.

This tree is quite extraordinary to think back to 330 years ago that it was actually a witness to the Battle of the Boyne.

It is one of the very few trees, possibly the only tree that would've been here on the day of the battle.

It's one of my favorite places to come on the battlefield.

- It's a beautiful tree.

- Yeah.

- It's very stately and elegant, isn't it?

- Yeah.

I've always wanted to climb it, but I've never had the guts.

- Well, there's a wee ladder to get you started there.

- Absolutely.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Absolutely.

- [Jan] And what is that tree saying?

- [Tola] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

What does it paint- - [Jan] Us writers are always personifying things, but- - [Tola] Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

- [Jan] Trees, their roots go down so deep.

They, you know, trees talk to each other.

- Completely.

- They must have some stories to tell about this space.

- Yeah.

And it is supposed to be about twice the size under the ground- - Yeah.

- As it is above, so they're absolutely amazing there.

You're looking at the two armies combined, about 60,000 soldiers.

So a very, very big battle in every way here at the Battle of the Boyne.

- How many people actually died here?

- Well, there was surprisingly limited number of casualties from the battle.

Only roughly about 1,800 people would've died in the battle.

Now, they're known casualties.

Other people would've been killed.

However, we don't have a record of that.

- It's been really wonderful to be here this afternoon.

For me, having written about some of the things that happened here, having thought that I knew the story, I've learned so much more.

And also learned a little bit of the kind of humanity behind the story as well.

I think sometimes very far distant history, we can place it in a space where it doesn't feel like it happened to real people, but really learned a little bit about the people who were involved in the battle today.

- I'm delighted.

I'm so pleased to hear that 'cause we're all about remembering everybody's heritage and their culture and remembering all the people who share this wonderful island that we both live on.

- Thank you.

- Thanks very much.

- [Darragh] Just outside Laytown is a hidden gem called Sonairte.

Open to all, Sonairte promotes ecological awareness and sustainable living with a walkway by the River Nanny, a cafe, shop, classrooms, and a farm-to-fork garden.

Head gardener, Keith Williams, took a break from his many tasks to show me around.

- Well done.

- It's huge.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

It's fabulous.

There's a lot going on here.

But as you come out the door, first of all, you'll see this is our pride and joy, our little gem, our granny tree as we call it.

If you have a look, it's a kind of a bit of a living wonder.

- How is that still alive?

- Exactly.

You tell me.

It's incredible.

- There's nothing in there.

- If you look, there's no reason why it should be still alive, but it is still- - And it's- - It is still taking nutrients- - More than alive.

- From the ground.

- It's producing fruit.

- [Keith] It's actually producing fruit, and it's quite nice still.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- [Darragh] Are they ready for eating?

- [Keith] You could definitely give 'em a go.

Yeah.

- Oh, it does look good.

Hang on a second.

- Yeah.

- Let me at that there.

Look at that one.

Thanks, granny.

(apple crunches) Oh.

Oh.

- Yeah.

There you go.

- No.

You set me up there.

- Fair play.

You gave it a go.

- [Darragh] So what's the purpose of Sonairte?

- So Sonairte is here really to educate.

My gut feeling and what I really see and what I believe about Sonairte is that it's here to educate.

So obviously, it provides, you know, a place for the community to come and you can spend your whole day here in Sonairte.

But our values and our ethos here is that we believe in sustainability.

We believe in the environment.

We believe in biodiversity.

So Sonairte is here to try and teach those core values to people.

There's not a single chemical that has ever touched the ground in this place, and this garden has been in production for over 200 years, and there's never been a chemical in the ground.

So we're kind of a little bit unique in that respect.

But we also have this kind of core value that everything we grow here is used in our cafe, as well, inside.

So that's a kind of a unique selling point that it's straight from the ground to your plate.

And so it's a little bit nice.

- [Darragh] The way it was always supposed to be.

- [Keith] The way it was supposed to be, exactly.

- Zero food miles.

- Zero food miles.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

So we've got one, two, three, four, five tunnels in total.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, so it's good, but we need them.

We use them all.

So this is our shade tunnel.

- So this is what the onions that the lads were harvesting today?

- That's right, yeah.

The reason that they're like this is we're gonna put them in here to dry off a little well.

- Yeah.

- Once they've dried out, we can start them then.

- Yeah.

- For a longer period, so.

- Yeah, get the skin secure.

- Get the skin secure, exactly, you know.

Now the red onions we could absolutely sell, and people like that lovely, fresh, really, really strong taste off them, but if we dry them out, they'll starve for a little bit longer for us.

- You know, my dad was the biggest onion grower in Ireland.

- Really?

- Yeah.

So you know a thing or two about onions.

- Know me onions.

- You know your onions.

- That's what I tell everyone anyway.

