We spoke back in February about the significant changes to several SEAI grant schemes. As of February 3, 2026, heat pump grants have increased to a maximum of €12,500. This total now includes a new €4,000 Renewable Heat Bonus (essentially a boiler scrappage scheme) and a €2,000 Central Heating Upgrade grant, alongside existing supports. Crucially, this level of funding is now available through Better Energy Homes individual grants – which previously capped out at €6,500 – as well as the One Stop Shop, (OSS) route. Grants for attic and cavity wall insulation have also seen an uplift.

At the start of March, the highly-anticipated Windows and Doors grant launched under the individual measure scheme, previously only available under the OSS grant route. This rollout included higher supports for households receiving certain Social Protection payments and new attic insulation grants specifically for first-time buyers. Additionally, homeowners who previously received a grant for cavity or internal wall insulation may now qualify for a second wall insulation grant.

From what we’ve seen through our own business, the window and door grant is causing the most confusion – which isn’t surprising. The rules and application process are more complex than most other measures, and the full details aren’t always clear on the SEAI website. This month, I want to dive deeper into the intricate details of these new grants.

First, let’s cover the straightforward requirements:

Property Age: Your house must have been built and occupied before 2011.

Performance: New windows and doors must meet a U-value of 1.4 or better (a U-value measures heat loss; the lower the number, the better the insulation).

Contractor: You must use an SEAI-registered contractor.

Timeline: You must apply online via the SEAI Better Energy Homes portal before you start the work.

Payment: You have the work completed, pay the contractor, have a BER assessment completed afterward and then claim the grant back.

The complexity lies in the ‘fabric-first’ criteria specific to windows and doors. To qualify, your home must meet one of the following:

Heat Loss Indicator (HLI): You must achieve an HLI of 2.3 or lower after the windows/doors are fitted. This is the same metric used to determine heat pump readiness.

Advisory Report: Alternatively, your BER Advisory Report must show your walls and roof as being rated ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’.

Confirming eligibility is tricky and depends on the age of your home and your current BER status.

If you have a BER (Post-July 2021): You likely have the new-format Advisory Report. You can check this immediately to see your current HLI and wall/roof ratings.

If you have a BER (Pre-July 2021): These older reports don’t display this level of detail. The full data would need to be requested from the SEAI for review, which usually requires professional assistance.

If you don’t have a BER: You will likely need a pre-BER assessment to check eligibility and determine if upgrades to your attic or walls are required first.

Note on 2005-2010 Homes: Houses in this age bracket often meet the ‘Good’ wall and roof definitions by default due to the building regulations of that time.

In all cases, a final BER is required to claim the grant. If you are relying on an existing BER to check compliance, it makes sense to use the same assessor for the final BER to ensure consistency. If starting from scratch, most assessors, including ourselves, now offer a combined ‘pre-and-post’ BER service for these grants.

Finally, keep in mind that this is a ‘whole house’ upgrade. You cannot get the grant to replace just a few windows while leaving poor-performing ones behind. If you’ve upgraded some windows recently (within the last 10 years), they likely already meet the 1.4 U-value and can be retained, provided you can supply a Declaration of Performance from the original supplier.

As always, if you would like to get in touch about anything in this article or your own retrofit project, feel free to reach out: ruairi@retrofurb.ie.

Gardening By John Hosford

As April unfolds, the days are lengthening, and with the clocks having shifted forward to Summer Time at the end of March, we now enjoy those extra evening hours. This extended daylight offers a wonderful opportunity to catch up on various gardening tasks. There’s plenty to do this month, from seed sowing both indoors and outdoors to weeding, planting, and pruning.

Cut back evergreen shrubs

Start by cutting back evergreen shrubs. It’s an ideal time to prune Mediterranean shrubs such as lavender and rosemary; make sure to cut them back to healthy buds. Avoid trimming into old, lifeless wood, as this may not reshoot. Plants like Fatsia, Hebe, and Escallonia can benefit from a light trim, while Ceanothus, Choisya, Daphne, Mahonia, Rhododendrons, Camellias, Azaleas, and Sarcococca should be pruned after flowering, ideally in May or June.

Deadhead daffodils 

Deadheading daffodils and other spring bulbs is essential after the flowers have faded. This practice diverts energy back into the bulbs, helping them bulk up for an even better display next year. If you have water lilies that have outgrown their space, now is the time to divide them. Carefully remove the plant and use a sharp knife to cut the root ball into sections, ensuring each has at least one shoot and some roots. Replant these sections into pond baskets filled with aquatic compost.

Feed trees, shrubs and perennials

Feeding trees, shrubs, and perennials is also crucial this month. Specialised feeds are available for lime-hating plants like Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Camellias, Skimmias, Sarcococca, and Kalmia, which will thrive with an application. Roses should also receive their monthly feed with a special rose fertiliser, followed by another application in May and June. When applying fertiliser, spread it out at a distance proportional to the height of the tree or bush, as roots typically expand to a distance equal to the plant’s height.

Vegetable garden

In the vegetable garden, sow peas in a sunny, sheltered position, planting them in a flat-bottomed trench about 5cm deep and 15cm wide, spacing them 7.5 cm apart in a single row or in two rows 30 cm apart. Remember to support them with robust wire netting. For potatoes, plant out second early and maincrop varieties, ensuring second earlies are set 30cm apart in rows 30cm apart and maincrops 37 cm apart. Earthing up first earlies protects the stems from cold weather and encourages more tubers to form. This process can be repeated as later varieties emerge above ground. Protect young crops with a double layer of extra-strength frost protection fleece, cloches, or cold frames.

You can also sow carrots and cabbages in prepared beds, covering them with fleece or insect-proof mesh to protect against carrot fly and cabbage white butterflies, whose larvae can devastate brassicas like cabbages, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Additionally, sow courgettes, vegetable marrows, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, melons, sweet corn, runner beans, and both bush and climbing French beans in 10 cm pots in a heated, frost-free area indoors. You can plant one seed per pot or two and select the strongest seedling once they emerge. These can be moved outdoors at the end of May or early June after hardening off.

Tomato plants can be planted in their fruiting quarters this month, whether in greenhouse soil, grow-bags, or large pots. Trailing varieties are perfect for hanging baskets or window boxes but must be kept frost-free.

Fruit garden

In the fruit garden, mulch raspberry canes with organic matter such as well-composted garden compost or stable manure. If those aren’t available, the excellent Gee-up from Blarney, Co. Cork, is a great substitute and widely available in garden outlets throughout Cork County. Indoors, geraniums, pelargoniums, fuchsias, and streptocarpus should now start receiving regular weekly liquid feeds. A seaweed-based fertiliser works well, and these plants should be fed weekly until early October to encourage healthy growth and blooming.

Citrus trees should begin receiving special citrus feed. Once the frost has passed at the end of May, they can be moved outdoors, provided they have drainage holes. Houseplants will require more frequent watering, and it’s best to stand them in a sink while watering, allowing them to drain without standing in water for more than 30 minutes.

April flowers

April also brings a delightful array of flowering plants. Bergenia showcases white, pink, and red flowers on glossy, leathery leaves and serves as excellent ground cover for early colour. Brunnera, with its green and variegated varieties, offers dainty blue flowers. The profuse blooms of crab apples are followed by attractive autumn fruit, while dogs tooth violets present low, clump-forming bulbs for shade. Dicentra spectabilis, or bleeding heart, boasts tall, elegant foliage.

Exochorda produces profuse white flowers, while Fritillaria persica captivates with purple spires of bloom, best planted as bulbs in autumn. Flowering cherries offer a stunning display of pink and white flowers, and some varieties feature attractive polished bark. Pulmonaria provides early colour in low-growing shades of blue, red, and white. Many rhododendron varieties will be in bloom this month, thriving in lime-free, ericaceous compost and benefiting from annual feed with a specific Rhododendron/Azalea fertiliser. Tulips will also be in flower, presenting a variety of colours, so remember to protect them from slugs.

