(lively folk music) - 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."

In this episode, our guest is Naoise Dolan, one of Ireland's latest publishing sensations.

She's only two books into her career, but already it's glittering with global sales and awards to beat the band.

Naoise is as passionate and sharp as you'd expect, and I've put together an itinerary for her that centers around a lavish feast for two at the chef's table in Tankardstown House.

I've also arranged a string of firsts for Naoise, her first bread-baking, weaving, horse racing, and an all-Irish music festival, all without leaving our amazing county of Meath.

Sure, where else would you get it?

Naoise Dolan, thanks so much for coming to my home county of Meath.

You've written two fantastically successful books, "The Happy Couple," and "Exciting Times."

Tell me how successful these have actually been for you.

- There is no way for me to answer that without sounding like the worst person in the world.

(Darragh laughing) - But would I be right in saying you've sold hundreds of thousands of copies of them?

- That would be factually correct.

- Factually correct.

Well, congratulations.

And let's hope they keep on coming.

I've got Naoise staying in the lavish Tankardstown House in the middle of some of Meath's finest horse-rearing lands.

Head Chef Johnny Sarkozi is famous for his exquisite feasts and wedding banquets.

His chef's table is a hot ticket, as there's only two seats a day at it.

He invited myself and Naoise to sit at his table as he whips up some amazing food for us.

I was half expecting you to be serving up the bread here because you were making bread.

Tell us all about it.

- I wouldn't be at that stage of my bread journey yet, but I had an induction in the way of the biz.

- So this was with Bread with Benefits, Chris, yeah?

He's a guru of bread, right?

- [Naoise] Chris is the bread guy, and he showed me the ropes.

- What to do now is, I'm just gonna strangle it, okay?

- Okay.

- [Chris] Is this your very first loaf?

- [Naoise] My very first loaf.

- [Chris] And not only that, this is your first loaf of sourdough bread.

- Yes, which adds an extra sense of occasion to proceedings.

The craft that I practice myself, professionally, is quite an abstract one, where if your work even gets printed, it takes sometimes years to see that.

So I'm finding it very enjoyable, doing something more tactile, with a more immediate result that you can eat, even better.

- By making your own bread, you know what's in the loaf because when you buy something out of the shop, you don't necessarily know what's in it.

Also, because we're using the sustainably-sourced ingredients, you're becoming a food activist.

You're also helping sustain and increase the diversity of your gut microbiome.

The dividend from that is a better immune system and overall better health.

- [Naoise] And there was me, just thinking I was eating some delicious bread.

- There you go, hence the name Bread With Benefits.

Well, congratulations for making your first local bread.

- And for not cutting myself with a bomb knife.

(Chris laughing) - While Naoise was baking bread, I was visiting Finnegan's Farm, where potatoes rule the roost.

That's amazing to sit in the wall here, outside the house that your dad built 60 years ago, and it was from here, in a 12-acre field, you've built this potato empire.

And if your dad was here today, what do you think he'd say?

- He loved the land.

He loved buying land.

He loved working land.

He loved machinery.

He was a big lover of machinery.

Yeah, so I mean, he was probably never happier when he was out in the fields.

It was probably no different for me and Joe that, when we do get back to the fields, the odds are that's probably the best part.

But you know how it goes, it unfortunately it doesn't happen all the time.

- [Darragh] They're all the time looking at new ways to present the potato to reinvent the potato for a modern palate.

- There you go.

- The gratin, is this your favorite?

- [Joe] Well, see it, it's very popular.

- Is it?

So cheesy, creamy.

- Yeah.

Gotta keep all the goodness.

- Oh, man.

That is delicious.

- Probably the way people are these days, they like a little bit more convenience, and a lot of prepping on veg, as we know, you can throw them in the oven and away you go.

20 minutes, 25 minutes.

- That'll suit me.

An empty sack won't stand, so we have to get stuck in.

And I'll tell you one other thing about the Finnegans, they have some of the best tractors you will ever lay eyes on.

I was very jealous.

- You sound like a kid in a tractor store.

- [Darragh] I know, I get a bit excited for tractors.

