James Nesbitt's Ireland (2013) s01e02 Episode Script
Episode 2
'Welcome to Ireland.
' 'A place of majesty and magic' If you touch the book, you're going to be in love and married inside of six months.
'.
.
sanctuary and spirit whose landscapes have inspired for centuries.
' 'I'm James Nesbitt and I've been enjoying the best my homeland has to offer' This is an island I'm proud to call home.
'.
.
meeting the characters that make it so unique' How much is this going for? Brought your chequebook? Oh, dear, that'll bounce.
'.
.
and uncovering pleasures I didn't know existed.
' Oh, it's great.
I mean Wow.
Over you go.
Kiss.
Careful coming back up.
Done.
How was that? It was great.
Yeah? It was pretty good for me too.
Loving it.
'So join me as I make new friends in one of the most welcoming places on Earth.
' 'This week, we meet people who have the work-life balance just right.
' Shall we go surfing together? Would that be good craic? 'Whether it's life on the ocean wave in County Clare' '.
.
a relaxed family business in beautiful Connemara' One, two, three '.
.
or here with the Green family at their home in County Cork.
' 'Justin and Jenny Green run Ballyvolane House, which has been in the family for generations.
Until recently, this was a fully functioning farm but now it's a guest house.
' 'Looks idyllic to me and I'm keen to get a little piece of paradise for myself.
' Justin.
How are you, James? How do you do? Good.
Lovely to meet you.
Welcome to Ballyvolane House.
Thank you.
Absolutely stunning.
Come on through.
Thank you.
Very grand.
Beautiful.
This is, erm This is, what - neoclassical? Yes, I think so.
Oh, yeah, I thought so.
I won't argue with that.
We'll go on through to the drawing room.
'Ballyvolane was originally built in 1728 for a once-Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
It's still a beautiful house.
Hard to believe that a family with young children live here.
' Well, feels like home but, of course, this is your home.
I mean, how long have you been here? We took over eight years ago? Yep.
Yeah, from Justin's parents.
So you came back to take over - Yeah, this is where I grew up and my father was milking cows most of his life on the farm.
Then my parents started taking in guests in the 1980s and then we pushed on from where they left off.
And this is all presumably not pretend? This was all here? Yeah, a lot of the nice furniture belongs to my granny, who still lives with us upstairs.
Your granny's still here? Yeah.
She's 102 next month.
And my father lives here as well.
My granny and my father own quite a lot of the nice furniture and we own all the crap.
Every generation puts a sort of stamp on it and it makes it feel homely and lived in.
Oh, of course.
But it must be a lovely place to bring children up.
How's that been? Local school, ten kids in each class, they've got a huge amount of space and gardens to run around in.
It's safe.
You can't get much better than this.
We're very lucky.
Would you like them to continue the family business? Entirely up to them.
It's a big commitment.
They have to really want to.
It's such a lifestyle thing.
It's not just a job, it is all-consuming.
If they don't, of course, I do know an actor from the north of Ireland who would be quite keen.
'The Greens are proud of providing their guests with as much home-grown produce as possible.
And I'm not afraid of a bit of hard work, so I'm going to help Justin with a couple of chores.
' 'The beautiful walled garden has been part of the estate since the early 19th century, providing protection from the elements all year round.
' This is our walled garden and we're very lucky because my dad does all the gardening.
We grow a huge amount of veg during the growing season and I'm just about to pick some rhubarb because we're going to make some poached rhubarb for pudding this evening.
We'll also use the syrup to make a rhubarb martini, which will take the edge off before dinner.
Rhubarb martini? Yes, now, this I can do.
Usually underrated, I think, rhubarb.
Oh, yeah, wonderful stuff.
I grew up with it.
Never had a martini, though.
So everything here is as fresh as you like.
You just go here, grab it Exactly.
You're eating potatoes that were dug up that afternoon.
Look at the size of this martini.
Pint of martini, please.
I think we have enough because I picked some earlier.
This will be plenty.
Perfect.
Morning, piggies.
Come on.
Hello.
Right.
'The delicate task in hand today is the tagging of the ears of these little piggies.
Possibly easier said than done.
' So how old are these? These guys are about four and a half months.
OK.
They eat all the leftovers.
Not hungry at all.
You have to, by law, tag them with your herd number.
All right.
For traceability.
'They say never work with children or animals and I'd be telling porkies if I said I wasn't a bit nervous.
