Latest news with #Tadgh
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
New café at Bray's Mermaid Arts Centre to create hub for local produce
The new venture is the result of a partnership between the Mermaid and Críoch Catering, which was founded in 2019 by Arklow chef Tadgh Byrne, who is a member of Wicklow Naturally and specialises in sustainable, fresh, locally sourced food, paired with warm and friendly customer service. Críoch Café will initially serve coffee and light bites over the summer, from 8am to 3pm Monday to Friday, with a theatre bar service on performance evenings, and come September, there will be a broader menu and longer opening hours. No stranger to the arts, in 2024 Tadgh collaborated with Dublin Filmmaker, Max Barry, on a documentary exploring how Ireland will eat in 2050 – looking at issues such as how technology will change farming, food security, robot chefs, drone deliveries and sustainability in the food supply chain. The word 'Críoch' originates from Middle Irish and means territory or land and reflects Tadgh's deep connection to County Wicklow and sustainable produce, with the catering company's decisions guided by the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the EU's Farm-to-Fork Strategy. Críoch Catering has recently been nominated as a finalist in the Gold Medal Catering Awards in three categories: Menu Provenance of the Year, Public Sector Food Service of the Year and Ireland's Event Caterer – 100 Guests or Less category. 'Our mission is to make the world a better place through healthy, sustainable and ethical food and memorable experiences,' chef Tadgh said. ''Our vision is for Mermaid to become a food hub, as well as an arts hub, and we are looking forward to showcasing local produce. We will open for coffee and snacks until September and then broaden our offering. 'We want to take this time to finish decorating, hire the right people and fine tune our provenance-driven menu.' Speaking on behalf of the board at Mermaid, chair Anne Ferris said: 'The café at Mermaid has always been a vibrant and core part of our offering, and we are delighted to welcome Tadgh Byrne to deliver his vision of high-quality, locally sourced food and drinks. We wish him every success.' Artistic director and Mermaid CEO Aoife Demel added: 'Welcoming Tadgh and the team at Críoch Café on board is very exciting for the team at Mermaid, our artists and our audiences. One of Mermaid's core goals is to work sustainably, and Críoch's focus on locally sourced high-quality ingredients aligns with our vision. 'We look forward to working with Tadgh and his dedicated team to build a buzzing, sustainable café.'
Irish Examiner
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Enjoying a Whaly of a time in a boat trip around Cork Harbour
Very few of us will deny relishing the thought of paddling our own canoe but Cobh's Cork Harbour Boat Hire takes the sentiment to a different level. They give you a motor-powered Whaly boat, (7 knots max) and, after a brief operating demonstration let you loose to self-drive on the water. The only specification is that you steer in the path of a pilot Whaly as it leads you on an hour-long tour of the historic harbour. I'd asked German visitor Sam, who had taken the tour last year, for his impression. 'It's an experience', he smiled. A Whaly is a small boat, made from high-grade polyethylene and is, assures tour guide Tadgh, 'to-tally safe and completely indestructible'. The tour is a mix of sailing and history, but with a lot more sailing. It begins at a tiny hut adjacent to the Quay's bar. The greeting from the young staff reassures that the Irish tourist industry is in safe hands, as they dispense waterproof clothing and life jackets with relaxed chat, good humour and unquestionable efficiency. Natalia, 21 and of Irish/Columbian parentage is the company's content creator with responsibility for Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Cobh born and reared, she sometimes breaks into an American lilt. She traces it to a childhood obsession with U2, which led to her watching copious band videos on American You Tube! 'I never got rid of the accent!', she laughs. I marvel at the propensity of Bono to get into any conversation. Julia, also from Cobh, outlines what lies ahead — and Bono isn't part of it! 'You'll go out past Haulbowline naval base, over to NMCI (National Maritime College of Ireland), under a bridge, out the other side of Haulbowline and up the side of Spike Island. Then around the back of Spike, over the spit bank and back here. The guide (Tadgh) will stop along the way and tell you a bit about the history of the harbour. You'll enjoy it!', she promises. The staff's love for sailing and respect for the harbour are very evident as Tadgh and fellow guide Reece manage a brief instruction session. Then my Whaly awaits, while two couples occupy two others. It's a sullen, overcast day, the red boats contrasting sharply with the surroundings. The clouds spit infrequent light rain and a moody breeze ruffles the grumbling surface of the water. Considering the plastic craft charged with keeping me separate from that same water for an hour, I'm pleased with the wire connecting my leg to the boat; I'm told it will instantly cut out the engine if I fall overboard! Any concerns are quickly dispelled. Within minutes, I'm in full control and roaring along, not paddling my own canoe, but rattling my own Whaley! Chasing to keep pace with Tadgh and Natalia in the pilot boat, it becomes increasingly exhilarating. Every journey being an inner journey, even steering a tiny boat across a safe tide condenses your world into your immediate surrounds. The more the quayside receded into the distance, the more matters associated with ashore shrank in relevance, including cares. And Bono. Haulbowline is the first stop-off and the boats cluster for Tadgh's synopsis. Haulbowline used to house Irish Steel and was also once the largest dry dock in Europe. 'It has a smaller dry dock within. The story goes that the naval officers keep their yachts there when they retire', he jokes. I think. Then we steer to the NMCI. 