
How boxty became a beloved Irish dish all over the world
Smell is the only sense that connects directly to the brain's limbic system, which governs memory and emotion. So it's no surprise that certain foods are often steeped in nostalgia, particularly those from specific regions.
We don't have too many of these in Ireland - think Dublin coddle or the Waterford blaa - but one that has gone from Leitrim to all over the world is boxty.
Boxty, a traditional Irish potato pancake, is one food that often reminds people of days with their grandparents or breakfast with their cousins. Or evokes childhood memories if you're from the north-west, where it's a proud local dish. Donal Skehan's take on boxty
It's steeped in tradition, especially in Cavan and Leitrim. Boxty is believed to have been created before the famine as a resourceful way to use both leftover mashed potatoes and grated potatoes. The name itself might stem from the phrase "arán bocht ti" as Gaeilge, which means "poor house bread".
For Aine Faughnan, boxty is at the core of her childhood memories. She is the managing director for Dromod - one of the country's leading boxty makers. Her father Timmy founded the business 35 years ago after having great success baking and selling his mother's recipe in his local shop in Dromod, Co Leitrim.
She said: "So my dad was making boxty in the morning very early, at like 5am, and bringing it up and selling it in our own shop.
"So it would have been Granny's recipe he was using. And the bread men would come in and they'd ask him, 'Could you make some for us to bring on our routes to other stores as well?' So he started doing that and got really busy."
Timmy then decided to turn the shop into a bakery and as it grew bigger and bigger, he decided to open up his own company, Dromod Boxty. Customers can now buy the beloved product online or from any of its many stockists across the country, including SuperValu.
Aine said her favourite thing about Boxty is that it brings families together and is one of the truly traditional Irish foods that every tourist wants to try when they visit here. Typically made with a combination of mashed and grated raw potatoes, flour and milk, boxty can be eaten with almost anything.
While some people like to go rogue and pop sugar on the potato cake, Aine likes to keep it savoury. It can be enjoyed with eggs, avocado, ham and cheese, or even used as a pizza base.
For those who have never tried the dish before, she recommends keeping it simple with some gorgeous butter. She said: "I would advise putting it on the pan on a medium heat with some butter.
"So melt the butter and then put it on the pan until it's nice and crispy on the outside, and then you'll have that chewy potato texture on the inside.
"Some people microwave it or put it in the toaster. You can do that, but it just doesn't give you that real deliciousness that you get when you fry it."
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Examiner
38 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: The best ancient advice in the world
You don't need a whole slew of professional qualifications to be an influencer. A certain native charm is helpful; good looks can always go down well with the easily-impressed; a way with words is an obvious advantage as is the ability to put together a convincing video roll. Building a reputation for expert and inside knowledge is key to the enterprise. Influencer marketing is an activity which was barely known a decade ago and its impact was accelerated by the explosive growth of social media and during lockdown when many of us had more time on our hands than was good for us. We are a country which has become wedded to social networks with up to three quarters of our population owning one or more accounts. Modash, an influencer marketing and analysis agency, headquartered in Estonia, says it has found 12,032 Irish Instagram influencers with up to 500,000 followers and the majority of their audience in Ireland. For a fee it will analyse every creator not only on this platform but also on YouTube and TikTok. Citizens may enter this bewildering landscape for a whole host of reasons, and many may be wholly harmless. A search for the best way to make falafel for example, or guidance on how to knit a plaited stitch; or directions to the best beaches in Galicia. But there are other subjects on which it is best to rely on a phrase which preceded the arrival of the internet by nearly 3,000 years. 'Caveat Emptor' — buyer beware. Medical advice certainly falls into this category. It's quite easy to find GPs who will tell you hair-raising stories about patients who arrive in their surgeries having carried out comprehensive search engine diagnoses of their symptoms and seeking sign-off and confirmation of their ailments and maladies. And the other topic where caution is required is, of course, financial information, where the Central Bank of Ireland has reissued advice to consumers that if they deal with an unauthorised firm then there is no recourse to statutory compensation schemes or the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. 