But these are rare-breed Saddlebacks, so I'm hoping they're a bit more refined.
' Do you want to have a go? Sure.
You've got to be quite firm with it, James.
Just grab it? Push it down and then make sure it goes through.
Right.
Get the white one.
This one here? Just grab it? Just hold his ear while he's eating.
Be firm.
Two hands.
Two hands.
I cannot get you.
Come here.
All right, then.
He's doing very well.
He's obviously seen my work.
Come here.
I tell you, I'm not going to give you a job as a farmhand.
Come here.
Two hands, two hands.
Oh, dear.
It's OK, James.
Well, it's sort of on.
Sorry.
Don't worry, it doesn't hurt them.
Yeah.
They seem all right now.
'Perhaps I won't give up the day job just yet.
I'll be back with the Greens later.
' 'But first, a trip from the south of Ireland to the west coast, which is pretty spectacular.
' 'These are the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's top tourist attractions.
Over 8km long, one million visitors enjoy the view here every year.
' 'Recently, there's been an influx of hardy souls.
Surfers, bodyboarders and extreme sports enthusiasts, all eager to take to the water.
' 'Either here at the foot of the cliffs or in the slightly calmer seas a few miles down the road, like here in Lahinch.
' 'Today, there are over 50,000 surfers in Ireland and strong surfing communities up and down its coasts.
The mild Irish waters draw people from all over the world all year round.
' 'There's no-one more passionate about the sport than John McCarthy.
' Is the surf good today? The surf is good.
I can actually see it from here, it's cool.
Mwah.
Bye, Rebecca.
Bye-bye.
We'll be down around 10:30 or 11:00.
Yeah.
After her nap.
'John has been surfing since the age of ten and he's competed all over the world.
Hawaii, Australia, Africa, Central and South America and Asia.
All in search of the perfect wave.
' 'In June 2006, John did what no other Irish surfer has done and won a medal in the European Surfing Championships.
' Oh, it's a perfect day today.
Sun, surf 'John lives, eats and sleeps surfing.
' 'For the last ten years, he's been running a surf school in County Clare.
' That's my job, to come down and just open up, making sure everybody's here.
If someone doesn't show up, they'll have to throw on a wetsuit and do all that kind of stuff.
It's time to surf.
'And living right by the shore Well, what could be more perfect?' So, today, the wind, it's offshore, but it's kind of coming down the beach a bit.
So what that usually means is if you go surfing out here, you're going to drift down the beach with the wind, OK? At the moment, there's no waves but here, there's big waves, right? And that's called a set.
'It's a busy summer in this idyllic corner of the country.
Awesome, guys.
Have a great time.
'Every day, there's a new group of excited schoolchildren, all starting what John hopes will be a lifelong love affair with surfing.
' 'It's the ultimate work-life balance for John and his wife Rachel.
' Hey.
How's it going? Good.
Hi, Rebecca.
How are you doing? Happy to see Dad again.
Hi! 'And with baby daughter Rebecca growing up pretty much in the surf, I'm hoping that this part of Ireland will have produced a new star of the waves in a couple of decades' time.
' Are you coming surfing with me? Shall we go surfing together? Would that be good craic? Yeah? She wants to go to the park, not surfing.
Ooh, go to the park maybe.
That's nice.
It is nice cos you switch from work mode straight into just relax mode when you pick her up, like, so that's why I like to pick her up.
Yes! 'Not everyone can unwind from the stresses of the working day by hitting the surf but nothing stops this part of John's daily routine.
' Oh It's not ideal today.
But yeah, gonna go in.
Dust off the, er the laziness and just get a couple of waves, I think.
The way to get good at surfing is just to surf bad waves, so it's just good practice, even when the waves are junk, to go in for 20 minutes.
Rachel has me on a rest programme, so this is part of my chill-out, so I'm definitely allowed to go surfing every day now, so it's cool.
'Join me after the break for more natural beauty that will take your breath away.
' 'Welcome back.
Ireland's bustling cities breathtaking coastlines and rolling green hills enjoy over six million visitors a year.
' It's easy to see why.
It's vibrant, it's energetic, it's arty, it's foody.
No wonder so many tourists and visitors feel at home here.
There's a warmth to the welcome, whatever the weather which is likely to be rain, but not always.
'Whatever the weather, nothing can mar the beauty of this corner of County Galway in the west of Ireland.
