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Bantry Bay in May...
by Bridget Haggerty
 Bantry Bay's shores are washed by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. The bay itself is one of the world's deepest and it's also the largest of the long marine inlets in south-west Ireland.
The Irish name for Bantry is Beanntraige. The name came from a son of Conor MacNessa called Beannt. Conor MacNessa was one of the kings of Ireland at the time of Christ. The ending 'raige' in the name means the people or territory of "Beannt"
One of the finest and safest harbours in Europe, Bantry Bay has no dangerous sand banks and is sheltered from most winds by the mountains which surround it. From earliest times, the bay has been used as a haven by fishermen and merchant ships and, for centuries, the fleets of England, Spain, France & Holland fished its waters, paying harbour dues and fishing tax to the O'Sullivan Clan who controlled the area.
The community's long maritime history and heritage has been recorded in books as well as song - the following verse is from a ballad by James L. Molloy who also wrote the Kerry Dance and Just a Song at Twilight:
In the gloaming,
It might have been but yesterday.
That we watched the fisher's sails all homing,
Till the little herring fleet at anchor lay.
Then the fisher girls with baskets swinging,
Came running down the old stone way.
Every lassie to her sailor lad was singing,
Ah welcome back to Bantry Bay.
However, while the community's ties to fishing and the sea have always been strong, it wasn't until the early 1980s that mussel pots began to appear in off-shore waters. What started as an uncertain experiment in this dramatically beautiful region of West Cork has now grown to become a major seafood industry, with mussels as the main product. Of critical importance to the local economy, the industry provides jobs for hundred of people and brings in millions of euros in exports annually.
 Today Bantry Bay mussels can be found in restaurants and supermarkets all over the world. In fact, the town has become synonymous with mussels just as Galway City is associated with oysters. In observing the success of the September Guinness-sponsored Galway International Oyster Festival, Murphy's, the makers of Cork's famous stout, teamed up with Bantry to create a mussel event which celebrates the success of the industry and which also officially launches the summer season.
Mussels, Music, Murphy's and More!
The Bantry Mussel Fair is West Cork's foremost family festival, featuring its now familiar and highly popular mix of exciting open-air music, street entertainment, culinary events, children's events and lashings of craic - not to mention the mussels, which are given away at pubs and restaurants all weekend.
For nearly 20 years it has beeen an annual event. But, for whatever reason, it's not being held in 2006. Maybe it's a poor substitute to the festival itself, but why not indulge in an Irish dish made with mussels - and imagine being there whenever this great event returns. God willing, it will be soon.
Since it's traditional to mix Murphy's and Mussels, here's an authentic recipe:
Ingredients:
6 lbs mussels
2 oz butter
2 large onions
Small glass Murphy's Irish Stout
2 tablespoons parsley - 1 for cooking and 1 for garnish
Salt & Pepper to taste
Method: Clean the mussels
Melt the butter in a large pan
Add the onions and cook for 2 to 3 minutes
Add the other ingredients, cover with lid and boil; shake the pan from time to time, until the mussels steam open.
Serve with more butter and parsely. Offer plenty of bread for mopping up sauce.
We are very grateful, as always, to our resident recipe collector - Hartson Doud - for bringing the Bantry Bay Mussel Fair to our attention and for providing us with this week's feature recipe. Please click here for Bantry Bay Mussel Stew
Don't particularly enjoy cooking from scratch but would love to enjoy the taste of real Bantry Bay mussels? Bantry Bay Seafoods offers a delicious array of ready-made meals which they ship all over the world. This award-winning, innovative young company was established in 1991 and has emerged to become Ireland's premier manufacturer and supplier of luxury convenience seafood products. To learn more, please click Bantry Bay Sea Foods.
Resources:
Content and Images:
Bantry Mussel Fair
Bantry Bay Seafood
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Thu, Mar 27, 2008
Irish Furze
Called whin in the north and gorse in the east, furze was once a symbol of wealth and fertility of land as is emphasized by the saying: "gold under furze, silver under rushes and famine under heather."
As indigenous to the early summer landscape as rhododendrons, it is despised by farmers because of its invasive properties; but in the past, it had many good uses.
It ignites quickly, so it was used for starting the fire: it was also used for cleaning the chimney, tilling the soil, dyeing wool and fabric, and as a flavouring for whiskey (which may have improved its rating with the farmers!). It had medicinal powers and its magical powers were undisputed in preventing the good people from stealing the butter on May day. And, at mid-summer, blazing branches were carried round the herd to bring good health to the cows for the coming year.
Click for More Culture Corner.
A magnificent pictorial tribute to the splendor of Irish gardens, featuring more than 200 color images.
Eclare ushers readers into spectacular Irish garden settings...
Equally captivating are the book's gorgeous photographs of plants, beautiful stonework, outstanding statuary, and the voluptuous floral compositions that adorn Ireland's great castle estates, rural herb growers, country guest houses, and quaint cottages.
Alice Joyce
Click for Glorious Gardens.
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