The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Paying tribute to the mighty spud
THE judges dined al fresco at the Féile an Práta finals in Ballydavid on Sunday where the sun shone and the best potatoes in the west competed for the champion’s crown.
Established to reward the grower of the tastiest potato in West Kerry, the competition gets to the heart of the importance of the humble spud in Ireland. The day is all about potatoes: the art of growing them, preparing them, and cooking them and it strikes a chord with people from all walks of society.
The competition is a combination of light hearted and deadly serious – encapsulated in the advice to the potato-tasting judges that they’d better be very attentive and consistent in their marking “because you wouldn’t want a drive-by shooting by a disappointed contestant”.
The annual competition, which started in Ballydavid nine years ago, crowns the grower of the tastiest spuds. Even though the entries in the parish heats were down because of inclement weather early in the year there was no sign of bad weather and no diminishing of appetite for the results of each and every competition that made up the day.
The Spud-Off Mór contest was judged by Liam O Neill, Sinéad Sheehy, Sean O’Shea, Denise Ní Dhubhda and Gareth Smith who, by the narrowest of margins, awarded the title to Josh Ó Braonain of Paróiste na Cille, Cois Farraige. As the competition progressed the tension was mounting amongst judges and organisers alike as there was no sign of the final entry from Lispole. But it arrived just in time, with summer traffic blamed for the delay. It was a worthwhile effort as Fergal Ó Grifín took home the second place prize while third prize went to Nora Uí Dhálaigh of Dhún Chaoin.
There was palpable tension as the organisers recounted the scores to check that all was correct. “The scores are being re-checked, in the nine years of the competition it has never been so close,” announced Bean a’ Tí Noreen Mc Sweeney. Shouts of triumph erupted from the Paróiste na Cille Cois Farraige group as their spud was crowned the champion for the year.
In other competitions, the Pláta Phráta had amongst its judges Karen Coakley – aka The Kenmare Foodie – who was so impressed with the welcome she received in West Kerry that she took to Facebook to compliment the committee. Top prize in this category was awarded to Sláine Ni Chathalláin who made the short journey from work at Stuideó Baile na n Gall to collect the prize for her dish of Prataí agus Ispíni le Beagáinín Spíosraí (Spicy Potatoes and Sausages), which was a clear winner ahead of second place Potato Lollipops Served With Onion Dip by Phil Ní Bhrosnacháin, with Julie O’Shea from New York taking third place with her Cheese-Scalloped Potatoes.
Meanwhile, the work of preparing the spuds was honoured with a prize for the speediest peeler of potatoes – the title went to Helen Uí Loibhéid who won a sack of spuds for her efforts. With the advantage of a trained eye, chef Kevin Murphy won the prize of a shovel for guessing the weight and number of criocáns in a pot.
A raffle held on the day donated 50% of the takings to Kerry Hospice and put 50% towards the running cost of the festival.
Bilingual commentary on the day was provided by the very able Noreen Mc Sweeney and fellow committee members Elaine Uí Laighin, Susan Ní Churnáin, John Sheehy and Rochie Holohan were delighted with the standard of enteries and the support received from businesses and the large crowd of supporters.
The fine weather meant that all the activities could take place outside, which is just as well as it would have been challenging to accommodate the numbers that turned up for this annual tasting and selection of the best potatoes in West Kerry.
And Baile na nGall was, of course, a fitting location for the event as it was here that the first potatoes landed in Europe in 1587 according to the official account by John White, expedition commander of the Second Colony in Virginia.