' 'One of Ireland's most famous sons, Oscar Wilde, said, "Connemara is a savage beauty" and I'd be inclined to agree.
' There can be fewer more picturesque places to spend your days than this - Nudging the water's edge of Bunowen Pier, home to The Connemara Smokehouse.
' How are you getting on with those, Richard? Good man.
'It's run by Graham Roberts and his wife, who, as is the case with the finest of Irish traditions, inherited the business from his parents.
' I'm very content around here, between work and between home.
I'll never be wealthy doing what I do but if I can live here, doing something I enjoy, brilliant.
I've basically been doing this all my life.
I would have started, actually, you know, hands on with the fish, probably when I was about 12 years old.
But I used to wash fish boxes for a penny a box when I was about four years old.
I'm sure the lads had to do them again after me but I liked the fact I was helping out and also getting paid my pocket money.
'It's such a labour of love that Graham fillets and bones every fish that comes his way.
That's up to 50 fish an hour.
' So just with the boning of the fish, the bones go in at an angle this way.
So it's important when pulling them out, you pull them out that way.
If you pull them like that, you're going to tear the fish.
'The Roberts pride themselves in locally-caught fish, plucked form the chilly Irish waters and given the smokehouse treatment.
' 'Not only can Graham prepare your fish, but he can supply serving suggestions too.
' I'll tell you a lovely starter to do with honey-roast tuna.
Get some nice, ripe pears, peel them, cut them in half, take out the core.
Cut your honey-roast tuna into pieces, do the same with some blue cheese.
If you don't like blue cheese, parmesan shavings.
About 80% fish, 20% cheese.
Tumble them loosely together, onto the half pears, into a warm oven.
Just for a few minutes, warm it slightly.
Serve it on a nice, white plate, chopped toasted walnuts over the top.
'This part of Ireland is lucky to be home to some of the finest fish in the world.
' 'Now, I'm more than partial to a bit of Irish smoked salmon myself.
Here, it's filleted, washed, dry-salted and then smoked over beechwood.
' So these fish are more or less smoked.
Erm So you can see, erm they've taken on a nice, deep colour from the smoke and you can see the nice, golden colour starting to come on the skin as well.
So the fire burns in behind there.
It's just a natural fire with dry wood.
Erm So they'll have about another half hour, then we'll put the fire out and just allow the air to continue to circulate until they're dry and that's it.
It's more or less ready for eating at that point.
Vous cherchez du poisson pour manger en Irlande ou pour retourner en France? 'The tourists who flock to Connemara for their holidays all tend to take a little piece of it home with them.
' 'At the end of a long day's smoking, there's nothing like a refreshing dip in the Atlantic to really wake yourself up.
Not a problem if, like Graham, your office is right on the waterfront.
' I love coming down here.
If you go to the beach and you go in a little bit and the water feels cold, you can back out again.
Here, you think about it for a moment but once you jump, there's no turning back! That's it.
Don't you think about it! If I fell in there, then I'd sue you! I already thought about it.
I'll hang on to here until you're ready.
One, two, three Whoo! How's that? Growing up here was fantastic.
Erm you know, I suppose at the time, we didn't realise how lucky we were but I spent most of my childhood down on the rocks here.
When you're on your summer holidays, you'd leave the house in the morning and you wouldn't come back until you were either hungry or soaked wet.
'It's a mere 15 C in that water even in the height of summer.
Graham's made of tougher stuff than I am.
' Whoo! 'From smoking fish in Galway to catching them in County Cork.
I'm back with Justin and Jenny Green, who enjoy their own stretch of the Blackwater river.
' 'It's where they take their guests when they fancy catching their own supper.
I've never been fly fishing.
Seems like a good time to start.
' James, if you want to jump in this side.
Yep.
Door's a bit stiff.
Ah.
In you get.
Thank you very much.
As it should be.
Thank you, driver.
'And I always like to get into character with a bit of a costume change.
' It's a good look.
Oh, for heaven's sake.
I mean, it's the wrong foot.
Right.
Well, I look the part.
I am the part.
Let's fish.
OK, we'll go and wade out.
Yeah.
And the trick is to try and wade sideways to the current and then there's less pressure.
It's not going to sweep you away.
Today, the water height is quite low and it's absolutely ideal for fishing.
It's in mint condition.
Very clear.
Yeah.
Fast current, actually, isn't it? Yeah, it is.
And this is considered The River Blackwater is one of the most prolific salmon rivers in Europe.
