The Walker Brothers’ Gluten-Free Ireland Trip

When people consider Irish food, they typically think of crunchy battered fish, foamy Guinness, and the iconic Irish brown soda bread present at every meal. So traveling with my brother Tim, who has coeliac disease (a gastrointestinal intolerance to wheat gluten), offered a challenge: Can we eat well in Ireland while staying gluten-free?
The answer was and is a resounding “Yes”.

Every Irish pub and restaurant we visited demonstrated a broad awareness of food allergies - including wheat. Menus often include a number code to indicate different allergens, and restaurant staff are well aware of ingredients, so ordering was easy. 

One restaurant - Brogans, around the corner from the medieval castle in the town of Trim - even had multiple fryers, one of which was designated gluten-free (GF). This ensured that battered fish or other wheat flour-based foods would not contaminate the oil in which potatoes or other fried items might be placed later. In fact, the barman explained that this would likely be the method in many pubs anyway, even if they didn’t explicitly designate as such - the idea being that no one wants their chips tasting like fried fish.

As for beverages: As much as Tim might have liked to enjoy a proper pint of Guinness, he instead developed an appreciation for Ireland’s many hard cider offerings - all gluten-free, but still delicious and equally merry-making. And we did come across occasional craft brewery offerings that included GF options - our favorites were those from 9 White Deer brewery in County Cork (but distributed throughout western Ireland).

But what about desserts? Certain cakes, pies, and crumbles are out of bounds of course, but many pub desserts are naturally gluten-free: pies with nut crusts, flourless tortes, and of course there’s always ice cream, sometimes house-made. More often, though, we’d opt to collect some baked goodies on the road to enjoy later on in the comfort of our lodgings. Many local bakeries offer a handful of GF treats, and those that are too small to do so - like The Bakehouse in New Ross - often stock packaged goods from local GF kitchens - like Tasty Parlour. Even the little “quickie-mart” grocery stores across the island carry Irish-made GF baked goods, often supplied locally. Two bakeries whose treats we enjoyed were Promise and Mrs. Crimbles. 

In the case of one lodging, a B&B on a remote island, the hosts offered a home-cooked dinner. We called ahead to arrange this to be gluten-free as well, which was no problem - a delicious potato leek soup, roast chicken and vegetables from their own gardens, and even a deliciously seedy GF bread made locally. Irish breakfasts, likewise, were easy to keep GF - Tim needed only to skip the typical black pudding in favor of some extra sausage or bacon, and the rest was good to go. Aside from the gluten issue, one B&B even offered their own duck eggs as well as hen eggs - which we happily devoured.

Our first sightseeing stop - also gluten-free, despite the name - led us to the steep hills above Lough Tay, otherwise known as Guinness Lake. The name comes from its ownership by the storied family, but also from its dark waters and its sandy beach, giving the lake a distinct resemblance to a pint of the aforementioned beverage.

Perhaps the (non-food) highlight of the whole trip was a visit to Mayfield Birds of Prey in County Waterford, where we handled and flew owls and falcons and hawks. The hawk-master Willie takes excellent care for these birds - he has such great love for them and respect for their majestic nature, and they love him right back. This is a breathtaking, one-of -a-kind experience. It's not for gaggles of tourists; it's for small groups of people who want to learn and understand how these birds live and hunt and interact with nature. These animals are gorgeous, and they're awesome in the real sense of the word. (And, it should be noted, the diets of these birds of prey - mostly little bits of meat given by the handlers - are also gluten-free!)

All in all we found that our hunt for delicious GF food in Ireland, rather than being a restriction, opened our eyes to new possibilities. We learned more about the sourcing and preparation of the food than we would have if we hadn’t been inquiring. Eating and drinking gluten-free in Ireland is easy and affordable… and delicious!