(Naoise laughing) - Okay, we're moving on to our amuse-bouche.

So we have a little tart with some shiitake mushrooms, and over here we have an egg white foam, an egg yolk puree.

- I really don't want to destroy the artwork on the plate by actually eating it, but I guess that's why it was created, so we have to do justice to it, don't we?

The weaving.

- I was.

So I met with Anna, who is (speaking in foreign language) a fluent Irish speaker.

She showed me how to weave tweed.

So there was a huge machine, a loom, and four pedals, a bit like an organ.

So you have to put your feet on the pedals in a particular order.

Then you have to use, quick this thing with your hand, and then you have to push a bracket down, and then onto the next row.

- That sounds exhausting.

- It's very mentally demanding because if you have your foot on the wrong pedal at any stage, for instance, you need to go back and fix the tweed.

But it was rewarding.

And then she gave me the rather more modest enterprise of weaving a little coaster for myself.

- You want to go and make a coaster, like so, and you'll have your own little piece of tweed when you leave.

- Okay.

- You can pick, which color would you like for your warp?

- Blue.

- For your weft, blue.

This one?

- Yes.

- Okay, super.

I'm going to do, yeah here.

Okay, so just pull out a little bit off your card.

Unwind it a bit there.

We'll start from the right-hand side, okay.

Pick up your shuttle and go in under every second thread like this.

So keep going until you have probably about 26 rows, or until it looks like it's taking a kind of square shape.

- It's more mentally demanding than the bread making.

- Yeah, we actually find when people, they might start off chatty, but by the time they've a few rows done, they end up quiet 'cause they're concentrating and focusing on it, kind of absorbs you.

I knitted my first jumper when I was seven.

I knitted an Aran jumper when I was nine.

- An entire Aran jumper?

- I bought a spinning wheel when I was 20 and learned to spin.

And then it's like the icing on the cake to have the opportunity to learn to weave.

I'm very proud to have a heritage craft, and to be part of preserving it, really.

People love something that's hand woven, that's sustainable, that is a heritage craft.

Yes, so it's wonderful.

- [Darragh] Now tell me honestly, did you mess it up?

- She told me I didn't, it might have been a polite Irish lie.

- Yeah, well this house mightn't believe you, but I have faith in you.

- That's big of you.

- Well done.

The drama continues.

(Naoise laughing) - Yes, indeed.

We have a vegan smoked carrot.

- Look at that.

- Some almond.

- Ta-da.

- Wow.

- Flaked almond.

- [Naoise] Some steam that came off of that.

- Then over here we have a lamb loin with a feta fluid gel - Look, and he did the little chef-y swirl.

- It was a nice- - Just to maximize the effect.

So you know, when you were doing all your thing, I was actually doing something lovely as well.

- Oh, do tell.

- I was down with Newgrange Gold, which is a farm, kind of cooked in the hand of the Boyne River, and the views from that farm across the river to some of Ireland's most mystical and ancient scenes and new grade.

This is some view here, and a view that the general public rarely, if ever, gets to see of this part of Meath, this wonderful Boyne Valley.

- Yeah, this is kind of a hidden secret.

It's a bit of a gem within the Boyne.

- And what I really loved about that farm, not just the views, was also the fact that they had taken a very traditional farm and diversified it.

And they come up with this amazing rapeseed oil.

It's a fantastic product.

Oh, this looks good.

- This is it.

- Yeah, now we're talking.

- [Jack] So we have our Irish rapeseed oil, our chili garlic rapeseed oil, our garden herbs with thyme, parsley, sage, and lemon, our turmeric rapeseed oil, and then our ahiflower rapeseed oil.

- Let's dive in, yeah.

- Dip in.

It's worth trying the rapeseed oil first.

- Try the original and the best first.

- Yeah.

- Mm, nutty.

- Mm.

- Nice, light, different from olive oil, but good different.

- Full of omega three, so really good essential fatty acids, and vitamin E, so it's very stable.

- So good, great to be here, enjoying that view, eating this gorgeous produce with the producers who make it.

Jack, thanks so much for your time, really appreciate you.

