Mike Yardley: Road-tripping Ireland's Hidden Heartlands

"It’s been eleven years since I last filled my heart with Ireland – a shamefully long break in transmission. On my latest visit to this most enchanting of destinations, my road trip began with a jaunt through Ireland’s “Hidden Heartlands.” Far beyond the heavily trafficked haunts like Dublin, Galway, or Killarney, this interior patchwork of counties beats to a slower pace across Ireland’s central plains. Steeped in nature, resolute village life, and bucket loads of history, it is quite the revelation to get off the beaten track and dabble with the authentic charm, artisanal verve, pastoral beauty and homely hospitality that underpins this lesser-known realm."

Read Mike's full article here.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from news Talks at b.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Well, Google, Sutherland mightn't be bothered by usage eras from
time to time. I feel like our travel correspondent Mike
Yardley is going to be a man of higher standards
on the language front.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Oh well, I try. I try to keep the standards
ub ject. But hey, we're all mortal.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
What erarors do you make the most? Because I will
accept that I make errors from time to time, but
it doesn't stop me from being utterly pretentious and telling
off people when they've made areas as well when they
use less than instead of fewer than or you know.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Oh yes, yeah, that does get my grill under my grill.
The one I actually struggle with personally, which I I
don't know why I seem to have a block on this,
the is in the R I often use them incorrectly,
you know, in terms of plural. Yeah, that's a very
basic mistake. That's interesting, isn't really? No?

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Well, but I mean obviously it's not like you don't
actually understand it and you can't think about it, But
it's just your brain in the moment when you're speaking
sometimes plays a little trip. Yes, yeah, it does. Yeah, Okay, Anyway,
this morning we are focusing on road tripping through Ireland's
hidden heartlands. So what exactly are the hidden heartlands? Are
we talking under the radar places?

Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yes, we are, and I thought we would round off
the year Jack by taking a bit of a roadie
through Island and those hidden heartlands. They are the interior counties,
lesser traffic places like County Leitrim, Sligo, Rosscommon and they're
just such a world away from your big banner destinations
like Dublin and Galway. And what I love about the

(01:51):
heartlands is it's the history, the story traditions that still
be so strong in these places. So yeah, if you
want to dabble with the emerald dial at a slower,
more scenic pace, Hello Heartlands.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Nice you hit the in an EV. So how well
equipped is Ireland with charging points?

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Yes? I ended up hiring a pure electric Mercedes SUV.
It was a wholking beast of a thing, but was
EV and it was the first time I've actually extensively
traveled around any country in an EV. So, as I'm
sure you can appreciate, Jack, for me, range anxiety was
an immediate concern. But Ireland has really charged a head

(02:33):
with its roll out of charging stations, way better than
New Zealand. So with a bit of ford planning to
tie in your recharge with your sight seeing schedule, it
was very manageable. The only thing that surprised me though,
was I was comparing the recharge costs to petrol costs
and there's not actually much difference. EV charging was not cheaper.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Oh that's interesting. Really is just ye, it must just
be an Ireland thing.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
Maybe they're just ripping EV users off.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
How much how much would have would it cost you
to fill the you know, to recharge your battery to
eighty percent or whatever.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah, generally it was costing me anywhere between twenty and
thirty euro right, so wow yeah yeah, and that was
like maybe for three hundred and fifty k yesk, yeah,
yeah it didn't. It didn't strike me as cheap.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
No, that's very interesting. So anyway, you're on the road,
what led you to drum Shambo?