For bedding and patio plants, containers, window boxes, and hanging baskets can now be planted and established in a greenhouse. Use fresh compost and include a slow-release fertiliser. Ensure window boxes have drainage outlets before planting.

Lastly, keep your lawn in check by mowing regularly, starting with the blades at their highest setting. Gradually lower the setting by the end of the month. Feed established lawns, aerate to rake out thatch, and give your lawn a spring feed. If you’re establishing new lawns, prepare the ground properly.

April is a vibrant month in the garden, full of opportunities to nurture and enjoy your plants. 

Happy gardening!

With Easter upon us it is perhaps timely to dwell on a painting, which not only resonates with the season, but also articulates the horror that continues to unfold in the Middle East and Ukraine. This is Marc Chagall’s ‘Golgotha’ of 1912, perhaps the most luminous, prismatic painting of the crucifixion in art history. It differs from all others in its non-literal transformation of the biblical scene: in place of an adult Christ is a blue child, ‘crucified’ on the arc of an emerald green sky. It is a deeply mysterious vision, one that speaks more, perhaps, of resurrection, rebirth and renewal, than death. And yet it also invites a darker interpretation, one more prescient to our times: that of the child of the Middle East, the child of Ukraine, crucified by war.

Chagall, a Russian Jew, was not one to be confined by conventions, whether they were pictorial, religious or otherwise. As a Jew, images were largely proscribed, and symbolic Christian images, unthinkable. In painting the crucifixion, the young artist from Vitebsk (Belarus) charted a course that broke completely with Jewish cultural norms. When, later in life, he was invited by the newly formed state of Israel to decorate the interior of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament), it came with a caveat: there was to be no Christian imagery, a condition Chagall quietly ignored. It wasn’t that he was pro-Christian, it was the fact that the figure of Christ was a part of his personal metaphoric language, a visual lexicon of images which sought to transcend politics and religion, in its depiction of love, suffering, beauty and eternity.

There is no doubt that his ‘Golgotha’ of 1912 is all four of these things. Chagall had a mysterious ability to evoke the eternal in everything he touched. The arc of the child’s open mouth is echoed by the large circle inscribed in the sky behind him, and by the prismatic arcs in the luminous red ground below. The line rhymes and echo shapes, employed throughout, enable everything to visually resound; nothing is static, everything is alive. In employing a programme of prismatic arcs and intersecting spheres, Chagall achieved a magical unity, at once terrifying in its imagery and beautiful in its manifestation. The result is an image which echoes forever in the mind. 

In 2005, I wrote several poems which dreamt themselves, in part, out of Chagall’s painting. One of these was called ‘Blinded Lethe’ (Lethe was a river of the Greek underworld, which invited oblivion): “I am breathless with discovery / And wounded by the glare / Of the gored and shrapnelled child / Bronze fists of anger immeasurable / A wing of leaden death / You make me transparent  / With your pain / Now I understand Christ / Whose limbs flared and shone / Like mirrors / Like glass / Which shattered and fell / In a rain of transcending passion / Upon the fields / Of blinded Lethe / Who, feeling glass soft as snow / Looked up in astonishment / At the son of man.”

The ‘child’ referenced in this poem occurs periodically in my work, and could be thought of as an archetype for the ‘wounded child.’ The poem itself is driven by an incandescent (and impotent) rage at the power-hungry architects of war, with the ‘wounded child’ being their ever-constant victim. The most recent atrocity – the bombing of a school in Iran – resonates Chagall’s ‘Golgotha’ one hundred times over. By saying this I do not mean to diminish such a heart-numbing loss of so many children to a neat line in an article, but to indicate that art is a quivering limb of life, that it is called to address the most urgent questions of our existence.

That is what archetypes are for, and his employment of them is partly why Chagall’s work is so enduring. His mysterious transformation of the archetype in ‘Golgotha,’ its resounding play of arcs and spheres, its deep, prismatic colour, is why I return to it again and again, every Easter; not as a window into a religious rite, but as a dark, pulsing emblem of suffering, as a reminder of art’s purpose, of its empathic power.

Chagall himself said of this painting, in a conversation with Franz Meyer: “Strictly speaking, there was only a blue child in the air. The Cross was of less interest to me.” The vision he had – palpable, non-verbal, mysterious – was everything. That is the truly creative space: the crucible in which spiritual treasures are born.

They will be releasing their second album this April, in the middle of the month: ‘Evelyn and Dec’. It’s not (yet) a household name but could become one. When their first album, ‘Make for Joy’, was released on Leap Day in 2024, it was named Album of the Week at RTÉ Radio 1. “Their voices are the most idyllic combination,” wrote TradFest (Dublin) last January when they were featured at the festival. 

‘Dec’ is short for a name that will ring a bell for quite a few people: Declan Sinnott. An acclaimed guitarist who worked with Christy Moore for well over 30 years, from the early 1980s until lockdown. He played acoustic, electric and Spanish guitars, violin and provided vocals on Moore’s iconic ‘Ride On’ album (1984) and produced four-and-a-half of his albums. 

He also worked with Mary Black for 13 years, from 1982 onwards, both as a guitarist and as her producer. Both of these working relationships have come to an end but not in a dramatic way at all, he says during the West Cork People interview. “They were very long collaborations. With Mary Black, I played all the gigs, was her producer, suggested a lot of the songs, and came up with the idea of using only Irish songwriters. I suppose I determined the direction to a large extent. With Christy Moore, although here, too, I was playing all the gigs. I didn’t have as much influence. Christie is very much his own man and I would be trying to steer him towards things that I thought might be good for him to do. However, mostly he would just do whatever he wanted to and I’d go along with it.”

Sinnott (born in Wexford, now resident in Bandon) was one of the original members of Horslips, otherwise known as “the Founding Fathers of Celtic Rock” according to Irish Music Daily. The blog also reveals that three of the core members, including Eamon Carr and Barry Devlin, arrived at the idea of forming a band, in 1970, after they had posed as a ‘fake band’ for an advert (for Harp Lager). They then invited Declan Sinnott and spent two years practising and performing before turning professional. Ironically, he left Horslips soon afterwards when it again appeared in an advert (for Mirinda orange juice), which annoyed him. Nine years later, he was asked by two other luminaries of the Irish music scene, Christy Moore and Dónal Lunny, to join what became the Celtic Rock band Moving Hearts before earning further ‘stripes’ in Irish musical history, as he started to work with Mary Black. During the period he was her producer, guitarist and musical director she went from strength to strength in her career. Two platinum-selling solo albums, plenty of plaudits, sell-out tours, international success (in Europe, the US, Japan). He also collaborated with her sister Frances Black, a prominent singer herself and, since 2016, a proactive ‘seanadóir’.

 The list of people that Declan has formed musical partnerships with over the years (he’s now 75) is long and impressive. As to the main ones, apart from the aforementioned singers, there’s John (Spillane), Niamh (Murphy), Hank (Wedel), Victoria (Keating), Sinead (Lohan), Jessie (Whitehead), Owen (O’Brien). 

And now there is Evelyn (Kallansee). Born on Curaçao, an island and former Spanish and Dutch colony off the coast of Venezuela, she grew up in a midsize town in North Holland. Evelyn sang in large musical and theatre productions such as Les Misérables and Evita, was a backing vocalist for well-known Dutch and international singers, acted in TV-series, and fronted Tristan, an acid jazz band that became popular in Japan and the UK.  

So how did she end up in Ireland?

“My in-laws would always go here on walking holidays and brought back beautiful photographs. After about 15 years of them trekking all over Ireland, my husband and I decided to check it out, went to Kerry and really fell in love with the place. And in 2011 we bought a house on the Beara Peninsula. At that time I stated, on a whim, that we’d move to Ireland in 2020. A nice round number and I would turn 50 in that year so it became our goal. And then we arrived two days before lockdown. That changed everything. Before coming to Ireland, I thought: I’ve had my career and done so many things, it’s okay, I’ll just start singing in pubs. Of course, they all closed down. And then I met Declan. He was such a joy to work with.”