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Actually one of my favorite things about being in here is just that people come with you all the time and just ask you general questions.

So people love to se what's grown on in the polytunnels or somebody might be like, that's it, I haven't.

They've planted some carrots this year and they haven't grown.

So we encourage people to come up and talk to us all the time and share what we know with people.

And like that, you'll learn a lot more, as well, from other people, too, so.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

You know, but it is.

It's a community hub.

So that's what we want to encourage you.

- Well, this is the peak summer.

You can't be standing around chatting to me all day, yeah?

What have you got planned for the rest of the day?

- Yeah, right.

We've got a lot of harvesting still to do.

I've got some cabbage to plant and I've got a lot of lettuce to get into the ground, so.

- There's always something, isn't it?

- There's always something to do.

- Listen, I really appreciate your time.

Pleasure chatting to you.

- And you, Darragh.

It was lovely meeting you.

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

- And the best of luck with the rest of the season.

- [Keith] Yeah.

Thanks so much.

All the best.

- See you.

Shane Holland is one of Meath's finest craftsmen and works in metal.

He's built up a practice at his workshops and showroom in Duleek that spans a wide range from furniture to light fittings to awards.

His base is truly a place of wonders that you could get lost in for hours.

From submarines to jet engines, you never know what you're gonna find here.

Shane has set a task for Jan that will stand the tests of time.

- Good day.

- Wow.

So I just have to have a second to look at this place.

Is this your lair?

Do you know what?

I'm in awe of it because it looks way more organized than my book collection.

It looks like you know where everything is in here.

- Sometimes, you know, it does get a bit messy when we're in the middle of stuff.

So you know, we did a bit of a tidy up, but this is where everything's supposed to go.

Yeah.

Can I show you what we're trying to do?

- Yeah, I'd love to see.

- Great.

The original piece that we'd worked on was one of these, which was the earlier one.

And it's kind of like a hammered copper thing.

- Can I touch this?

- You can, of course.

Yeah, that's- - I mean, looking at some of your pieces, what I really like about them is they're very tactile.

- Yeah, well you're- - You can see the texture that you want to touch on.

- You're gonna be hammering this thing out now, so you're gonna be getting involved in whacking in that shape and using a, you know, round-ended pointy kind of hammer, or an engineer's hammer, and we're gonna banging it in on this vice here or in this anvil here.

So you've got a bit of heavy metal and- - Good way to take your frustrations out.

- You can imagine how many ways you can take your frustration out in here.

- Okay.

- There's long hammers.

- Just give me a few seconds to think of something so I'm frustrated, right?

- [Shane] Yeah, I think we'd probably, do you want to just follow the line?

The lower line.

I was told that.

- You have no idea how happy this is making me.

I gave up art to focus on English.

- Okay.

- But I've always wanted to get back to it and I'm just at the minute working on a novel about an artist.

So it's really nice to get- - Great.

Well, I hope you enjoy this.

- This immersive experience.

- [Shane] I hope you enjoyed this.

This is great.

Like you just move the piece along as gentle.

(saw whirs) And just navigate the thing as if you're driving a car.

- Yeah.

- Is that okay?

- You haven't seen my driving.

(saw whirs) - Maybe we could take a bit more off here.

So we can do that with the grinder now.

Do you wanna to try that?

(grinder whirs) No, just- (grinder whirs) That's where we're at at the moment.

- It's coming together.

- [Shane] I'll just do a bit of the head.

- [Jan] Okay.

- So, (hammer bangs) and this will just give it a sculpted kind of thing.

And even all the way up the middle of the arm if you wish.

- Okay.

Hitting is not a problem.

- Hitting is not a problem.

- No.

- You can hit all day.

- Yeah.

- Great.

We'll keep going.

- Ooh, yeah.

- Yeah, we got some more.

- [Jan] It's like precision surgery.

- Right.

- Right, you ready?

Dun dun dun.

- Do you wanna do it?

- No, I'm terrified.

- We've got a good bit to go down yet and we're- - This is the most exciting thing that's been filmed for, I don't know.

Well, I would say, like, from my last hour and a half's experience, I'd say it's very, it's bizarrely relaxing, which is not what I would thought I would say about working with, like, heavy machinery.

Whoa.

- [Shane] Hey, Jan.

What do you think of this?

- [Jan] It looks really impressive.

- [Shane] Great.

Well, well done.

You've done this yourself.

So- - Well, with a good bit of help from yourself.

This is just lovely.

It's been such a nice experience.

Like really, really just relaxing and fun.

- Relaxing.

Wow.

- I don't know why it's relaxing, but it was.

And I wasn't expecting to come away with something as nice as this at the end.

- Yeah.

Well listen, you're very welcome- - Thank you so much.

- And I'm delighted that you enjoyed making it.

- [Jan] Thank you so much.

- Woo.

