Ice Cream Ireland

Today, I wanted to take a couple of photos of ice cream. I put out a cone to do some exposure tests, then went inside to fetch a different lens.

I hadn’t noticed the presence of Gatsby, the ice cream cat, but when I returned with my lens, I caught him making the most of his opportunity.

Cheeky creature!

It’s kind of hard to take photos while laughing, but I managed to snap off a few.

Gatsby doesn’t like much being the object of humour and knew he was riding his luck, so he stalked off pretty quickly.

Funny as it was, I don’t think this sets a good precedent.

No doubt taking photos of ice cream at home has just become that little bit more difficult!

Technorati tags: cat, Gatsby, eating, ice cream

 It was a busy weekend in the shop, and one highlight was Copernicus stopping in for some coffee. Another big highlight was that my brother Sean’s baby Una had her first taste of ice cream. Una’s grandmother is visiting, and as we all know, grandmothers can be much easier to convince than mothers. Sean’s wife, Wiebke, has been very strict about keeping ice cream away from the baby, but when Una was in the care of her grandmother and reached for the ice cream, she got it.

It’s wonderful to see the expression on a baby’s face at the first taste of ice cream. It’s so different from what they have experienced, especially in terms of temperature, so there is always puzzlement, shock, and delight.

Of course, Una found it just as interesting to stick her fingers in the ice cream as she did eating it…

Technorati tags: baby, Una, ice cream

 This evening, Sean met Michael McDowell at his constituency office in Dublin, where the Justice Minister had returned after a long day on the campaign trail. Mr. McDowell kindly made time for a photo.

Here’s the fact file:

• Candidate: Michael McDowell, Tánaiste 
• Party: Progressive Democrats (Party Leader)
• Constituency: Dublin Southeast 
• Flavour: Fanaile agus silín (vanilla with a cherry on top)
• Position on ice cream: “I like ice cream.â€?

I think this will be the final one in the series, as tomorrow there is no campaigning… Best of luck to all the candidates, and my apologies to all the ones we missed!  

Technorati tags: Irish election, Michael McDowell, Progressive Democrats, ice cream

 My brother Sean caught up with Pat Rabbitte, the Labour leader in Tallaght, where he (Pat) was mobbed by reporters and supporters. Still, he did have time for an ice cream…

Here’s the fact file:

• Candidate: Pat Rabbitte, TD 
• Party: Labour (Chairperson)
• Constituency: Dublin Southwest 
• Flavour: Seacláid (chocolate)
• Position on ice cream: “If I am in the next government, I will ensure that everyone in Ireland will have access to Murphys Ice Cream.”

Technorati tags: candidate, Irish election, Pat Rabbitte, Labour Party, ice cream

 My brother Sean recovered sufficiently from his chocolate tasting in Dublin (yes, I’m still jealous) to find Enda Kenny, the leader of Fine Gael. Sean reports that the possible future Taoiseach was warm and friendly and clearly has his finger on the pulse of the ice cream community (see position statement below).

Here’s the fact file:

• Candidate: Enda Kenny 
• Party: Fine Gael (Leader)
• Constituency: Mayo
• Flavour: Caramal (Honeycomb)
• Position on ice cream: “I love ice cream. I would have it for breakfast.”

Technorati tags: candidate, Irish election, Enda Kenny, Fine Gael, ice cream

 Things are looking up for this series since Shane Hegarty mentioned this site and included the photo of Jackie Healy Rae in the Irish Times today. It seems we were discussed on Morning Ireland as well.

My brother is in Dublin for a chocolate tasting (lucky fellow) and customer visits, and hopefully he will find time to get more photos or arrange a video ice cream interview with a candidate or two, which we’ll put up if it comes off.

Here, in the Kerry South constituency, it is a very tight race for two of the three seats, and the latest candidate caught with ice cream is Cosaí Fitzgerald. He is a serving counsillor for Kerry County Council, and we’ve known him for quite a while (he is also on the board of Údarás, our landlord for the factory). He is local to West Kerry and has been very supportive.

Here’s the fact file:

• Candidate: Séamus Cosaí Fitzgerald 
• Party: Fine Gael
• Constituency: South Kerry
• Flavour: Fanaile (Vanilla)

Technorati tags: candidate, Irish election, Cosai Fitzgerald, Fine Gael, ice cream

 Here’s the fourth in the series of candidates with ice cream. My mother met the chairperson of the Labour party and TD for South Kerry on the street in Dingle and enticed her to our shop for a photo.

Ms. Moynihan Cronin was delightful to meet in person, and she was happy to find a dairy-free option in our Raspberry Sorbet. She has a house in Ballydavid and apparently some nieces mad for our ice cream. If the opposition get into power, she is bound to be appointed a minister.

Here’s the fact file:

• Candidate: Breeda Moynihan Cronin, TD 
• Party: Labour (Chairperson)
• Constituency: South Kerry
• Flavour: Sú Craobh (Raspberry Sorbet)

(In case you were wondering, the poster behind her is for our Aztec Hot Chocolate, recipe here.)

Technorati tags: candidate, Irish election, Moynihan Cronin, Labour Party, ice cream

 Here’s the third in the series. It’s great to know that the Greens like ice cream! 

I met John Hickey, the Green candidate at the Dingle farmers market. He was kind enough to come back to our shop for a photo. He lives locally (near Annascaul), and we had a good chat about how we could use green energy in our factory.

Here’s the fact file:

• Candidate: John Hickey 
• Party: Green
• Constituency: South Kerry
• Flavour: Caife (espresso and kahlua ice cream with chocolate shavings)

Technorati tags: candidate, Irish election, John Hickey, Green Party, Kerry, ice cream

 Here’s the second in the series! I think for the next one I should ask some pertinent questions such as “What’s your position on ice cream?” If anyone has any ideas for ice cream, chocolate or coffee related questions for the candidates, let me know…

In case anyone was wondering, here’s the fact file:

• Candidate: Jackie Healey Rae 
• Party: Independent
• Constituency: South Kerry
• Flavour: Fanaile (Vanilla)

Technorati tags: candidate, Irish election, Jackie Healy Rae, Kerry, ice cream

 Maman Poulet writing on Irishelection.com a little while ago, put the idea into my head that I might get a photo of Jackie Healey Rae with an ice cream.

I’ve been thinking it isn’t a bad idea at all. In fact, my brother and I had always talked about a “Caught with Ice Cream” series, where we might stick our ice cream into the hands of various people and take the photo.

If we were to start with candidates in this tight election year, how many would pose?

Today I received a tip that Bertie Ahern, the Taoiseach, would be in Killarney. Why not? I grabbed the camera.

Deirdre, from our Killarney shop, kindly assisted by scooping and passing the cone to Bertie so that I could snap the shot.

Although there was a big crowd around him, we got through, and the Taoiseach was gracious. I didn’t get as many photos as I had hoped since I was muscled out of it by members of the legitimate press who couldn’t resist the ice cream photo opportunity. Still, it was a good start.

Now, who is next?

Technorati tags: Killarney, Irish election, Bertie Ahern, Taoiseach, ice cream