'They have a huge sea survival pool', Tadgh informs, 'that replicates any sea conditions, including thunder, lightning and waves. They train to the STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping)'. Two seals, meeting a different standard, laze on a slipway and half wave a fin. The tide is a little rougher and the boat slaps harder against the flow as we steer beneath a bridge. In the distance, six yachts, spaced apart, head for Crosshaven, or, as Tadgh smiles, 'for gin and tonics'. Pausing at the rear of Spike Island, the rain is now more obvious but it doesn't matter. Tadgh describes a protective 'three-storey trench' running the circumference of the former monastery-turned-prison-turned star-shaped fort. Three British 32-pounder cannons overlook the sea, with 'a range well beyond the horizon'. Forty minutes out, the boat is locked in a mind game against a stubborn tide as we move onto the Spit Bank. At low tide, it's possible to walk the final kilometre to shore. There stand thee now unmanned Spit Bank lighthouse, perched like a half building on spindly red legs corkscrewed into the mud. The lighthouse, operational since March 1853, marks a 90-degree turn in the shipping channel and is 'the oldest of its kind in the world', Tadgh states. (The construction was designed and co-ordinated by blind engineer Alexander Mitchell, who crawled along planks and examined the ironworks by touch). Back onshore, like a kid at the bottom of a slide, the first instinct is to do it again. But I watch the extended Kidney family, all twelve of them, reoccupy the three boats. Cobh natives, they've regrouped from other parts for Easter. 'It's fantastic. The kids love it', says Catherine Kidney. 'We've been out about eight times over the years'. Who needs a canoe?! Larger, Whaly ribs are also available to hire. Website: Tel: 086-0747926
Extra.ie
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
How TikTok is becoming beneficial for exam students
Parents of secondary students with exams coming up may not be aware that their child's use of TikTok could be benefitting them due to the rise in 'edu-tainment' content on the video sharing app. Science teacher Tadgh O'Donovan has amassed 400,000 followers on the app through sharing school life skits as well as educational content. Tadgh had been teaching in the United Kingdom for a few years when the pandemic hit and had never had any interest in social media. Science teacher Tadgh O'Donovan has amassed 400,000 followers on the app through sharing school life skits as well as education content. Pic: Tadgh O'Donovan/ TikTok 'We were trying to get kids onto Google classroom and getting them to do a bit of online learning, and it just wasn't hitting home,' Tadgh told 'There was nothing resonating with them and they were just not interested. 'At the time, I was living with a couple of people and they were all on TikTok and they were using TikTok and making TikToks. I was kinda going, 'Go on — teach me this while I have the chance.'' After learning the art of the platform, Tadgh created his own account and made a few videos, thinking maybe some of the students in the local area might come across them. The Cork man was also doing school runs for the school at the time, where he made visits to students in disadvantaged areas. During these visits, he learned that the kids were on their phones scrolling on TikTok day in and day out. @teachwithtadgh You know it's not going to be good when you get hit with this move. 😬 #teacher #school #student #studentlife #teachersoftiktok ♬ original sound – 🧍🏾♀️🧍🏾♀️ 'I was like, 'Okay, the students are there; the students are over there. They're not interested in Google Class,' It just made sense [to] make some videos over there,' Tadgh revealed. Tadgh later made the move back to Ireland and explained that he was 'itching to get back into the classroom' in between jobs, so started doing TikTok Live lessons. 'There was a couple of hundred kids in every single lesson coming to learn Science,' he revealed, later adding: 'I had a load of parents messaging me like, 'I thought my kid was just scrolling on TikTok and they told me they were actually learning Science.'' The teacher told that TikTok lessons were a 'massive, untapped market' of students who were likely not getting exactly what they needed from school. Pic: Tadgh O'Donovan/ TikTok The teacher told that TikTok lessons were a 'massive, untapped market' of students who were likely not getting exactly what they needed from school. 'There is this little catchment of 30-40% of students who don't like putting their hands up in class; don't like drawing attention to themselves,' he explained. 'For those students, they like to have a platform where they can talk or ask their questions without being afraid of judgement from the rest of the class. I think that's where TikTok live came in very handy.' On top of TikTok Live lessons for the quieter students, Tadgh added that it was beneficial to those who may need additional lessons but cannot afford grinds. 'These lessons are live so they're free on TikTok for them to use.' As well as educational content, Tadgh shares skits on school life, noting 'there's so many facets of school life that we can all have a laugh and a joke about.' He said: 'There is life outside of constantly learning something new. You can have a little bit of fun. It's a blend of edu-tainment as I call it — a little bit of education and entertainment at the same time.' Tadgh added that he has found his students have given him more 'buy-in' as a result of his TikTok account but added that while the initial reaction from new students is awe, the other years are like 'Relax, he's nothing special.' 'It's the most Irish thing ever that they humble you,' he told with a laugh. The Cork native paid tribute to fellow TikTok educational creators including Ms Biochem, who his own students have learned much from. 'I've given a big tip to my class about the shortcut to getting 80-90% — and there is a method to the madness of how you can get a good grade without putting the maximum amount of work — and I don't know how many times I've said it and it never really clicked with any of them until Ms BioChem said it,' he explained.