- [Darragh] This is the farm of Michael and Jenny Finegan who are at the fore of an Irish cheese revolution, an Irish goat's cheese revolution at that.

They breed, rear and milk goats on their farm before turning the results into what's swiftly becoming one of Ireland's most popular cheeses.

Welcome to the world of Boyne Valley Cheese.

So Michael, you're going to take me to see your kids.

- Oh yeah.

The important ones.

This is the most popular sheds, and whenever a tour comes here and everybody wants to see the baby kids.

They've got straw here at the moment and they get meal.

They get their breakfast in the morning, but goats are just nibbling and chewing.

If you stood too close there, they'd have the clothes off your back.

- There you go.

- Yeah, so they're extremely curious.

It's a full circle.

Just outside the shed here is the grass fields where we grow the grass, which these goats will, you know, are going to eat, which how we produce the milk.

And then what eventually we make the cheese.

And the customer, at the end of the day, when he gets that bit of cheese, it's all from this farm, you know.

- Wow.

So this is the vault where all your gold is stored, is it?

- There's lots of goodies in here.

So in this room, there are three different types of cheeses, and they're all at different stages of maturity.

So as you can see here, these are really young cheeses.

They're completely white.

There's no molds or yeast on the rind.

The rind is very young.

Whereas down below is an older batch where you can see there's all sorts of different colors.

You've got molds, yeast, sea bacteria.

All completely good for you, all completely natural, all completely normal for cheese making there.

- It's quite counterintuitive in an era when we're spraying every surface to make it bacteria free and mold free and ya, ya, ya.

Here, you're, if you want it.

- We are absolutely encouraging.

Yeah.

Cheese makers want to see molds, and every cheese maker will have different color molds, you know, and every cheese, because of the type cheese and because of the cultures that we add in the cheese making process will activate, you know, different.

- So the mold is almost the signature flavor that is gonna to be- - Flavor's the word- - Embedded in that.

- Absolutely.

I'm rubbing and turning these cheeses on a regular basis every week and that all impacts flavor into the cheese.

Absolutely.

So as you can see in here, three cloudy, this is blue mold.

- Lovely.

- So today, we're making Boyne Valley Blue, which is our blue cheese.

And of course the key ingredient, apart from the milk, is the mold.

- Just like that.

- Just like that.

- I thought we're never going to get to this stage.

This is where we're actually gonna see what this stuff tastes like.

- This is the best bit there.

And we love the blue cheese inside.

You are supposed to leave it out for half an hour to an hour to get to room temperature.

You can eat the rind if you want.

A lot of the really big cheese nerds love a little bit of cheese rinds.

- Mm.

Delicious.

And it's not overpowering, the blue in it.

It's a hint.

- The blue's not overpowering.

It's just a nice, mild, medium strength.

And it's proven popular with the chefs and the shops.

- The proof is in the pudding, or the cheese- - That's it.

The cheese, yep, that it is.

Now here we go.

- Thanks so much.

Boyne Valley Blue, straight from the green fields of County Meath.

Michael, thanks so much.

- No problem.

Please have a good one.

- [Darragh] Before we finish, I have one more special treat lined up for Jan.

We're in Dowth at the birthplace of John Boyle O'Reilly, Athenian, Australian prison colony escapee and newspaper editor.

His colorful life has inspired playwright Deirdre Kinahan to write "EXILE" in celebration of his life and writing.

Deirdre has brought along her collaborator from The Waterboys, Steve Wickham, to accompany her as she gives us a sneak preview.

(contemplative music) (contemplative music continues) (contemplative music continues) - I am the boy and the ghost that walks the road from Dowth.

The pinch of my new boots doesn't hinder as I follow the run and the roll of the old road that follows the run and the roll of the ancient river.

Four and a half mile to Drogheda.

Four and a half mile.

I count.

I count in miles, in leagues, in sentences, a life, my life lost in exile.

I am the boy and the ghost that walks the road from Dowth.

I can still taste the mist of the morning as it clings to my sweep of the Boyne, promising dawn, promising light as I take the road from home.

Home.

I can still see it as it was, as it is.

A tower, a school, a clock, a churchyard.

But then, back then, a warmth, a nest, a fortress of love and learning beaten in time to the old school clock, shining out from that little hill of darkness doubled, forever night, Dowth.

Can you hear me as I kick on along the grasses?

My mother's kiss still sparkling 'neath the crease of my cap.

Hot bread carefully wrapped and a small can of milk tinkling against the clasp of my buttons.

Can you hear- - [Deirdre & Steve] John Boyle O'Reilly?

(contemplative music) (contemplative music continues) (contemplative music continues) - [Darragh] Thanks so much to Jan Carson for joining me along the "Writer's Way" and see you soon for more epic Meath odysseys.

(contemplative music) (contemplative music fades)