Sinnott: “I was recording with another musician called Hank Wedel. He wanted harmonies on two tracks. When he discovered that Evelyn was in the country, he asked her to come and sing. When I heard her, a light bulb went on in my head and I thought, that’s very interesting. Not just the sound of her voice. Equally, her efficiency and professionalism.”

Evelyn: “I also work as a breath-work coach and do meditation for a Dutch company, the ‘I AM’ Academy. They had commissioned me to write a song for them but I’d just arrived in Ireland I had no idea who to do it with. When I met Declan I knew I had to try it with him.” The song, ‘Love Light’, became one of the 11 songs on Make for Joy, available on Bandcamp. Their second CD, Wait Up, will be launched and presented in April (see below for details). 

A lot of their songs seem to come about organically or should that be intuitively? 

Evelyn: “There is no fixed formula.”

Declan: “For the song called Wait Up, I put down a drum groove. Then Evelyn went to the microphone as I picked up an electric guitar. We just improvised and what we created added up to a well-rounded song. It was the first time we worked like that.”

Their music is very comfortable and reassuring. What stands out are the strong melody lines, the harmonies, Evelyn’s voice. And there is no doubt that whatever string and other sounds Declan produces, they are world class. A balm for the nervous system.

www.evelynanddec.com

Concerts:

April 24, St. John’s Theatre, Listowel

April 25, St. Patrick’s Church, Kenmare

April 26, Sarah Walker Gallery, Castletownbere

I’ve been checking out chocolate cakes for this month’s easter recipe and it’s led me down an interesting path. Our chocolate and hazelnut cake, which used to be so popular in our shop, first came to mind. However when my brain scanned the ingredients, I realised that the 300 grams of chocolate required to make one cake was a huge investment at today’s chocolate prices. We are all horrified at the rising price of fuel but the rising price of chocolate would be even more shocking if it was an essential, as the price has stealthily risen by 100 per cent a kilo in the past five years. I talked to Niamh from Hungry Crow, the classy fairtrade chocolate shop in Clonakilty, and she said that the world of the cocoa bean is faced with a combination of climate chaos and human rights issues, which has led to crop failure and driven the prices sky high. Even the big suppliers find this problematic but hedge around the issue by reducing chocolate bar size and pumping up the packaging.

I started sifting through my files – there are many ways to make a chocolate cake – and came upon an ancient French recipe, one of the first chocolate cakes that I ever made. It only needs 120g chocolate, so it’s a little more budget-friendly. The recipe has been tweaked many  times over the years as we had so many requests for gluten- and dairy-free cakes and it’s quite a flexible recipe. Olive oil is delicious in this cake – it complements the chocolate and makes a light, moist sponge. The flour can be regular or gluten-free, it doesn’t make any discernible difference to the end cake – both versions are below.

I played around with the chocolate content, swapping out the chocolate for cocoa, which works well, but I have to say that when I made both cakes side by side. even though both were delicious and got scoffed, my testers opted for the chocolate version, when asked to choose their favourite.

The first time I ate chocolate with olive oil was in Spain where we were served a small chocolate cup, which contained a little puddle of olive oil and a few seasalt flakes. I thought I’d gone to heaven, what a combination! I think I have been chasing that taste profile ever since.

Chocolate is far from vital in our lives but recent studies at the University of Pisa have brought to light that a combination of chocolate and olive oil can bring health benefits. Twenty-six volunteers, who were all susceptible to some kind of cardiac risk, took part in a 28-day trail eating a combination of 70 per cent chocolate and extra virgin olive oil.  The results showed a positive effect on blood pressure and cholesterol readings. 

Dark chocolate, at least 70 per cent, and extra virgin olive oil are both high in polyphenols and beneficial antioxidants, which reduce inflammation, improve blood pressure, circulation and help reduce cholesterol. It’s proven that when consumed together they can have a powerful effect,  making us energised, focused and healthy. Check out the internet for more information if you’re interested. It sounds like we’re okay to eat  sensible amounts of 70 per cent chocolate and olive oil – it could even have us skipping down the street.

So here you go, a cake with health benefits! 

Chocolate and
Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients:

• 120 mls extra virgin olive oil

• 120g caster sugar

• 120g chocolate

• 60g white flour, sieved OR 40g rice flour+20g potato flour

• 60g ground almonds

• 3 large eggs, separated

Method: Prepare a 20cm cake tin. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper and rub the side with olive oil

Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

Put a pan with a small amount of water onto heat. Put the chocolate into a bowl and sit the bowl onto the saucepan. The bowl should sit above the water. Gently melt the chocolate. 

In a large bowl whisk the olive oil and sugar together until creamy, then add the egg yolks one by one. Add the melted chocolate and then the ground almonds. Put aside while you whisk the whites.

Put the egg whites into a large clean bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer), be sure the bowl is clean and there are no traces of yolk otherwise the whites won’t whip. Begin whisking, quite slowly if you’re using a machine, then increase the speed, whisk until they begin to hold their form but are still quite loose, add 1tbs sugar, then whisk until the egg whites are stiff. The bowl should hold glossy white peaks. When you get to this point stop as it’s possible to over whisk which will make the whites grainy and more difficult to fold in.

Using a large metal spoon or a spatula gently fold in one-third of the whites into the chocolate mix, then one-third of the flour. Do this twice more.

Pour  the mix into the prepared tin and bake  for about 25 mins. Test with a clean knife. Insert the knife into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean the cake is ready. 

Leave to cool and then turn out onto a wire rack. The cake must be completely cool before topping.

Chocolate Topping

Ingredients:

• 75g chocolate

• 1.5 tbs olive oil

Method: Melt the chocolate and olive oil  together over a pot of boiling water. Allow to cool a little before spreading over the top and sides of the cake. Do this slowly and if it’s too runny wait a while then try again. Leave to set before eating.

Happy Easter!

By Dave Rees and Nicholas Mitchell

The West Cork Branch held the inaugural first bird race on January 29, 2017. Apparently there had been a bird race in earlier years but no records exist. Our Chair at the time, Paul Connaughton, felt that this would be a great opportunity to showcase birding in West Cork and attract both experienced and novice birders. Six teams registered for that first race. The number of teams entering the race remained the broadly same for the first few years and then there was a gap for Covid in 2021 and 2022. On its resumption, registrations started to increase, and families and students started to come along. 

The race is now held on the first Sunday in February and this year a record 16 teams registered. The teams gathered at Scally’s car park, ready for the 8.30am start. There was the usual excited chat going on, with friends catching up, renewing friendly rivalries and trying not to give away too much about their plans: where they would head first or their treasured spots for guaranteed birds. The weather was set fair, with no rain forecast, but the sun’s glare was going to be an issue, particularly when looking out to sea. The high tide times were not the friendliest either, with high tide in Clonakilty not due until late afternoon.

At 8.30am sharp the teams scattered to their chosen first spots. The race is confined to an area between the boatyard at Ring in the east and the pier at Rosscarbery in the west, with the N71 road the northern boundary. For some teams, meticulous planning goes into deciding how best to spend their time and which sites have to be visited at certain times. For others it’s a day out birding with friends. Although the teams disperse, there are times when they bump into each other. Our own team, for example, met two others at Sands Cove. We had headed there to look for Rock Pipit, which had been surprisingly difficult to find during the day. Not only did we find Rock Pipit, but had the unexpected bonus of a Black Redstart.  At these unexpected meetings, there is the usual banter and pretence of doing really well, before finally admitting that the day is a little quiet.

As always there’s the last minute rush to call in at a few more sites and try to add one or two extra species to the list before getting back to O’Donovan’s Hotel by 6pm, which is where the fun starts. Whilst the organisers tot up the scores, the stories begin as to who saw what and where. Then the scores are in and announced. This year the winning team was The East Corkers (Paul Moore, Denis O’Sullivan, John Coveney and Mark Shorten) with an impressive total of 100 species, narrowly beating the local C Team (Ciarán Cronin, Colin Bartin, Calvin Jone and Christopher O’Sullivan) by one bird! And in third place with an amazing 95 was the family team Bob’s Mighty Munch Bunch (Sam Bayley, Lucy Bayley (5), Wayne Greene-Salm, Lulu Greene-Salm (11) and Heidi Greene-Salm (9)). Once again we are grateful to Dena, and Tommy (RIP), and their team for hosting us once more at O’Donovan’s.

