‘An aroma that wrapped us in warm nostalgia’

John O’Ceallaigh visits Ashford Castle to sample a new artisan experience day that showcases the best of west Ireland

My grandmother’s soda bread is broad as a hubcap and thick as the two testaments, with a golden crust that gives way to a heart that is creamy white, soft and fluffy. It’s best enjoyed straight from the oven, still steaming, with just a chunk of cheese or dollop of melting butter, home-made jam and a cup of tea.

I’d say her soda bread is among the best to be had in Ireland, but then a lot of my Irish friends would claim the same of their grannies’. For all its banality and ubiquity, this humble loaf remains a beloved staple that reveals more than you might initially expect about the country. Cheap, quick to prepare and served in every household, it fuelled the nation in times of hardship and for so many of us still the smell of freshly baked bread brings back warming, romanticised childhood memories of when things were simpler and life seemed that bit more carefree.

That perhaps explains why Ashford Castle, a supremely luxurious hotel set elegantly beside Lough Corrib on the Galway-Mayo border in the west of Ireland, has made the craft of baking soda bread a central component of its new programmes introducing visitors to the best of Ireland’s artisans and cultura custodians, all individuals who ordinarily remain firmly out of public view. From trawling the coastline of Connemara with a shellfish farmer to visiting the workshop of a stone carver, there are 32 different experiences that can be combined across Mayo, Galway and Clare to give truly distinctive daylong introductions to Ireland’s culture and character(s).

I was one of the first to try the portfolio out, on a food-centred itinerary that commenced with baking soda bread. Facilitating everything was guide Eoin Warner, a brilliantly knowledgeable storyteller and authority on Irish mythology, language, culture and history who was ready to share fascinating insights into the country. “There’s a great sense of