I used to wonder why the Irish, starving during the Great Famine, didn’t simply go out in their boats and catch some fish. Were they ignorant or something? I mean, potatoes are nice, but fish is divine.
Forgetting that their harbors were owned by the British and all the fish they caught were taken from them, salted, and shipped back to England, I now know I was the one who was ignorant.
A market near me is advertising a one-day sale of Atlantic salmon. I’ll stock up. I love Atlantic salmon, both for its mild flavor and for the fact it is neither farm raised or out of the Pacific Ocean. I have a small terror of Pacific water pollution due to Fukushima.
On my latest visit to Ireland, I walked down a hill from a beautiful little BandB on the Dingle Peninsula and had dinner at Skipper’s Restaurant. This place is right on the coast and you can watch the fishing boats unload their day’s catch and bring a portion of it up to the restaurant.
I had hake, a fish I’d never tasted before. Out of this world! Like a much milder Chilean sea bass.
Ahh…the memories make my mouth water even now.
Beautiful Ireland. With all her troubles, she is my most beloved destination. That’s why I wrote Shanty Gold.