Since the race started nine years ago, 132 species have been recorded. This year some of the highlights included Black Redstart, Glossy Ibis and Great Spotted Woodpecker.  But the real winner and highlight was the day itself. A great day was had birdwatching in West Cork in good weather and meeting up with other birders later in the day. For those of us involved in organising the race, it was fantastic to see so many teams turn out and in particular to the number of youngsters joining in and obviously enjoying the day. If this sounds like fun, why not put a team together for next year’s race on Sunday, February 4? See you at the start!

In the meantime, why not join us at one of our forthcoming outings. Unless expressly stated, all our events are free and are open to everyone; you do not need to be a member of BirdWatch Ireland

BirdWatch Ireland
West Cork Branch News

Upcoming outings:

Sunday, April 19: Bilingual Nature Walk idir Gaeilge agus Béarla, Baile Bhuirne 

During April: Ad hoc migration outings notified on our WhatsApp Group. The joining link can be found on the home page of our website 

Visit www.birdwatchirelandwestcork.ie for details of upcoming events.

For more information, contact Fiona O’Neill at secretary@birdwatchirelandwestcork.ie

Follow us on: Facebook: @BirdWatchIrelandWestCork. Instagram: @birdwatch_ireland_west_cork

I know it can be a divisive vegetable, but I have to say I love beetroot. I love it in salads – cooked or raw – and I love it roasted. And I especially love that the whole plant is not just edible but tasty – the leaves are delicious cooked like spinach – in fact in some cultures the leaves are prized more than the roots. 

Beetroots are so vibrant, and have so many health benefits – too many to cover! I’m only going to manage to summarise the most researched ones here. 

While beetroot has been celebrated in kitchens for centuries, recent nutrition research helps explain exactly ‘why’ this humble vegetable is such a superfood. 

Adding beetroots in your diet, or taking a daily shot of beetroot juice, can have significant health benefits and can in some cases reduce the need for medication. I used a website I like called NutritonFacts.org for the research mentioned below, in case you want to check out the references. 

One of the best-studied health benefits of beetroot comes from its high nitrate content. Unlike the nitrates you find in sausages and other processed foods, the nitrates in beetroot are converted in the body into nitric oxide – a molecule that relaxes and widens blood vessels, improves blood flow and helps to lower blood pressure. Even if that was the end of their health benefits, beetroots should win a Nobel Health Prize! 

Beetroot’s heart-friendly properties are mirrored in its shape and colour – particularly when cooked, it looks just like a human heart – in case we needed a visual reminder of its benefits. 

In terms of high blood pressure, there are clinical studies that show that drinking beetroot juice or consuming nitrate-rich beetroots can significantly reduce systolic blood pressure, with effects that begin within hours of consumption and last throughout the day. And of course with no side effects, just side benefits! 

The same nitrates that help support healthy blood pressure also help with exercise efficiency and performance.

Research reviewed on NutritionFacts.org highlights that nitrate consumption can improve the efficiency with which the body uses oxygen during exercise. This means muscles can work harder or longer with the same amount of oxygen, which can translate into better endurance and performance, especially in endurance sports such as cycling or running.

Some studies reported that cyclists who consumed beetroot juice required less oxygen to compete at a high intensity compared to those who didn’t – a measure of improved aerobic efficiency.

Beetroot isn’t just a pretty veg – the deep dark red colour comes from betalains, a class of phytonutrients with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These compounds help combat oxidative stress – the imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body, which is linked to many forms of chronic disease.

Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are implicated in heart disease, cancer, and metabolic disorders. While dietary antioxidants don’t cure disease, eating antioxidant-rich foods like beetroot contributes to our body’s ability to neutralise free radicals and support healthy cellular function.

Beyond the heart and muscles, improved circulation matters to the brain too. Some emerging research suggests that better blood flow – facilitated by nitric oxide from dietary nitrates – may help maintain cognitive function as we age, and even reduce the progression of dementia. 

One of the more curious phenomena associated with beet consumption is beeturia – when urine (or sometimes stool) takes on a pink or reddish colour. It’s nothing to be worried about though – it’s just the colourful beetroot making its way out of your system.

In addition to nitrates and betalains, beetroot brings a range of important micronutrients to the table. It’s a source of vitamins like folate (important for cell growth and cardiovascular health), minerals such as potassium (which supports nerve and muscle function), and dietary fibre, which is beneficial for digestive health.

If you have an inflammatory bowel condition, adding beetroot to your diet could be very helpful. Maybe start with the juice and if that is tolerated well, see how you do with cooked beetroot. 

Beetroot’s earthy sweetness makes it a wonderful ingredient in salads, smoothies, soups, roasted vegetable dishes, and juices. Many people find beetroot even tastier when combined with orange juice or ginger.

We have some fantastic Irish beetroot products. The West Cork based Cultured Food Company offers a fermented beetroot kvass with ginger and a jar of sliced fermented beetroot, while Feighery’s Farm produces an Irish-grown beetroot juice mixed with apple juice –  both delicious ways to enjoy beetroot. In Organico, we also stock locally made sliced and pickled beetroot, a selection of organic juices, and beetroot and raw broccoli sprout shots from NHNH.

For those who want the health benefits without eating a whole beetroot daily, a small daily juice shot works well. Alternatively, Nature’s Plus Organic Beetroot Powder can be added to smoothies or drinks. Capsules are also an option for convenience. But whatever happens we should all eat the beets! 

This isn’t medical advice – please do your research thoroughly and consult a medical professional if you are on medication or have a serious health concern.

At one time in Ireland, the average adult consumed over six kilos of potatoes per day or just over two tons per year! If you consider there were over eight million people eating this staple food, it is estimated that over 330,000 hectares were cultivated to grow this amount of potatoes. These were not the varieties that we are familiar with today but mostly the dreaded Lumper variety described as “wet, tasteless and unwholesome” potato variety that triggered the Irish ‘Potato’ Famine. Today about 9000 hectares are grown (producing an impressive 370,000 tons) and our average annual potato consumption is just 85kg a person, which is still two-and-a-half times higher than the world average. Despite this you may be surprised to learn we still import over 50 per cent of the potatoes consumed in Ireland.

We have ideal growing conditions in West Cork and we are finding many of our customers here at Deelish are getting fantastic returns on their home grown spuds! This season we have over 20 varieties in stock. Each year we try to source new varieties, as well as stocking tried and tested favourites such as Roosters and British Queens. For this month’s article, I thought it would be a good idea to have a look at how to grow your own. 

There is plenty of time to plant this wonderful vegetable, which is traditionally planted on St.Patricks day but can also be planted as late as May.

Seed potatoes are dived into three main groups listed below:

First earlies; Plant early to mid March. 10-12 weeks to mature. Less chance of blight but smaller harvest. Popular varieties; Orla, Duke of York, Sharpe’s Express, Home Guard

Second earlies; Plant mid March to early April. 12-14 weeks to mature. Small chance of blight. Good selection Medium harvest. Popular varieties; British Queens, Charlotte, Nicola. Maris Peer

Main crop; Plant in April. 18-22 weeks to mature. More chance of blight. Large harvest. Popular varieties; Rooster, Golden wonders,  Kerr’s pink, Sarpo Mira.

Chitting
Once you have decided which varieties you want to grow, it is time to ‘chit’ (spelled with a c)! Seed potatoes, particularly earlies and second earlies benefit from ‘chitting’ prior to being planted. This process encourages strong shoots to sprout over several weeks to encourage faster growth and heavier crops once they’re in the ground.

From late January/February, chit your seed potatoes by setting them out in seed trays, shallow boxes or empty egg cartons in a cool, bright, frost-free position to allow them to sprout. You will notice that the immature ‘chits’ are all at one end (called the rose end). Place the rose end upwards. Sturdy ‘chits’ will form and should grow one inch in length. Be careful not to let them get any longer, as they can break when planting out, slowing down the growth. Main crops don’t necessarily need to be chitted.

