Quick Stop in Lisdoonvarna
23 September 2018
The ferry from Inis Oirr dropped us back in Doolin in the early afternoon, but we wouldn’t have too much time to hang around. We had to make the long drive from Doolin in County Clare all the way up to Castlebar in County Mayo. The idea was to visit the island first, then go up to Mayo before making the circle through Connemara and finally back into Clare. The place we are staying for the last few nights of the trip isn’t too far from Doolin, so we figured we would just stop back then. The drive to Castlebar is 150 km (almost 100 miles), and once we got there we could have trouble finding the place we are staying as it is fairly remote. We would prefer some sunlight left when we arrive.
We hit the road towards County Mayo, but first we did have one stop off in mind to pick up something to use on the trip, and to get something to eat quick before the long ride. Not very far from Doolin is the town of Lisdoonvarna, famous for both the Christy Moore song and the Matchmaker Festival for lonely singles held every year.
You know what else? Lisdoonvarna is just kinda fun to say!
Personally, I think Lisdoonvarna should also be famous for the Burren Smokehouse, an outstanding little place that makes their own smoked salmon as well as other smoked fish. We wanted to make sure to stop here early in the trip to pick up a few packs to have for the upcoming week. We stepped into the shop dreaming of making breakfast with local Irish eggs with those bright orange yolks, tossed with fresh herbs and some Burren smoked salmon. We were greeted with a number of samples of smoked fish with various types of seasoning- honey & lemon, seaweed, honey & whiskey – and all of them were so good! It was hard to decide, but we settled on an original and a honey & whiskey. We picked up a few other specialty items for meals as we knew we had a few places with a kitchen coming up.
Just down the road a bit was the Burren Storehouse, a little warehouse looking bar and restaurant owned by the smokehouse. We dropped in for a quick lunch before the rest of the drive. We were absolutely sold on the thin crust pizza with Burren Smokehouse salmon... it was just spectacular! Paired with a couple of local beers from the Burren Brewery, including a very well-done stout called the Burren Black, we kicked back with our nice little lunch and some soccer (or should I say football) on a giant projector screen.
Beth was in the ladies’ room when a young guy staggered in. He looks at her, looks back at the door, and says, “Oh, fook me!” Then he staggers back out. It’s barely afternoon.
Ah, we’re back in Ireland for sure!