- It was a pleasure.

- Letting me into this little secret paradise.

- Hopefully you're enjoying everything so far.

Something really light and fresh here, we have a red cabbage and citrus salad.

And over here we made a little cabbage parcel, a cabbage sauce, and we serve it with a monkfish and a burnt leek crisp on the top, just for a bit of crispiness extra.

- [Darragh] It's more than just a burnt crisp, it's a whole design in itself.

Of course, Johnny, I was in the garden with you earlier.

So this is the cabbage that came outta that garden.

- The cabbage that we picked earlier with you, yeah, that's the one.

- It's so great to see like zero food miles, basically, between our plate and where the food, the origin of the food.

And that's gotta be where we want to get to, isn't it, in modern food?

- I'd say so, yeah.

Chefs got used to too much getting beef from Argentina or from Japan.

I think we should focus on local, because local is as fresh as you can get, so that's the best.

- This kind of fanciness reminds me that you are dealing with your own little bit of style-ness down at Fairyhouse, sporting haute couture.

- [Naoise] Yes, an elevated context indeed, but I was well kitted out.

- Okay so I have a lovely design for you.

I will let you do the unboxing.

(paper crinkling) (Naoise gasping) This is for you.

- Oh my god, it's gorgeous.

Wow.

That is unbelievably glamorous.

So I got a custom hat from Saraden.

It was very gothic.

It suited my slightly brilliant influenced aesthetic.

You designed this?

- I did.

It's all made for my handmade fabric.

So it is a sustainable brand as well.

And all the cutoffs will be worked back in.

- Oh wow.

This is black widow stuff, so cool.

I feel like a Sicilian woman who has six dead husbands.

- Well, it suits you very well.

(Sarah and Naoise laughing) Like this?

It's the Celtic love knot.

- Oh.

- And then- Yeah, here we go.

- Oh, terrific.

- And I made it using my handmade fabrics.

And then all the cutoff embroidery from my dress, I then hand-stitched on here and finished it with crystals.

- [Naoise] Yeah, no, the love is clear.

The love is in the room.

(Sarah laughing) - Thank you very much.

So Naoise, this is Ross, a jockey.

- So you're in the 6:50, is that you're dealing with that?

- Yep, next race, eh.

- How would you rate your chances?

- I think it's a good chance.

I have to go out and think I can win, no matter what.

We have to keep the confidence through.

- Absolutely.

- We have to go out with a winning mindset.

So I suppose just easier for me to say we'll win.

- Brilliant.

(all laughing) - Well, after your thoughtful explanations, there's so much to cheer for, at least.

- [Ross] Hopefully we can do it justice.

- [Sarah] Daphne, 6:50, have to remember.

(giggles) - Which one is he?

- He's the same guy, the third one.

(Sarah clapping and cheering) - Look, we're so fortunate around Meath.

There's four race courses here in the county of Meath.

It's a huge racing tradition.

We are just so passionate.

It's said the most important Irish jumps race takes place here at Easter Monday, and that is a race that stops the country.

- [Naoise] So Sarah, how do you cheer for a horse?

- I think the best thing is once you see them, start screaming, "Go on."

- Okay.

- Best way to do it.

- Give it sauce.

- Exactly, give a sauce.

(laughs) - [Announcer] Sprint in Labaka Restaurant's handicap, Green Valentine.

- Go on, Shelburn Fire, go on.

- [Announcer] The Russian Composer is just a gent, and then followed by Shelburn Fire and Spirit of Eagles.

- Hey, go on, Ross.

- And Challenge Dan, headed out from the rain by Are You In or Out, followed then after a gap American in Paris, and then comes Gold Mine.

But the leader is Are You In or Out and Sadhbh Tormey are quickening clear with the Labaka Restaurant Sprint- - Come on, Ross.

- Come on, let's go.

- [Announcer] From Jack in the Box, American in Paris.

- Let's go.

Run.

Run!

(cheering) (Naoise cheering) - [Announcer] So it's a local winner.

Paul Stafford doesn't train too far from here, and he strikes with Are You In Or Out, this really by ends of court.