Planting out
Once you are happy with your chitted seed potatoes and the weather seems right, you are ready to plant! Here in West Cork, it is possible to plant seed potatoes right through the year under the protection of glass houses and polytunnels. Outside it is possible to plant out after the last frost, (typically mid to late March). The soil should be freshly dug over and weed free.The traditional way is to dig a narrow trench 12cm (5in) deep. This can be lined with compost or even grass clippings for a better crop. As potatoes are hungry growers, I also add organic horse manure or chicken pellets, as well as seaweed to the trench at this stage. The seed tubers are spaced 30cm (12”) apart for earlies and 37cm (15”) for main crop varieties. The rows should be 24” (60cm) apart for earlies and 75cm (30in) apart for maincrop. Planting depth is also important, as if they are planted too shallow they are unlikely to produce large tubers and too deep they will struggle to  grow at all. The ideal planting depth is just over 4-5” (10-13cm) depending on the size of your seed potatoes.

There are other ways of growing if you do not have a large garden, or any garden at all! Small crops of potatoes can be grown in large, deep containers (rubble sacks and stacked tyres also work) and this is a good way of getting an early batch of new potatoes. Line the bottom 15cm (6in) of the container with potting compost and plant the seed potato just below this. As the new stems start growing, keep adding compost until the container is full.

Aftercare
It is important to ‘earth up’ potato crops as the shoots emerge above ground, to protect them from frosts which blacken the shoots and delay production. Simply draw some soil over the top of the shoots to cover them again.

If there is a chance of a late frost, cover the new shoots with a garden fleece or straw. Remove when the threat of frost has passed.

First earlies and second earlies in particular require plenty of water during prolonged dry weather especially when tubers are starting to form. This is also a good time to feed with an organic liquid concentrate. This will strengthen the plants against disease and improve yields.

When the stems reach a height of 23cm (9”) above ground they should be earthed up again to prevent tubers near to the soil surface from turning green.

Weed out any unwanted plants along the trenches through the season (if the potatoes are growing well, there won’t be many).

Harvesting
Harvesting times will vary depending on the growing season, weather conditions at harvest time and the size of tuber you want. Start to harvest first earlies as ‘new potatoes’ when the plants begin to flower, approximately 10-12 weeks from planting. Tubers will generally become larger the longer their growing period.

Maincrop varieties are usually left for at least two weeks after the leaves and stems have withered, to allow the skins to set. Cut down the stems with secateurs to just above soil level as the leaves wither and yellow, or if they show signs of blight. After harvesting, leave the tubers on the soil surface for a few hours to dry and cure the skin. Once dry store them in paper or hessian sacks in a dark, cool but frost free place. Avoid storing in polythene bags as potatoes will ‘sweat’ and rot. Some main crop varieties tend to taste sweeter a few weeks or months after harvesting, as the starches change to sugar.

Common problems
Potato blight: This is the most common disease in our wet, warm summers. The initial symptoms are a rapidly spreading brown watery rot, affecting the leaves, and stems. Tubers can be affected too, and have a reddish-brown decay below the skin, firm at first but soon developing into a soft rot.

Remedy – Spray potato crops with a protective fungicide even before signs of blight become apparent. Copper sulphate is used as a preventative, not a cure. Add 50g Bluestone (copper sulphate) to two litres of hot water. In a separate container add 60g washing soda to three litres of hot water. After half an hour, mix the two liquids and spray directly onto the potatoes, making sure to spray under the leaves as well. Do not spray if raining, as the mixture will not stick. Use a watering can in the absence of a sprayer and ensure to clean it thoroughly after use. This five litre mixture is enough for 20 square metres. Begin spraying this potato blight treatment from about June, particularly when periods of wet weather are forecast and spray again after a few weeks to protect any new growth. 

We have also had great feedback from gardeners spraying with horsetail concentrate available as a concentrate here at Deelish. If plants do become infected they should be removed and destroyed. Where potato crops have already developed tubers then these can be saved by cutting away the foliage and stems. Leave the soil undisturbed for 2/3 weeks to kill off any lingering spores so that they don’t infect the crop when it is lifted. 

Always try and grow potatoes on new ground or rotate every year if possible. Keeping the potatoes fed with a good organic fertiliser containing plenty of trace elements will also help with preventing blight. 

If you want to grow main crop potatoes but worry about blight, another option is to grow any of the following; Sarpo Mira, Axona along Vitabella (one of my favorites) as  well as  many more varieties  have  all been bred for high blight resistance.

Potato blackleg: Potato blackleg is a common bacterial disease which causes black rotting at the stem base. Initial infections cause stunted growth and yellowing stems. If tubers form, the flesh may be grey or brown and rotten.

Remedy – Blackleg generally infects individual plants rather than entire crops and does not spread between plants or persist in the soil. Remove and destroy any infected plants, improve soil drainage and plant blackleg resistant potato varieties such as Charlotte.

Potato scab: This disease causes raised scab-like lesions on the potato surface. It does not affect the taste of the potato, and is easily removed on peeling. 

Remedy – Common Scab on potatoes is best controlled by improving poor soil conditions with the addition of organic matter and by keeping potato crops well watered throughout the growing season. Use any infected tubers first and do not store them. Home guard is well known variety for scab resistance.

Eelworm: Initially, crops display patches of poor growth and affected plants may show chlorosis and wilting, with poor top growth. These symptoms develop from the ground upwards. Heavily infested plants die prematurely and yield a poor crop of under-sized tubers. 

Remedy – There are no pesticides available to home gardeners, which will control  eelworms, and so crop rotation should be used to avoid spreading the pest and to reduce infestations. Some varieties are more resistant. Nicola (another of my favourites) and Picasso have good Eelworm resistance.

Slugs: Slugs cause damage to both the foliage and to the developing potato tubers. Damage is fairly obvious as the culprits are easily identified by the silvery slime trails that are left around the plant foliage and on the soil surface.

Remedy – There are a multitude of ways to kill or remove slugs and snails including homemade remedies such as beer traps. Use eco-friendly slug pellets or you can try nematodes or copper barriers. Sarpo Mira, Golden wonders and a few others have good slug resistance.

One of the attractions of growing the humble potato is just how easy it is to grow, and how much you get in return for a bit of planning, chitting and digging! It is also an excellent crop to grow on new ground where you plan to grow other vegetables in future seasons. Don’t let any of the above common problems put you off giving them a go, as they really are a joy to grow!

Feel free to visit us here at Deelish for all your gardening needs and many more gardening tips. Wishing you all the best with the 2026 growing season ahead.

What are the advantages of growing vegetables in a raised bed?

There are some clear advantages to growing vegetables in a raised bed. The soil will be drier, which makes it easier to work, with possibly less slug problems. This is particularly advantageous when working with a heavy soil.

Raised bed growing also creates a demarcation between path and bed, making it easier to keep on top of weeds. Without footfall on beds you also avoid soil compaction. 

Gardening at ground level can be physically demanding so raised beds are slightly easier on the body as, depending on the height of the bed, you probably won’t have to stoop so low when weeding or harvesting.

What is the best location for a raised vegetable bed?

A raised bed is best made in a sheltered garden that faces South and preferably close to the house. It is best laid out roughly North to South, so the sun will get to both sides of the bed and, in the middle of the day, neighbouring beds won’t be shaded in case some beds have taller plants.

What kind of materials do I need to build a raised bed?

Safely treated wood is best but you’ll also find galvanised steel raised beds for sale. Thin concrete walls can be good too, with the added advantage that the slugs don’t like a fresh cement surface. Fill the bottom of the bed with coarse organic material and finish it off with a nice topsoil mixed with good compost at a depth of approx 25cm.

What is the best size and depth for my raised bed?

The bed should measure 1m to 1.20 wide with a total depth of soil at a minimum of 25cm. 

The height of the beam will depend on the needs of the grower and the extra soil available. 