Always was.
A salmon just jumped down there.
Really? I may have to have a crack at this.
You want a go? Yeah.
OK.
So put your right hand about halfway up.
With your finger just loose so that the line can pass through.
Yeah.
Guide through.
That's it.
OK.
Let me just get round the other side.
Yeah.
'Surely this can't be too hard?' And then, a very firm motion.
Up, count to two and then down.
OK.
Not bad.
Not bad.
Just be a bit more firm with it.
Up, count to two, then down.
So That's it.
Up.
Up And down.
Well, a little room for improvement but we're getting better.
Oops.
Oh, dear God, save Ireland, what's happened there? 'I thought this was supposed to be relaxing.
' That's it.
There you go.
Got it! You're good at this.
Ah.
It is, though, it's so beautiful.
I mean, it doesn't matter how much you read about it, how much you anticipate it, how much you hear about it.
There's nothing like experiencing it, you know? I know, it's fantastic.
It's a form of meditation.
You're communing with nature, the rest of your life is all on hold for the day and it's very satisfying.
'Just in case the last one was luck' Perfect.
You've got it.
You're getting the hang of it now.
See? You heard it from the man himself.
"Perfect.
" He knows.
He's the expert.
I didn't say it, he did.
You can pay me later.
'Well, the salmon may live to leap another day but I know just how to round off my trip to County Cork and that's with a drop of rhubarb martini back at the house.
' And this is your signature drink? Yeah, this is our sort of spring/summer cocktail.
In the winter, we do a hedgerow martini, which is with sloe gin and blackberries and elderflower.
And then you put two parts vodka to one part rhubarb syrup.
So two of those guys.
Yeah.
And rhubarb goes really well with ginger, so we put in a bit of ground ginger, just to give it a little fragrant kick.
Then you shake it vigorously.
Got to give it plenty of welly, like the fishing.
Very good health.
Cheers.
Cheers.
This is to one that got away.
Yeah, absolutely.
Better luck next time.
Heaven.
It's really nice.
It is, it's nice.
That's reason enough to come to Ireland.
'From a quick nip to a quick dip the Irish know how to unwind after a hard day's work.
Life in Ireland is most definitely for living.
' So join me next time.
You won't regret it.
' 'A place of majesty and magic' If you touch the book, you're going to be in love and married inside of six months.
'.
.
sanctuary and spirit whose landscapes have inspired for centuries.
' 'I'm James Nesbitt and I've been enjoying the best my homeland has to offer' This is an island I'm proud to call home.
'.
.
meeting the characters that make it so unique' How much is this going for? Brought your chequebook? Oh, dear, that'll bounce.
'.
.
and uncovering pleasures I didn't know existed.
' Oh, it's great.
I mean Wow.
Over you go.
Kiss.
Careful coming back up.
Done.
How was that? It was great.
Yeah? It was pretty good for me too.
Loving it.
'So join me as I make new friends in one of the most welcoming places on Earth.
' 'This week, we meet people who have the work-life balance just right.
' Shall we go surfing together? Would that be good craic? 'Whether it's life on the ocean wave in County Clare' '.
.
a relaxed family business in beautiful Connemara' One, two, three '.
.
or here with the Green family at their home in County Cork.
' 'Justin and Jenny Green run Ballyvolane House, which has been in the family for generations.
Until recently, this was a fully functioning farm but now it's a guest house.
' 'Looks idyllic to me and I'm keen to get a little piece of paradise for myself.
' Justin.
How are you, James? How do you do? Good.
Lovely to meet you.
Welcome to Ballyvolane House.
Thank you.
Absolutely stunning.
Come on through.
Thank you.
Very grand.
Beautiful.
This is, erm This is, what - neoclassical? Yes, I think so.
Oh, yeah, I thought so.
I won't argue with that.
We'll go on through to the drawing room.
'Ballyvolane was originally built in 1728 for a once-Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
It's still a beautiful house.
Hard to believe that a family with young children live here.
' Well, feels like home but, of course, this is your home.
I mean, how long have you been here? We took over eight years ago? Yep.
Yeah, from Justin's parents.
So you came back to take over - Yeah, this is where I grew up and my father was milking cows most of his life on the farm.
Then my parents started taking in guests in the 1980s and then we pushed on from where they left off.
And this is all presumably not pretend? This was all here? Yeah, a lot of the nice furniture belongs to my granny, who still lives with us upstairs.