- That was our first winner.

- He shoulda won.

- That man's daughter, apparently.

(Sarah laughing) - Oh, she's the jockey.

- That's what he said.

- Oh, brilliant.

Good to see a woman jockey.

- Yeah.

- Very proud of her.

- [Announcer] Great moment for Sadhbh Tormey in the saddle today, claiming the 10.

I think that's Sadhbh's first winner.

- Pleased it's your first-ever win.

- Yeah, thank you very much.

- That's so exciting.

- Yeah, it's unbelievable.

I'm still on such a high after it, yeah.

- I can imagine, and you were sitting here, leaving here this morning as well?

- Yeah, well actually it was at 2:00, so I left a bit early to get here, but yeah.

- Oh, wow, talk about multitasking.

- Yeah, yeah.

- You've had a very busy day today.

- Yeah, yeah definitely.

Well, it looked all worth it in the end, I can't believe it.

- [Sarah] And you're gonna celebrate tonight anyways?

- Oh no, I don't think so.

Let's see, I work in the morning, and I still have an exam on Monday.

- Okay, you're nearly there.

- Yeah, almost there, yeah.

- Celebrate after that.

- Yeah, yeah definitely.

- [Naoise] Oh, good woman then.

How long have you been racing?

- I got my license at the end of early summer last year, so I've had a handful of rides since then.

- [Naoise] Okay, but a year into it, winning your first race, that's really impressive.

- Yeah, I suppose.

I'm delighted.

I've been waiting for this day for a long time now, so it means everything to get it.

- After you're done with the leaving here, what do you want to do full time?

- [Sadhbh] I think I'm gonna keep going at this for a while.

I'm finished now so I'll be in work every day, and I'll give it a good shot over the summer and see how it goes.

- [Darragh] What an occasion for Naoise to witness at Fairyhouse, Sadhbh Tormey's first-ever win.

Back at Tankardstown, Johnny's in the saddle and also hitting his stride in legendary style.

- Moving on to our next course, so I made you a cabbage dish, completely different though.

Vegan-friendly, it's a char-grilled cabbage with some parsley reduction, with some crispy onion, and some cabbages puma, and some lovely radish flowers as well.

And over here we have a hunter's chicken, which is based on a dish with mushrooms and chicken.

Enjoy.

- Thank you.

- So how mad was it, that Spire of Lloyd, a lighthouse in a field?

- A lighthouse in a field, well that's ry-jer catnip, isn't it?

That classic setup for a scene taken on nightly element in the place you would not expect it, and cameras roll.

- [Darragh] Could be an opening scene in a novel, couldn't it?

- It could.

And now that you mention it- (Darragh laughing) - Woo, finally.

That was quite the climb, wasn't it?

But look at that.

What a view.

Did you know that this was built by basically the big wig in the locality so he could basically see his entire land holding.

- [Naoise] Well that's smug isn't it?

- Yeah, well I guess if you're the local billionaire, you could do things like that.

So it was the Taylor family who basically owned the town of Kells and all the land around it.

And Thomas Taylor decided, nearly 250 years ago, to build this lighthouse in the middle of a field, 80 kilometers from the sea.

But I guess it was kind of a show of like, look at how much money I have, and here's what I'm going do with it.

- [Naoise] Conspicuous consumption, literally conspicuous, 'cause everyone can see it.

- Yes, well said, well said.

You know, I've driven past that so many times during my lifetime and yeah, it looked a bit odd, but I never kind of joined the dots that that was built in the style of a lighthouse, 80 kilometers from the coast.

- All right, guys, it's time for something sweet.

So we have a chocolate dome, 70% dark chocolate dome, with some estate raspberries, a vegan chocolate brownie, a vegan chocolate mousse, and on the side a tiny bit of estate elderflower sorbet.

Over here we tried something a little bit bold.

So we have a steamed yogurt, some macerated strawberries from the garden, little tiny alpine strawberries, and a lovage ice cream, which is like a herb from the same family as parsley or celery.

Hopefully you're gonna enjoy that.