In a tunnel you don’t want to make the beds too high as plants like tomatoes and cucumbers need to be able to grow up.

 A depth of 15 to 30cm, about path level, is ideal from my perspective, but people with mobility problems may like the beds to be higher 

How do I prepare my soil for planting seeds/plugs directly in and what is the best time of year to do this?

You can mix in well rotted garden compost/ farm yard manure or one of our general organic fertilisers (4-3-7 or 5-3-8) at the correct rate; say 1kg/4m2. This can be done now, if planting soon or closer to planting time. If sowing directly in the soil, make sure the soil is raked well and there are no big lumps. When transplanting, the soil needs to be even, but doesn’t have to be as fine. 

What type of compost would you recommend for growing vegetables?

We recommend the Klasmann Proline Organic Composts for sowing and potting on. These are of professional quality and all the commercial organic growers in Ireland use these for raising their plants. 

If you need compost to fill your raised beds we can supply bulk bags of organic-approved compost for this purpose at a very reasonable price. 

What vegetables would you advise growing?

I would recommend to grow salads, scallions, radish, spinach and chard/leafbeet, early carrots and beetroot and possibly peas or french beans. A few early potatoes can be nice too, but they will take up a lot of space. If you like herbs, it can be nice to have your own parsley, chervil, coriander and so on.

Are there vegetables that work best planted together?

Planting different crops in close proximity can mutually benefit each other, improve plant health, and increase yields. The following are some examples of companion planting.

Three Sisters: This Native American planting technique involves growing corn, beans, and squash together. Corn provides support for the beans to climb, beans fix nitrogen in the soil, and squash acts as a living mulch, suppressing weeds and conserving soil moisture.

French Marigolds and numerous Vegetables: French Marigolds (Tagetes Patula) are renowned for their ability to repel nematodes and aphids. They also attract beneficial insects such as ladybugs, lacewings, hoverflies, parasitic mini-wasps and other predatory insects that will feed on aphids and other garden pests. Marigolds are often planted with tomatoes and carrots.

Borage and Strawberries: Borage is a magnet for pollinators such and bees, butterflies and hoverflies which help pollinate the strawberries. It’s also said it can he,lp improve their flavour.

Carrots and Onions: Planting carrots and onions together is beneficial because the pungent smell of onions can help deter the carrot root fly, while the scent of carrots helps repel the onion fly.

Nasturtium and Broad Bean/Brassicas: Nasturtiums serve as an effective trap crop when planted with broad beans. They attract black flies away from the beans, safeguarding the primary crop. They work similarly with brassicas luring hungry caterpillars away.

I would like to grow potatoes this year in my raised bed. What varieties would you advise on and why?

Vitabella are a good second early crop for a raised bed, as the tops don’t grow too tall and they are very blight resistant. As a first early, Sharpes or Home Guard work very well.

When is the best time to plant potatoes and can you share any advice for encouraging a good crop?

There is no need to plant outside earlier than mid March. Often the crops planted in April actually do better.

Can potatoes be grown with other vegetables?

Potato plants become very large, so they are best grown by themselves. The early crop will be harvested in June/July, so another later vegetable can be planted after.

How do I keep slugs and pests off my vegetables?

First make sure the plants are healthy and the soil is fertile enough for the particular crop. Crops can be made stronger with a regular liquid feed or foliar spray of liquid seaweed at the right dilution rate. If there are still problems with slugs you can use organically-approved slug pellets.

What are the best edible flowers to grow?

There are many edible flowers that are a treat to eat, as well as adding colour and texture to dishes. Edible flowers can be used in salads, as cake decorations or beverage garnishes. Below is a list of the different edible flower varieties we stock at Fruit Hill Farm.

• Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum): Anise hyssop boasts a sweet, licorice-like flavour with hints of mint. Its delicate purple flowers and fragrant leaves make it a versatile herb for both sweet and savoury dishes. Use it to infuse syrups, teas, and cocktails, or sprinkle the blossoms over salads and desserts.

• Borage (Borago officinalis): Borage flowers have a refreshing cucumber-like taste, making them a delightful addition to salads, cold soups, and cocktails. They can also be candied or frozen into ice cubes for an elegant touch to beverages.

• Calendula Marigold (Calendula officinalis): Calendula petals have a mild, tangy flavour reminiscent of saffron. They can be used to add a golden hue to rice dishes, soups, and stews, or infused into oils and vinegars for a pop of colour and flavour.

• Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla): Chamomile flowers have a delicate, apple-like flavour with subtle floral notes. Chamomile is commonly used to brew soothing herbal teas, known for their calming properties. The fresh flowers can also be added to salads.

• Chive Blossoms (Allium schoenoprasum): Chive blossoms feature a mild onion flavour and can be used fresh or dried to garnish salads, soups, and savoury dishes. Their delicate purple blooms add a pop of colour and a hint of oniony goodness to any dish.

• Chrysanthemum ‘Shungiku’ (Glebionis coronaria): Shungiku is a species of annual edible chrysanthemum with shoots of up to 100 cm. The 10-20 cm long shoots can be used fresh in salad or steamed as a vegetable. The buds and flowers are also edible. It can be cut repeatedly, providing high yields and is an ideal addition to baby leaf salad.

• Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea): Clary sage flowers impart a delicate, herbal flavour with hints of citrus and mint. Use them to garnish salads, desserts, and cocktails, or infuse them into syrups, vinegars, and liqueurs for a fragrant twist.

• Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus): Cornflowers offer a subtle, earthy flavour and a stunning blue hue that can enhance both sweet and savoury dishes. Add them to salads, desserts, or baked goods for a touch of elegance and natural beauty.

• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): Dandelion flowers have a slightly sweet and mildly bitter taste, reminiscent of honey and endive. Use them in salads, fritters, or infused into syrups and wines.

• Dill (Anethum graveolens): Dill flowers boast a delicate, feathery appearance and a subtle, aromatic flavour reminiscent of the herb’s leaves and seeds. They are perfect for garnishing seafood dishes, salads, and pickles, or for infusing into vinegars, sauces, and dips.

• Fennel Herb (Foeniculum vulgare): Fennel flowers have a delicate anise flavour that complements a variety of dishes, from salads and seafood to desserts and cocktails. Use them to garnish salads, soups, and pasta dishes, or infuse them into oils and vinegars for a hint of aromatic sweetness.

• Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): With its distinct floral and slightly sweet flavour, lavender can be added to both sweet and savoury dishes. Use it sparingly in baking, cocktails, salads, and even savoury dishes like roasted meats.

• Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus): These cheerful blooms come in shades of orange, yellow, and red. The flowers have a slightly sweet flavour with a peppery, spicy kick. Add to salads, sandwiches, and savoury dishes. Nasturtium flowers can also be stuffed with soft cheeses or herb spreads for a delightful appetiser. The green seeds can be chopped and used with parsley as a garnish or pickled like capers.

• Sunflower (Helianthus annuus): Sunflower buds, petals and seeds are all edible. Add the petals to a green salad for a colour contrast and a mild nutty taste. The green buds can be blanched, then tossed in garlic butter – similar in flavour to a Jerusalem artichoke. The kernels inside the seeds can be eaten raw or toasted as a snack.

• Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus): Sweet William flowers feature a subtly spicy, clove-like flavour and vibrant colours ranging from white and pink to red and purple. They make a charming addition to salads, desserts, and cocktails.

• Thyme (Thymus vulgaris): Thyme flowers possess a subtle, earthy flavour similar to the herb’s leaves but with a slightly sweeter undertone. They can be used to garnish soups, stews, and roasted meats, or infused into oils, vinegars, and honey for a fragrant twist

• Pansy (Viola tricolor): Pansy flowers have a lettuce-like flavour and make a decorative addition to a green salad or to garnish a pâté or dessert. They can be crystallised and used to decorate cakes.

I’ve heard that herb spiral is a good way to grow herbs. Can you explain what this is and how do I create one?