Your granny's still here? Yeah.
She's 102 next month.
And my father lives here as well.
My granny and my father own quite a lot of the nice furniture and we own all the crap.
Every generation puts a sort of stamp on it and it makes it feel homely and lived in.
Oh, of course.
But it must be a lovely place to bring children up.
How's that been? Local school, ten kids in each class, they've got a huge amount of space and gardens to run around in.
It's safe.
You can't get much better than this.
We're very lucky.
Would you like them to continue the family business? Entirely up to them.
It's a big commitment.
They have to really want to.
It's such a lifestyle thing.
It's not just a job, it is all-consuming.
If they don't, of course, I do know an actor from the north of Ireland who would be quite keen.
'The Greens are proud of providing their guests with as much home-grown produce as possible.
And I'm not afraid of a bit of hard work, so I'm going to help Justin with a couple of chores.
' 'The beautiful walled garden has been part of the estate since the early 19th century, providing protection from the elements all year round.
' This is our walled garden and we're very lucky because my dad does all the gardening.
We grow a huge amount of veg during the growing season and I'm just about to pick some rhubarb because we're going to make some poached rhubarb for pudding this evening.
We'll also use the syrup to make a rhubarb martini, which will take the edge off before dinner.
Rhubarb martini? Yes, now, this I can do.
Usually underrated, I think, rhubarb.
Oh, yeah, wonderful stuff.
I grew up with it.
Never had a martini, though.
So everything here is as fresh as you like.
You just go here, grab it Exactly.
You're eating potatoes that were dug up that afternoon.
Look at the size of this martini.
Pint of martini, please.
I think we have enough because I picked some earlier.
This will be plenty.
Perfect.
Morning, piggies.
Come on.
Hello.
Right.
'The delicate task in hand today is the tagging of the ears of these little piggies.
Possibly easier said than done.
' So how old are these? These guys are about four and a half months.
OK.
They eat all the leftovers.
Not hungry at all.
You have to, by law, tag them with your herd number.
All right.
For traceability.
'They say never work with children or animals and I'd be telling porkies if I said I wasn't a bit nervous.
But these are rare-breed Saddlebacks, so I'm hoping they're a bit more refined.
' Do you want to have a go? Sure.
You've got to be quite firm with it, James.
Just grab it? Push it down and then make sure it goes through.
Right.
Get the white one.
This one here? Just grab it? Just hold his ear while he's eating.
Be firm.
Two hands.
Two hands.
I cannot get you.
Come here.
All right, then.
He's doing very well.
He's obviously seen my work.
Come here.
I tell you, I'm not going to give you a job as a farmhand.
Come here.
Two hands, two hands.
Oh, dear.
It's OK, James.
Well, it's sort of on.
Sorry.
Don't worry, it doesn't hurt them.
Yeah.
They seem all right now.
'Perhaps I won't give up the day job just yet.
I'll be back with the Greens later.
' 'But first, a trip from the south of Ireland to the west coast, which is pretty spectacular.
' 'These are the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's top tourist attractions.
Over 8km long, one million visitors enjoy the view here every year.
' 'Recently, there's been an influx of hardy souls.
Surfers, bodyboarders and extreme sports enthusiasts, all eager to take to the water.
' 'Either here at the foot of the cliffs or in the slightly calmer seas a few miles down the road, like here in Lahinch.
' 'Today, there are over 50,000 surfers in Ireland and strong surfing communities up and down its coasts.
The mild Irish waters draw people from all over the world all year round.
' 'There's no-one more passionate about the sport than John McCarthy.
' Is the surf good today? The surf is good.
I can actually see it from here, it's cool.
Mwah.
Bye, Rebecca.
Bye-bye.
We'll be down around 10:30 or 11:00.
Yeah.
After her nap.
'John has been surfing since the age of ten and he's competed all over the world.
Hawaii, Australia, Africa, Central and South America and Asia.
All in search of the perfect wave.
' 'In June 2006, John did what no other Irish surfer has done and won a medal in the European Surfing Championships.
' Oh, it's a perfect day today.
Sun, surf 'John lives, eats and sleeps surfing.
' 'For the last ten years, he's been running a surf school in County Clare.
' That's my job, to come down and just open up, making sure everybody's here.
If someone doesn't show up, they'll have to throw on a wetsuit and do all that kind of stuff.
It's time to surf.