Speaker 3 (03:35):
Great question, it's the question of the year. What the
hell did you go to drum Shambo? So from Dublin
I headed Western County, leaked from and drum Shambo. Is
this resolutely Irish village which has father ted connections, which
I am a major sucker for. But drum Shambo's berg
claim to fame is its namesake gin drum Shambo gunpowder

(04:00):
Irish gin and who was up so many global awards, Jack.
People just go gaga on this gin. So it's produced
at a place called the Shed Distillery. And I know
that distilleries for some are becoming a bit to a penny,
but this distillery is such a splendid establishment, and the
gin is a fusion of Asian and Irish botanical so

(04:24):
it includes things like Chinese gunned outer tea, which is
that very strong green, smoky tea, and that certainly gives
the gin quite the kick. So yeah, definitely head to
the Shed. It is just fantastic.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Aside from the scenic countryside are their roadside curiosities in
the heartlands.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
So many popping up all over the place. Two particular
recurring themes. First of all, wholly Wells, so they are
generally named after a local saint and the local swear
by their powers. Jack, So I think we went to
Saint Lucia as well, and the funny thing was so

(05:03):
many local students had laid pens by the well in
the hope of some divine assistance with their upcoming school exams.
The other thing in the heartlands, which is quite the
marvel the megalithic sites. My goodness, Island has so many
of them, and they are enormous, these massive stone monuments

(05:24):
and burial chambers. They're like complexes of tombs. A lot
of them are over five thousand years old, so are
we're talking older than the Pyramids of Geezer or Stonehenge.
And the funny thing is, I know this is a
bit sacrilegious, but many local farmers have actually repurposed some
of these really old stones to prop up their fences.

Speaker 2 (05:44):
Okay, yeah, are very good. So were is good for
a castle stay?

Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yes. County Rosscommon is home to Kilronan Castle, which is
a fantastically affordable and escapist castle stay. Its history dates
back to the sixteen hundreds, but the castle actually fell
into really extreme decline like that. The roof was actually
removed from the castle to avoid high taxes at one point,

(06:09):
but about twenty years ago millions of euros was put
into what has been a tip to toe Neo Gothic restoration.
So it is just ravishing. So yeah, if you're fancy
adding a little touch of Irish castle magic to your trip,
killed Ronan gets the big tick.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
Nice. I see you went to Sligo. Is that where
the seaweed bars are?

Speaker 3 (06:31):
Oh my goodness, Jack, Yes, So the County of Sligo
stretches right out to the Atlantic coastline, and there was
this little seaside town called Strandhill, which is home to
the Voyer seaweed barths. These guys have caused a lot
of buzz in recent years because they have revived the
Celtic tradition of seaweed bathing. If you go back one

(06:51):
hundred and twenty years ago, for example, apparently there will
one hundred seaweed bathhouses all along the west coast of Ireland.

Speaker 2 (06:58):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
So at Voya they hand harvest fresh seaweed from the
ocean in Strandhill. It's all very organic, all wild. And
I spent an hour marinating myself in this hot, gloopy
bath of seaweed because it oozes this like gel like substance.
It's the most bizarre thing, but I felt like a
new man Jack. And the bath house is such a

(07:23):
solid hangout the Irish rugby team can't get enough at
this place. That's where they go to, you know, sort
of recover. And apparently it's the Irodne content and seaweed
that makes it such a great detoxifier. Yeah, really interesting.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
Okay, yeah, oh very nice. Did you smell afterwards or
was it?

Speaker 3 (07:41):
Oh my god, yeah, I smelled like the Atlantic, really, Brian.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Yeah, yeah, chumming. Yeah, you're jumping straight back on a
plane and we just need four hours. Well what about
Sligo Town itself.

Speaker 3 (07:55):
I'm in love with this town. It's not a tourist confection,
which is it's magic. It's the real deal. So you've
got this compact, charismatic and colorful town with a horde
of quintessential pubs that just burst with trad sessions. And
the other thing which really struck me in the main
street all of these gorgeous old school shops like the

(08:16):
Gentlemen Drapers and the watchmakers, and they've remained going concerns
for well over a century, handed down through the family,
and they just seem immune to the fickle whims of retail.
And I just think that adds to Sligo's really stout spirit.
Definitely add that town to your checklist.

Speaker 2 (08:35):
Oh very good. That sounds fantastic. Thank you so much, Mike.
We will put all of Mike's tips on tripping through
Ireland's hidden heartlands up on the news doalks he'db website
NEWSTALKSB dot co dot nz.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. Listen live
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