Christmas In Ireland With a Foreign Twist Sascha Viertel, from New Zealand to Sligo Sascha grew up in Rotorua, in the North Island’s Bay of Plenty, spending many years in Auckland. He lived on the South Island, before moving to Ireland with Ceara, his Irish wife, in 2015. They run Koha Street Kitchen in Sligo. “We usually spend Christmas at the in-laws in Limavady, County Derry. The day starts with bubbles for breakfast as the children see what Santa has brought, followed by a light brunch, such as ham and cheese croissants or pancakes. The main meal is served at about 3 pm, with a starter of seafood, such as a classic prawn cocktail or salmon.   Christmas Turkey My Welsh brother-in-law, Rob, is in charge of preparing and cooking the turkey, which he lathers in herb butter and bacon but he leaves it to me to carve and present it! I usually prepare a seafood dish too and the veggies including roast veggies sauteed brussel sprouts with bacon and French beans dressed with pine nuts, feta and balsamic vinaigrette, a recipe borrowed from my sister Cushla in New Zealand.   We both do a dessert each. Rob makes an awesome key lime cheesecake and I usually make a pavlova/meringue Christmas wreath. Another brother-in-law, Paul, is always in charge of the trifle.  There is usually some Christmas cake, brandy pudding and mince pies later on too.   Christmas dinners in New Zealand were pretty varied and depended on whose house we were celebrating at. My Dad was German, so we often celebrated on December 24th with typical German dishes such as pork Kassler, dumplings and sauerkraut.  We had hāngī at celebrations with my Uncle Ross in Taranaki, which is an earth oven where baskets of food (meat/veggies) are placed on hot stones in a pit and covered with earth for six hours. Seafood might include barbequed crayfish (lobster), blue cod and oysters and baked ham often featured at sunny Christmases in Auckland and Invercargill.   Seafood is always included in our Christmas celebration in Ireland either as a starter or as part of a St. Stephen’s Day buffet. Last Christmas I prepared roast Irish salmon with a pomegranate molasses glaze, cumin seeds, pickled red onions and herbed mayo. Traditional Kiwi pavlova featured in all our Kiwi Christmases and is always on the dessert menu in Ireland in some form!”

‘Ne’er a fool was reared in Macroom’, so the local saying goes! It’s true the people of this historic West Cork town, which lies on the main Cork Killarney road, are resilient, bright, and astute. Colourful little shops in the town centre are independently owned. You won’t see a big name fast food outlet or department store among the traditional shop fronts which make up the main street. You may see some Irish names above the doors, as Macroom borders the Irish-speaking area of the Gaeltacht in this region. You’ll find great sportsmen here that have learned their skills at club level in Macroom GAA and gone on to do County Cork football proud. Macroom is a town of diversity and tradition all rolled into one. Sit up at the bar in one of the cosy old pubs of the town and you’ll get all the lowdown on sport and other local gossips!