Herb spirals can be very pretty, but are mainly suitable for perennial herbs, annuals like Chervil, Coriander, Dill and so on are best grown like vegetables, a small patch at the time, as they usually go to seed very quickly and need to be sown a few times during the growing season. A herb spiral is best made with solid walls from cement and stone, it will make it easier to keep on top of the weeds and keep it looking good.

A beautiful wine moment, around a bottle of red Burgundy, inspired a birthday cycling trip with my sister. 

The route, from The Lonely Planet Guide to Cycling in France, was chosen based on easy terrain, the odd hill just to give us a bit of a challenge, and, crucially, wonderful scenery, pristine, ancient villages, with the promise of excellent food and wine at the end of each journey. The route took us through sleepy Burgundian villages, from the timber-framed houses of Auxerre to the wine heartland of Chablis, the untouched mediaeval village of Noyers sur Serein, and finished in the hilltop jewel of Vezelay. 

The train from Paris to the pretty town of Auxerre, on the banks of the Yonne river, took about two hours. We had organised to pick up our bikes from La Maison du Vélo, a unique bike shop in an old water pumping station, bikes piled against ancient pumps and machinery. Laurent, the owner, recommended a restaurant, La Petite Beursaude, for our dinner that evening. Here, we had our first taste of Burgundy’s legendary food and wine. A glass of Cremant to start, the Burgundian rival to Champagne, followed by asparagus, duck and cheese, and a gorgeous Pinot Noir, the main red grape of Burgundy.

April is a perfect time to visit as the fragrance of the blossoms is everywhere, and the weather is beautiful, without being too hot. We had our coffee and croissants on the wisteria-draped terrace at the Hotel des Marachaux, before starting the first leg of our trip. The minor roads we travelled on were quiet, smooth and fairly straight, with very little traffic.

The scenery between Auxerre and Chablis was beautiful, gentle and peaceful. Tiny quiet villages with barely a soul afoot, seemingly unchanged for centuries. The road wound gently up rolling hills until we were looking down over the patchwork that is the Chablis wine region. We found a yard with a ‘degustation’ (tasting) sign, and carefully, with much detailed analysis, chose a bottle with a lunchtime picnic in mind. A well-stocked shop with cheese, charcuterie and bread provided the rest. We couldn’t pass Marguerite de Chablis wine bar, lured by glasses clinking on the sunny banks of the Serein river. A few kilometres later, we stopped for our picnic at a sun-dappled spot by the river, leaving only a short ride to our destination of Noyers sur Serein.

The town’s medieval gates provided a cinematic entrance to Noyers, as our bikes rattled on the cobblestones in the evening hush. As we fumbled in panniers for our phones to find our accommodation, a man pulled up and called our names. He had seen us ride past, like two coyboys thundering into a dusty wild west town, and thought, ah, these must be my two Irish women! 

Having settled us in with a crisp glass of white, he made a reservation for us at his friend’s restaurant, La Vielle Tour. Here, we ate more wonderful asparagus, lamb, cheese, and Gevrey Chambertin, a wonderful red wine, usually prohibitively expensive at home. 

Our accommodation at the 13th century Les Trois Tours was beautiful, with a wooden balcony overlooking the Serein river. The town itself looked almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, with cobbled streets and beautiful wood-panelled buildings. An art cooperative and café in the village was a wonderland of quirky pieces, vintage furniture, great coffee and home made cakes. We had a browse at the weekly market before heading off along the river towards our next stop, Vezelay. Our lunch stop was Le Pot d’Etain, with cheese, charcuterie and cool white Burgundy in a sunny courtyard. A short stop in buzzy Avallon, then the steep climb up to the beautiful village of Vezelay. 

As we took a rest halfway up this hill, along came our host wondering if we’d gotten lost, a familiar theme. We were staying in a one-room chambre d’hote, Le Porc Epic, above an art gallery. 

The owners booked us a restaurant, and left us sipping a glass of Chablis on the terrace overlooking the Morvan Valley and vineyards out to the horizon. 

La Terrasse restaurant was a few minutes’ walk away, right beside Vezelay’s famous Basilica. We dined on classics like Gougère and Boeuf Bourguignon, accompanied by Mercurey 1er Cru, taking a half bottle home with us to enjoy on our panoramic terrace. Vezelay is a beautiful town, perched high above rolling vineyards. Our last morning was spent wandering through its medieval streets, and visiting the stunning Basilica, and squeezing in a lunch of wine and paté. Our journey back to Paris was fairly convoluted, but that gave us time for a train picnic, of course with a nice red Burgundy, and maybe clearing the carriage with our very ripe cheese. 

Resources

• The Lonely Planet Cycling Guide to France

• maison-vélo.fr
(bike hire Auxerre)

• hotel-lesmarechaux.com (Auxerre)

• Les Trois Tours 
(Noyers sur Serein)

• le-porc-epic.com (Vezelay)

What binds all the great philosophers from Aristotle to Peter Singer is a voyage of self-discovery. Despite the many centuries and cultural nuances that separate them, time and time again, a common theme that emerges from so many of them, is to be virtuous and selfless. Aristotle believed that happiness comes from service to the community. Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas, said the key energiser is love and thus acts of love towards humankind. The great fifth century Chinese philosopher Confucius preached that a person becomes whole when they fulfil responsible roles in society in a selfless way. Twenty-first century sage Peter Singer puts it that basically one wants to feel there is more to life than just consuming products and generating garbage. He asks what greater motivation can there be than doing whatever one possibly can to reduce suffering and pain?

The recent pairing of the Republic of Ireland soccer team and Israel in the same group has, once again, highlighted the tensions between the two nations that has developed since Israel’s military incursions into Gaza. It’s probably not a bad thing, since it has turned the spotlight back on the conflict that a UN report has called genocide, seeing that it has dropped out of the media cycle. Yet there have been 600 deaths and counting since Israel agreed to stop the bombing and a ceasefire. So what’s this got to do with a bunch of philosophers?

Prior to the draw, League of Ireland clubs such as Saint Patrick’s Athletic have bravely brought a case to UEFA against Israel’s continued participation in both international and club football. The case is black and white. In summary, the argument revolves around the fact that Israel’s continued participation is a direct breach of article three and four of UEFA’s statutes. By allowing Israeli clubs in occupied Palestinian territory, to participate in European competitions, UEFA are in breach of these statutes and indeed international law. By coincidence the recent draw has escalated this case further but so far both the Irish Government and the FAI have decided not to take a stand. Supporters of the boycott favour UEFA taking the lead on this with a ban – like they did previously with Russia and Yugoslavia – but Israel seems exempt from these rules. So what happens next? The Irish woman’s basketball team, when faced with this uncomfortable fixture, fulfilled it, in spite of many of the young women speaking out against it. Basketball Ireland said it would “damage the sport” and thus the game went ahead.  Will our government take action?  Mary Lou has said we should give Israel “the red card”, whereas Simon Harris said, “Ireland would miss out” The FAI likewise have said they “have no choice”. Will individual players take it upon themselves to take a stand? It’s difficult on one level given many may feel it could damage their career, but should we listen to the great men and women who believe that virtue and selflessness will lead to a fulfilled life above everything else? 

This article will look at some sportspeople who made the decision to do what they felt was right, even if it could have led to their own personal ruin. History has been kind to them for their brave actions and, in times of great moral ambiguity, we need more of our heroes to stand up. 

Muhammad Ali 

By 1967 there were almost half a million soldiers fighting in Vietnam. Black people were drafted in disproportionate numbers, something that Martin Luther King Jr highlighted in a famous speech he gave at the Riverside church in New York in April 1967. Always conscious of keeping the white political elite on board, he risked sanction with his direct confrontation; “We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem.”

Muhammad Ali would take it further, which ultimately led to the loss of his boxing world title and his arrest and deny this brilliant and charismatic athlete from performing in a boxing arena for a further three-and-a-half years. Just a few short weeks after King’s speech, he refused to be drafted, as it went against his religious beliefs and, like King, his moral outlook. On April 28, he declared to the world “The real enemy of my people is right here (USA). I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality.”