- Yeah, you don't get that out of any of the food vans down at the festival in Rath Chairn.

- No, I did not, even if I asked them.

- Yeah, but it's a bit of a miracle we actually got you back out of that festival.

I thought you were just gonna camp there for them, the fire lineup.

- Yeah, they're buying battles in the fields.

(Darragh speaks in Irish) - We're in Rath Chairn.

Why am I speaking Irish?

Because this is an Irish-speaking music festival, and I'm gonna be reliant on Naoise here to kinda take me by the hand.

(Darragh speaks in Irish) Yeah?

I'm a little bit frayed.

Because like most Irish people, I've forgotten most of the Irish that I learned in school.

It was kind of beat into us, but not very successfully.

- No, but (speaks in Irish).

Broken Irish is better than clever English.

- Yeah, I love that phrase.

So we're gonna go in here and see what the crack is.

(lively folk music) (people chatting) (lively folk music continues) (lively folk music continues) (lively folk music continues) (upbeat music) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (upbeat jazzy music) (upbeat jazzy music continues) (upbeat music) - The rain is lashing down.

The muck is nearly up to our knees.

But the atmosphere is pretty good, isn't it?

- It doesn't get more Irish than this.

I think you're right.

If the camera wants to pan down and look at our feet, we are squelching in the mud here.

But to be honest, this is what it's all about for festivals like this.

We're just here for the crack and the atmosphere, and if you get wet, you get wet.

It nearly lets you let loose a bit more.

- We were so unlucky- - And you don't care about your appearance when you're getting bashed in the mud.

- And I can see you're not paying a blind bit of attention to what way the weather is.

You're still allowed- - No, a blind bit of attention to the weather, the appearance, or anything else.

- And it didn't stop the crowd at all.

They all came out in force, despite the weather, so that's the main thing.

- Is there more of these types of Gaeilge festivals going on around the country that you know of?

- There's lots of little festivals around the country that really promote the Irish language and Gaelia, and it's kind of like a little community where everyone almost knows everyone.

And there's pockets of Gael all around the country.

And Rath Chairn, where we are right now, it's one of the smallest pockets of Irish-speaking, native Irish speakers around the country.

And we come together, and we have mad crack, and we celebrate whatever this is, the music, the culture, and it's all amazing.

- Exactly.

(Darragh speaking in Irish) (Burnchurch member speaking in Irish) - A lot of crack.

Is that a kind of a thing that you could see yourself going back to the future?

- Absolutely, I think it's so important to have Irish language spaces, and I think it's good, at the same time, to have things that are directed towards learners or people who aren't fully fluent, but that can't be everything that's happening through Irish, because you've got to be able to live your life through the language if you already have it.

And so it's really precious to have those opportunities to do just that.

- It was kind of cool actually, once you made any kind of effort at all, people were, you know, they're really pretty silly.

- Yeah, look at this.

- A wrapper that is edible.

(Naoise laughing) - Unless he's messing with you.

- It's like science fiction isn't it?

- You'll need to test it though.

- You're daring me now, yeah?

- I'm daring you.

- Okay, here we go, wrapper and all.

(Naoise laughing) - [Naoise] It was nice knowing you.

- And listen, it's been a pleasure for me to be able to hang out with you for the time here in Meath, and I'm delighted to be able to show off my home county to somebody who can put it into such fantastic words as yourself.

So I hope you enjoyed your time here, and thanks so much for coming.

Johnny, thanks so much.

Your service has been immaculate and your food even more mesmerizing, so we really appreciate.

- Thank you.

I appreciate you joining us, and hopefully we'll see each other again.

- Absolutely.

- Please don't be shy.

Thank you very much for joining us.

- Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

- And especially for veganizing me, very helpful.

- We're trying.

- Well, you're succeeding.

- And with that, myself and Naoise rolled out of Tankardstown House with full bellies and full memories of a great time in Meath.

Thanks a million for watching this episode.

I hope you enjoyed the very special journey that I got to curate.

I'll see you very soon for more voyages along the "Writer's Way."

(lively folk music) (lively folk music intensifies) (upbeat music)