
‘They came looking for me' – new Lion Thomas Clarkson reveals Italy made approach before he received Ireland call-up
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Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
‘They came looking for me' – new Lion Thomas Clarkson reveals Italy made approach before he received Ireland call-up
He goes by Thomas but Lion No 866 was christened 'Tomasso', and the Wicklow native is proud of his Italian heritage on his mother's side.


Irish Independent
19-07-2025
- Irish Independent
Department of Transport asked to weigh in on future of Pride crossing in Arklow
Arklow's Pride crossing was created in 2021 on the back of years of campaigning by filmmaker, co-founder of the Wicklow Pride Festival and LGBTIQA+ campaigner Dave Thomas. It was the first of its kind in the county and the first to be installed anywhere in the Republic of Ireland. Since its implementation, Mr Thomas has been pushing for similar crossings throughout the county but has faced significant pushback from officials by Wicklow County Council, who believe the Department of Transport has instructed that crossings do not conform to current legislation associated with pedestrian crossings and as contained in the Traffic Signs Manual. Speaking in the Dáil Wicklow-Wexford TD Malcolm Byrne said the council should not allow the crossing to fall into a state of disrepair. 'I ask that the Department of Transport be more proactive than saying this is a matter for each local authority. It would be an awful pity if the crossing in Arklow, the first town in the country that had a rainbow crossing in place, were allowed to fade. I know from many in the area that it is a matter of serious concern.' In response junior minister Sean Canney advised that there is no statutory basis for rainbow pedestrian crossings in Ireland. 'Such crossings, the use of which cannot be enforced by An Garda Síochána, operate on a purely courtesy basis and are installed at the discretion of the individual local authority. The local authority has sole responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of road markings and my Department has no function in this regard.' During a recent meeting district meeting in Arklow, district engineer Avril Hill said she was unaware of any ring-fenced funding to allow for the upkeep of the crossing, adding: 'The advice that I have received is that they're not compliant for people with additional sight needs. Right now, we're not looking to refresh it as it is not complying with standards.' A petition launched by Mr Thomas calling for the decision to be reversed has already received hundreds of signatures online which he plans to submit to officials in both Wicklow County Council and Arklow Municipal District.


Irish Examiner
19-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
The Menu: Summer snackers have 99 problems — but the cone ain't one
July is World Ice Cream Month and though it may amount to a gross dereliction of duty to bring it up this late in the month, it didn't feel appropriate until we finally began to experience something of the heatwave that has been boiling mainland Europe alive. Anyway, every month is Ice Cream Month for me. It is one of my most favourite foodstuffs of all, a nailed-on certainty for inclusion in my death row last supper, still very much in the reckoning were I to be restricted to a single dish. To my mind, there is no other dish in the world that so perfectly equates to joy, but I suspect it is an opinion universally shared, consciously or not, all traceable back to childhood memories when blissful, endless sunny summer days meant ice cream, and ice cream meant blissful, endless sunny summer days. Growing up, ageing and the gradual and inexorable accumulation of all the burdens that come with adulthood will eventually teach you that bliss, too, is finite. And, yet, I have no doubt every adult moved to buy a cold sweet ice cream on a hot sunny day is tapping into the most carefree version of their own inner child. A good ice cream, with the ideal combination of fats, sugars and flavouring, is a singular and unique eating experience, all down to the alchemy triggered by temperature, as the coldness of 'ice' encounters the 'cream'. (To test this, try to drink a cup of warm, melted ice cream without wincing in disgust at an excess of sugar never registered when it is frozen.) Like most Gaels, I was a 'soft-serve' child. Though parental overlords would occasionally spring for a block of HB, served up in slices between wafers, and never less than divine, nothing could beat the cone. Quivering with anticipation, hypnotised by the languid snaking swirl coiling down onto the top of the cone and then topped with various combos of sprinkles and syrups, and, depending on your credit rating, crowned with a chocolate Flake cocked at a jaunty angle to achieve the golden marque in 'cone world', the 99. After a few cursory licks, I'd bite off the end of the cone, suck ice cream down to the new opening and then set about it from both ends before it could melt. It wasn't until I began to travel abroad in my late teens that I discovered 'real' ice cream and gelato, made with a simple custard of eggs, cream, sugar and flavour, as opposed to the emulsifiers, stabilisers, artificial flavourings and other industrial additives that usually constitute mass-produced soft serve ice cream. This was a frozen ecstasy beyond mere joy; lush, rich, delicious and available in a multitude of wild and wonderful flavours beyond traditional vanilla (nonetheless, still my benchmark for perfection). At the final restaurant I worked in before ending my professional chefing career, I began in pastry, making ice cream two or three times a week, using a then-rare Italian ice cream maker to render my base custard as glacial gorgeousness. Working with food all day long meant I ate little or nothing, clocking in at a so-wistfully-recalled 11 stone — but I ate a bowl of my own ice cream every day. Even when promoted to sous chef and, eventually, head chef, I retained ice cream-making duties and, when the mood takes me, I'll still knock out a batch at home to this day. I have even made the 20-minute rapid DIY eggless recipe, combining milk, cream, sugar, golden syrup, milk powder and vanilla extract, in a sealed ziplock bag and then shaking it for ten or 15 minutes in a Tupperware box filled with ice and salt (salt keeps melting water below zero degrees to properly freeze the mix). And on certain hot, sunny, summer days, I'll still treat myself to a 99. TABLE TALK Supplementing their prestigious Young Chefs competition, Euro-Toques Ireland is launching a Rising Pastry Chef of the Year Competition 2025, presented by La Rousse Foods and judged by JR Ryall (Ballymaloe House), Paula Stakelum (Ashford Castle), Paul Kelly (The Merrion Hotel), Darren Hogarty (Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen), as well as Conor Halpenny (Square Dundalk), Gareth Mullins (Anantara The Marker), and Gráinne Mullins (Grá Chocolate). The very excellent Rare at the Blue Haven is hosting a special fundraising dinner (July 31) in support of UNICEF Ireland's Children of Gaza Appeal, with all proceeds on the night donated directly to UNICEF Ireland. Dingle Hub in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland is behind a temporary pop-up local fish market (July 25) in Holy Ground, Dingle, supplied by local boats, with former Global Village chef-proprietor turned food activist and consultant Martin Bealin leading the charge in the hope of creating a permanent outlet for hyper-local fish sales and supporting Dingle peninsula food networks. TODAY'S SPECIAL My Tasty Food's My Pecan Butter Though I occasionally eat them, nut butters rarely spring to mind when I'm in the mood for snacking, but, of late, My Pecan Butter from Myriam and Barry Quinn's My Tasty Food, based in Tipperary Town, is the only thing on my mind, full stop. A glorious combo of pecans, coconut oil, maple syrup, chia seed, vanilla, salt and cinnamon, this sweet, flavoursome and gently nutty spread makes for a quite delicious treat, even on something as simple as hot buttered toast, but it is when the experimentation begins that its true potential is unveiled. Halfway through making a batch of homemade vanilla ice cream, I was moved to empty an entire jar into the mix, creating my latest flavour, My Pecan Butter Swirl. I have no doubt others would like it too if I could ever be persuaded to share but, in the meantime, pour a spoonful or two over your own bowl of ice cream and let the joy begin. To be considered for inclusion, please email details of Irish food events and new Irish food products to