Tommie Smith and John Carlos

Mexico City 1968. America marvels at the performances of their 200-metre sprint team. Carlos claims the bronze and Smith the gold, breaking the world record in the process. Since then there have been thousands of American medal winners that most people have forgotten, but these two athletes will be remembered forever for their brave stance. They walked into the area, shoeless, as a symbol of the poverty that had engulfed their communities. (Vietnam was costing the state 30 billion dollars a year and LBL’s ‘great society’ project was bankrupt). Carlos wore a necklace to symbolise lynching. More symbolically, they raised their clenched fists in the manner of the civil rights group, the Black Panthers, after they received their medals and during the national anthem. Afterwards they were sent home in disgrace, received death threats and endured financial hardship. When Smith was asked if he regretted that salute, he replied, “The only regret was that it had to be done.”

Tony Ward 

In 2026, Irish rugby has been obsessing about who should be the Irish number 10 for the national team – Jack Crowley or Sam Prendergast. There was a similar conversation in the early eighties, when Tony Ward and Ollie Campbell were the darlings of that era. They were both so good that they were selected for the Lions tour to apartheid South Africa in 1980. Both men jumped at the highest accolade in rugby, but it would have a negative effect on Ward. The reality of the situation appalled the young man: “When we arrived in Johannesburg airport I came face to face with the reality of apartheid when I went to the toilet and saw the sign ‘Whites only toilet – No Blacks’.” The following year, trade unions, the government and the Catholic church called on the IRFU not to tour South Africa. It fell on deaf ears and unbelievably they still went. Not Tony Ward (and a dozen others). After what he had seen firsthand, he refused to travel and his international rugby career was never the same again after. 

Naomi Osaka 2020

Osaka is one of the highest profile players in the women’s tennis circuit, winning four grand slam titles. During the US open of 2020, she wore seven masks bearing the name of black victims shot dead by police, to shine a light on the continued police violence in the USA that has been particularly hard on immigrants and the black community. In an interview she said, “For me it’s just spreading awareness. I feel like the more people know the story, then the more interesting or interested they’ll become in it. It’s quite sad that seven masks aren’t enough for the amount of names.” That was the same year the high profile case of George Floyd was choked by police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020 on the streets of Minneapolis, where this last month Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good were killed by federal agents. Has anything changed? Thankfully Osaka’s career was not negatively affected for her brave stance.

Vladyslav Heraskevych 2026

Heraskevych, a Ukrainian Winter Olympic athlete engaged in a similar protest as Osaka’s. On his helmet, he wore what he called a ‘helmet of remembrance’ depicting twenty-four of his friends that have been killed by Russia in the war on Ukraine. He was disqualified from the competition on the grounds that the Olympic committee does not allow signs of political, religious or racial propaganda to be displayed. Heraskevych said it was to honour his dead friends and refused to back down. The IOC disagreed and he lost his Olympic dream because of his moral stance. 

It’s an eternal question that never goes away. Should sport and politics mix? Perhaps instead we should ask the question: Is every platform a legitimate one to voice concerns, raise awareness and shed light on injustice? Sadly, for many who have used their fame for such things – be it writers, sports people or musicians – the consequences have been negative. One thing is for sure, the aforementioned examples have lived up to the ideology of some of the greatest philosophers. What is it all about – love, selflessness, the service of your community and the betterment of all our lives. That is true happiness.

Otters are special little characters, they are one of Ireland’s most charismatic wild mammals, thriving quietly along rivers, lakes, and coastlines across the country. The Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) is one of the island’s most elusive residents, at home in freshwater and along the wild Atlantic coast alike. Though rarely glimpsed, its presence is written in subtle signs: a trail in the mud, a smooth slide into dark water, otters slip through the landscape almost unseen. In a Europe where otters once vanished from many waterways, Ireland remains a refuge, offering clean rivers, rugged shores, and space enough for this secretive mammal to endure.

Otters have long held a place in Irish folklore and tradition. Often portrayed as clever or otherworldly creatures, they appear in stories as shapeshifters or enchanted beings. In some traditions, harming an otter was believed to bring bad luck.

Otters are highly territorial, with individuals ranging over many kilometres of waterway, marking their routes with spraint (otter poo) to signal ownership. They are agile swimmers and skilled hunters, feeding mainly on fish but also taking amphibians, crustaceans and occasionally even small mammals or birds. Otters usually rest in hidden shelters known as holts, often among tree roots, dense bankside vegetation or natural cavities. Females raise their young alone, giving birth to one to three cubs in natal dens, which can be up to 1km away from water. The cubs are born blind and helpless and remain dependent on their mother for several months. During this time, she teaches them to swim, hunt and navigate the river network before they disperse to establish territories of their own.

In Ireland, otters are not counted directly. Instead, their presence is measured by signs they leave behind — footprints in soft mud, or spraint deposited on rocks and bridge footings. These signs are searched for along stretches of river, lakeshore and coast, using methods that have remained broadly similar since the first national otter surveys in the early 1980s. This consistency allows comparisons across decades, but it also introduces uncertainty. Otter signs can be washed away by heavy rain, missed by inexperienced observers, or concentrated in places where animals prefer to mark. As a result, surveys can tell us a lot about ‘where’ otters are, but less about how many there are, or whether small changes reflect real population shifts.

The most recent NPWS Otter Survey of Ireland 2023-24 confirms that otters remain widespread. Signs were found at about two-thirds of surveyed sites, and when all available records were combined, otters had been recorded in almost every part of the country where land and water meet. At the same time, the survey suggests that otter presence has declined since the 1980s, particularly between the early 1990s and mid-2000s. The authors are careful not to present this as a dramatic collapse. They point out that survey conditions vary enormously, and that once allowance is made for factors like rainfall and surveyor experience, the scale of decline becomes much smaller and more uncertain. What does emerge clearly, however, is that pressures on rivers have increased steadily over the same period — more sediment washing into channels, more pollution, more abstraction, and more physical modification of riverbanks and beds.

County Cork stands out in this national picture. The southwest has some of the highest levels of otter occurrence recorded anywhere in Ireland, reflecting its dense river network, long coastline and generally complex waterways. This is not just a matter of geography, but of how rivers function. Otters are most often found where water is moving, banks are vegetated, and riverbeds remain rough and varied rather than engineered smooth.

This is where local studies become invaluable. A detailed survey of the River Bandon catchment, carried out by Patrick Smiddy and published in 2019, showed otters present across almost the entire river system — from the tidal estuary at Kinsale to small upland streams. Otters were not confined to the main channel. They were found regularly in narrow feeder streams, sometimes little more than a metre wide, demonstrating that healthy otter populations depend on whole catchments, not just headline rivers.

The Bandon study also highlights an important point often missed in national summaries: otters are resilient, but their resilience is rooted in intact river processes. Where tributaries remain connected, banks retain trees and scrub, and water quality is good enough to support fish and invertebrates, otters persist quietly in the background.

When the two studies are read together, a clearer picture emerges. Cork, and the southwest more generally, shows some of the highest otter occurrence nationally, making it a contemporary stronghold. Yet the NPWS survey also documents rising pressures even in these better-performing regions: siltation, pollution, water abstraction and river modification are now recorded at their highest levels since monitoring began. The otter’s continued presence should therefore not be read as proof that river systems are healthy, but as evidence that they have not yet crossed a critical threshold.

The River Bandon exemplifies this balance. Smiddy’s findings show a catchment still capable of supporting otters throughout its length, but the national context warns that such systems are increasingly fragile. Otters are tolerant animals, but their tolerance is not limitless. They disappear not when a single insult occurs, but when cumulative changes simplify river structure, reduce prey availability and erode water quality over time.

Nationally, otters are a protected species under the EU Habitats Directive. Protecting otters in Cork is inseparable from protecting river processes: maintaining natural banks, preserving riparian trees and scrub, limiting sediment runoff, and safeguarding flow regimes. Otters may be elusive, but the message they carry is direct. Where they still thrive, rivers are still doing enough things right. The task now is to ensure that remains true – not just for otters, but for the freshwater systems on which so much else depends.