Why Ireland should be your next foodie holiday

Ronan O’Shea was reared on Tayto’s crisps on his annual family visit to Ireland. Could he love its modern cuisine?

Visitors can try cheese, oils and cider on a Slane Food Circle tour (Slane Food Circle)

Across Carlingford Lough, between counties Louth and Down, fog blankets the Mourne Mountains like cotton wool.

The water is calm despite rain, and with our attention focused on the granite mountains, it’s a while before we notice the road signs have shifted from kilometres to miles.

During my annual pilgrimage to Ireland as a child, cuisine was Tayto’s crisps, Jacob’s Afternoon Tea biscuit selection, Galtee Cheese, Hartley’s Jelly and home-made barmbrack. I loved my grandmother. My dentist did too.