'And living right by the shore Well, what could be more perfect?' So, today, the wind, it's offshore, but it's kind of coming down the beach a bit.
So what that usually means is if you go surfing out here, you're going to drift down the beach with the wind, OK? At the moment, there's no waves but here, there's big waves, right? And that's called a set.
'It's a busy summer in this idyllic corner of the country.
Awesome, guys.
Have a great time.
'Every day, there's a new group of excited schoolchildren, all starting what John hopes will be a lifelong love affair with surfing.
' 'It's the ultimate work-life balance for John and his wife Rachel.
' Hey.
How's it going? Good.
Hi, Rebecca.
How are you doing? Happy to see Dad again.
Hi! 'And with baby daughter Rebecca growing up pretty much in the surf, I'm hoping that this part of Ireland will have produced a new star of the waves in a couple of decades' time.
' Are you coming surfing with me? Shall we go surfing together? Would that be good craic? Yeah? She wants to go to the park, not surfing.
Ooh, go to the park maybe.
That's nice.
It is nice cos you switch from work mode straight into just relax mode when you pick her up, like, so that's why I like to pick her up.
Yes! 'Not everyone can unwind from the stresses of the working day by hitting the surf but nothing stops this part of John's daily routine.
' Oh It's not ideal today.
But yeah, gonna go in.
Dust off the, er the laziness and just get a couple of waves, I think.
The way to get good at surfing is just to surf bad waves, so it's just good practice, even when the waves are junk, to go in for 20 minutes.
Rachel has me on a rest programme, so this is part of my chill-out, so I'm definitely allowed to go surfing every day now, so it's cool.
'Join me after the break for more natural beauty that will take your breath away.
' 'Welcome back.
Ireland's bustling cities breathtaking coastlines and rolling green hills enjoy over six million visitors a year.
' It's easy to see why.
It's vibrant, it's energetic, it's arty, it's foody.
No wonder so many tourists and visitors feel at home here.
There's a warmth to the welcome, whatever the weather which is likely to be rain, but not always.
'Whatever the weather, nothing can mar the beauty of this corner of County Galway in the west of Ireland.
' 'One of Ireland's most famous sons, Oscar Wilde, said, "Connemara is a savage beauty" and I'd be inclined to agree.
' There can be fewer more picturesque places to spend your days than this - Nudging the water's edge of Bunowen Pier, home to The Connemara Smokehouse.
' How are you getting on with those, Richard? Good man.
'It's run by Graham Roberts and his wife, who, as is the case with the finest of Irish traditions, inherited the business from his parents.
' I'm very content around here, between work and between home.
I'll never be wealthy doing what I do but if I can live here, doing something I enjoy, brilliant.
I've basically been doing this all my life.
I would have started, actually, you know, hands on with the fish, probably when I was about 12 years old.
But I used to wash fish boxes for a penny a box when I was about four years old.
I'm sure the lads had to do them again after me but I liked the fact I was helping out and also getting paid my pocket money.
'It's such a labour of love that Graham fillets and bones every fish that comes his way.
That's up to 50 fish an hour.
' So just with the boning of the fish, the bones go in at an angle this way.
So it's important when pulling them out, you pull them out that way.
If you pull them like that, you're going to tear the fish.
'The Roberts pride themselves in locally-caught fish, plucked form the chilly Irish waters and given the smokehouse treatment.
' 'Not only can Graham prepare your fish, but he can supply serving suggestions too.
' I'll tell you a lovely starter to do with honey-roast tuna.
Get some nice, ripe pears, peel them, cut them in half, take out the core.
Cut your honey-roast tuna into pieces, do the same with some blue cheese.
If you don't like blue cheese, parmesan shavings.
About 80% fish, 20% cheese.
Tumble them loosely together, onto the half pears, into a warm oven.
Just for a few minutes, warm it slightly.
Serve it on a nice, white plate, chopped toasted walnuts over the top.
'This part of Ireland is lucky to be home to some of the finest fish in the world.
' 'Now, I'm more than partial to a bit of Irish smoked salmon myself.
Here, it's filleted, washed, dry-salted and then smoked over beechwood.
' So these fish are more or less smoked.
Erm So you can see, erm they've taken on a nice, deep colour from the smoke and you can see the nice, golden colour starting to come on the skin as well.
So the fire burns in behind there.
It's just a natural fire with dry wood.
