Ice Cream Ireland

 Things seem to be looking up for our poor, beleaguered shop in Killarney, as the construction on Main Street is continuing apace. The Killarney UDC promised us that the sidewalk outside our shop would be finished by the end of January, and it looks like they have made good on that promise.

You can see from the photos that they are putting down the paving slabs outside our door…

Hopefully the entire project will be complete by the middle of March, which means that we will be operating in a construction zone for the next month and a half. However, as we open the shop for the season day after tomorrow, at least customers will be able to get to us!

We certainly hope that the redevelopment of Main Street will improve the town, and it will give more of a plaza feel to our street. The downside is it might make traffic worse and parking more difficult.

We’ve also been promised permission for a couple of tables outside, and the happy thought of people drinking coffee and eating ice cream outside helps to mitigate the construction disruption to our business…

Technorati tags: construction, Killarney, Kerry, Main Street, town, shopping

 Killarney doesn’t really have the best reputation among many Irish people, who view it as a tourist trap. However, there are reasons that it has been popular among tourists, both foreign and national, for so long (my great grandfather used to visit it from Cork). The top reason is the National Park, with its mountains and lakes. Whether for hiking, strolling, boating, or simply walking the dog, it’s a treasure.

Even in the depth of Winter, the beauty is stunning. I managed to sneak an hour of walking in yesterday, and I’ve made a vow to make more of the park on my frequent trips to Killarney to visit our shop there. It’s such an amazing resource…

Technorati tags: Killarney, Kerry, national park, Ireland

  It’s always a nice feeling when we close the shops for the season, and this year we kept Dingle open much longer than we ever have, mirroring our shop in in Killarney, which stayed open last year until the end of December. Both shops will be closed for one month. It allows our staff to catch up on vacation time, although a few of us are still around in production to make the ice cream to distribute to shops and restaurants. Still, even there it will be quiet.

For our shops, we have a little window of opportunity to paint, prepare, and see what we can do to improve things in 2007. It’s not much time, really, and it always goes quickly. It’s nice to look ahead to a year full of promise and fill the head with dreams of ice cream…

Technorati tags: Dingle, Killarney, shop, ice cream, Kerry

 It’s always wonderful to discover hidden talents in people, and Riadh, who works in our Killarney shop, has really outdone himself in that regard.

Yesterday, he presented me with these beautiful cakes he has been working on at home.

The presentation and care to detail is surely extraordinary for someone who doesn’t have a background in baking.

I suppose it shouldn’t come as such a surprise, since he gives phenomenal care and attention to making coffees, and he is one of the best baristas we have ever had.

I was a happy fork-wielder on this occasion, and we had a good tasting session. I’ll have to bring this man into the kitchen soon!

So, for my last post of 2006, I leave you with these cake photos and Riadh, because my brother and I certainly don’t exist in a vacuum here, and there are so many people who make Murphys Ice Cream possible.

Thanks to all our dedicated staff and to our customers and suppliers.

I wish you all the best for a Happy New Year. Athbhliain faoi Mhaise Daoibh!

Technorati tags: Killarney, Kerry, cake

For any food producer in the Munster area who is interested and hasn’t received a flyer, the Rural Food Company, which is a part of Leader Network, is offering some interesting and very heavily subsidised courses in Killarney and in Cashel. They include:

Business Growth and Development (€150) - 5 nights over 2 months, starting Nov. 29th

New Product Development  (€65) - 3 nights, starting Nov. 22nd

Intermediate Food Hygiene (€45) - 2 nights, starting Nov. 29th - Killarney only

Other courses for the future will include brand development, digital photography for food producers, packaging, etc.

Contact details for the courses are here.

Technorati tags: production, food, Killarney, course

Today we met with the town engineer in Killarney, and he gave us a bit of good news and bad news. The bad news is that the “set down area” proposed for outside our shop (map here) will now be a loading zone, so we will have lorries parked just outside our front door most of the time.

The good news is that it would seem like we will be able to have a couple of tables outside once the construction is done (before next March, we hope!). So if customers don’t mind the lorries, they will be able to enjoy an ice cream or coffee at a street-side table…

Technorati tags: construction, Killarney, Kerry, Main Street, town

 It’s not so nice outside our shop in Killarney at the moment, as they are digging up the street. The idea is to make Main Street more pedestrian-friendly by widening the sidewalks and reducing the traffic down to one lane, one way.  

So, for the next 6 months or so, we will be trading in a construction zone. We can only hope that work will be completed as promised in March.

Although it would seem that Main Street will look well after the project is done, it’s a question whether further pedestrianization of towns is a good thing.

On the one hand, it’s great to put in benches and have wide sidewalks. On the other hand, the more you restrict traffic into a town, the more likely it is that people will find it too difficult to come in and do their shopping on the outskirts. It’s already a bit of a chore to navigate into the centre, and parking is limited and expensive.

Tralee is a case study, and it wouldn’t inspire confidence. Streets have been completely pedestrianised, the square redone and blocked from traffic, which looks nice and is pleasant for strolling and shopping.

The problem is that fewer people seem to be coming into the Tralee centre for the pleasure. It’s just simpler to go to Manor West Shopping Centre, outside of town, which is easy to get to and has plenty of free parking…

Technorati tags: construction, Killarney, Kerry, Main Street, town, shopping

 Back in 2000, when we first opened the ice cream shop in Dingle, we served scones. Within a short amount time, however, we discontinued them.

The reason was that we were having trouble making people understand that we were a high-quality, gourmet ice cream cafe, since that concept didn’t exist in Dingle. Back then, we found that serving scones was a negative positioning statement - it was what cheap cafes offered along with thin coffee and white bread ham sandwiches.

Times have changed, however, and we have always felt that a good scone, served with cream and jam, however, is a tasty treat.

So they are back for a trial run in the Killarney shop only, baked fresh every morning, and when we sell out - that’s it for the day.

So far it seems to be working well, and it does give people another option, especially early, when they might not yet be in the mood of cake or ice cream…

Technorati tags: Killarney, scone, cream, jam, baked, pastry

 We’re all a bit tired in the world of ice cream after our end-of-season staff party, which we held in Killarney last night.

I won’t embarrass everyone with lots of photos, but here are three. My apologies to the many people not included…

It’s an amazing thing in this business how the team shrinks and swells depending on the time of year.

It’s shrinking now, for sure. Quite a few are heading back to college (and best of luck to them), others will stay on, and we will have half the number within a few weeks.

That is why it’s good to get the whole team together for one last bash…

Thanks a million, everyone!

 Killarney is the midst of the 15th Annual HOG (Harley-Davidson Owner’s Group) Rally, and anyone interested in such things and immune to the roaring of motorcycle engines should rush over.

10-15,000 bikes and riders from all over the world have converged on the town, and it’s quite a sight. Killarney is positively heaving with Harley-Davidsons.

For anyone who feels like they need the ultimate accessory to join in with the festivities, they could pay a quick visit to the Irish dealer on the way down, but would have to be willing to part with some serious cash.

Contrary to stereotypes, the bikers we met in Killarney were quite lovely, and the town had a nice mood, even though the noise was something ferocious.

A great number of them turned up in Dingle as well, and they even found some time to eat some ice cream!

Technorati tags: Dingle, Killarney, rally, Harley Davidson, motorcycle, ice cream