Erm So they'll have about another half hour, then we'll put the fire out and just allow the air to continue to circulate until they're dry and that's it.
It's more or less ready for eating at that point.
Vous cherchez du poisson pour manger en Irlande ou pour retourner en France? 'The tourists who flock to Connemara for their holidays all tend to take a little piece of it home with them.
' 'At the end of a long day's smoking, there's nothing like a refreshing dip in the Atlantic to really wake yourself up.
Not a problem if, like Graham, your office is right on the waterfront.
' I love coming down here.
If you go to the beach and you go in a little bit and the water feels cold, you can back out again.
Here, you think about it for a moment but once you jump, there's no turning back! That's it.
Don't you think about it! If I fell in there, then I'd sue you! I already thought about it.
I'll hang on to here until you're ready.
One, two, three Whoo! How's that? Growing up here was fantastic.
Erm you know, I suppose at the time, we didn't realise how lucky we were but I spent most of my childhood down on the rocks here.
When you're on your summer holidays, you'd leave the house in the morning and you wouldn't come back until you were either hungry or soaked wet.
'It's a mere 15 C in that water even in the height of summer.
Graham's made of tougher stuff than I am.
' Whoo! 'From smoking fish in Galway to catching them in County Cork.
I'm back with Justin and Jenny Green, who enjoy their own stretch of the Blackwater river.
' 'It's where they take their guests when they fancy catching their own supper.
I've never been fly fishing.
Seems like a good time to start.
' James, if you want to jump in this side.
Yep.
Door's a bit stiff.
Ah.
In you get.
Thank you very much.
As it should be.
Thank you, driver.
'And I always like to get into character with a bit of a costume change.
' It's a good look.
Oh, for heaven's sake.
I mean, it's the wrong foot.
Right.
Well, I look the part.
I am the part.
Let's fish.
OK, we'll go and wade out.
Yeah.
And the trick is to try and wade sideways to the current and then there's less pressure.
It's not going to sweep you away.
Today, the water height is quite low and it's absolutely ideal for fishing.
It's in mint condition.
Very clear.
Yeah.
Fast current, actually, isn't it? Yeah, it is.
And this is considered The River Blackwater is one of the most prolific salmon rivers in Europe.
Always was.
A salmon just jumped down there.
Really? I may have to have a crack at this.
You want a go? Yeah.
OK.
So put your right hand about halfway up.
With your finger just loose so that the line can pass through.
Yeah.
Guide through.
That's it.
OK.
Let me just get round the other side.
Yeah.
'Surely this can't be too hard?' And then, a very firm motion.
Up, count to two and then down.
OK.
Not bad.
Not bad.
Just be a bit more firm with it.
Up, count to two, then down.
So That's it.
Up.
Up And down.
Well, a little room for improvement but we're getting better.
Oops.
Oh, dear God, save Ireland, what's happened there? 'I thought this was supposed to be relaxing.
' That's it.
There you go.
Got it! You're good at this.
Ah.
It is, though, it's so beautiful.
I mean, it doesn't matter how much you read about it, how much you anticipate it, how much you hear about it.
There's nothing like experiencing it, you know? I know, it's fantastic.
It's a form of meditation.
You're communing with nature, the rest of your life is all on hold for the day and it's very satisfying.
'Just in case the last one was luck' Perfect.
You've got it.
You're getting the hang of it now.
See? You heard it from the man himself.
"Perfect.
" He knows.
He's the expert.
I didn't say it, he did.
You can pay me later.
'Well, the salmon may live to leap another day but I know just how to round off my trip to County Cork and that's with a drop of rhubarb martini back at the house.
' And this is your signature drink? Yeah, this is our sort of spring/summer cocktail.
In the winter, we do a hedgerow martini, which is with sloe gin and blackberries and elderflower.
And then you put two parts vodka to one part rhubarb syrup.
So two of those guys.
Yeah.
And rhubarb goes really well with ginger, so we put in a bit of ground ginger, just to give it a little fragrant kick.
Then you shake it vigorously.
Got to give it plenty of welly, like the fishing.
Very good health.
Cheers.
Cheers.
This is to one that got away.
Yeah, absolutely.
Better luck next time.
Heaven.
It's really nice.
It is, it's nice.
That's reason enough to come to Ireland.
'From a quick nip to a quick dip the Irish know how to unwind after a hard day's work.
Life in Ireland is most definitely for living.
' So join me next time.
You won't regret it.