'Consumers are advised to check the official Central Bank website to see if the firm is authorised by the Central Bank' its statement to the Irish Examiner says. Mr Finlay, who has 260,000 followers on Instagram and 586,000 on TikTok, has built a reputation in recent years by posting food reviews and luxury lifestyle content. He frequently shares photos and videos of himself on first-class flights, at Premier League matches, and on holidays in Dubai. He also runs several channels on instant messaging app Telegram, which are focused on making money on T4Trade. He suggests that people copy his trades. The platform carries a disclaimer that it is not targeted to residents of the EU where it is not registered Mr Finlay says he charges €1,000 for access to a VIP channel which is owned and operated by him, but regularly allows small groups of people to enter 'free of charge,' for limited amounts of time, encouraging people to join quickly before access to the group closes. In historical terms, we are in the early days of trading and commerce on the internet and there are many lessons which still have to be learned. But as with any activity taking place on a new frontier, it is sensible to be cautious. It may not make you a fortune, but it can protect you from crushing disappointment. Or to quote T4Trade's own website: 'Our products are traded on margin and carry a high level of risk and it is possible to lose all your capital.' Old wild men have left the stage this week It has been, we must acknowledge, a bad week for old wild men. First the curtain came down on Ozzy Osbourne, 76, the founding father of the metalheads, whose last concert at Villa Park a couple of weeks previously was recalled by an Irish Examiner writer who proclaimed it as 'not just a celebration of music and legacy, but of life itself'. The self-styled Prince of Darkness nearly sacrificed his life on several occasions to excesses of various types but earned a place in people's hearts through his endearing MTV reality show, The Osbournes, which reached way beyond the aficionados of thrash metal. On the same day, a different kind of rugged hero departed with the passing of Joey Jones, stalwart of Liverpool, Wrexham, and Chelsea whose fist-pumping exhortations to fans were a familiar scene at soccer grounds across Europe in the 1970s and 80s. Jones, 70, born in a North Wales council house, was a rampaging left-sided defender whose never-say-die attitude won the hearts of those on the terraces. Hulk Hogan, who died on Thursday, was for more than a decade the ubiquitous face of wrestling bringing WWE to prominence with theatrical performances and a dominating physique. Hogan, who acknowledged that he took steroids, stood at 6ft 7in and weighed 145kg. His appearance was set off by a droopy blonde moustache and a T-shirt that he liked to rip open at the height of his exuberance. Hogan, 71, died from apparent cardiac arrest. In later years he was a voluble supporter of US president Donald Trump who counted 'the Hulkster' as a personal friend. There will be an opinion that men aren't made like this anymore but whether it's a snatch of the opening riff of 'Paranoid', a recollection of the famous 'Munching Gladbach' banner, or a highly colourful bandana, they will stay in our collective memories for the forseeable. Fair deal for cancer survivors is overdue There are few things more powerful than an idea whose time seems to have come. The concept that age is no barrier; changes to abortion law; elective death; reform of drug laws. To this we can add the proposition that for too long cancer survivors in Ireland have been discriminated against by the providers of financial services, with many struggling to obtain products such as mortgage protection and travel cover. For many years, the Irish Cancer Society has been campaigning for what it describes as 'the right to be forgotten', which means that there will be no obligation to disclose a previous diagnosis more than five years after active treatment has been concluded. Anyone who has filled in an insurance application form will be aware that there are requirements to declare any previous medical conditions, the inclusion of which can add, often considerably, to the premium charged or refusal to provide a policy. Failure to provide such details can result in policies being declared null and void. But change is afoot and legislation is now expected to be passed by the Oireachtas this autumn. It was first introduced in the Seanad by then Fianna Fáil senator Catherine Ardagh in October 2022, and was reintroduced by her as a TD in the Dáil in February. Now it has been taken up by the Government, whose junior finance minister Robert Troy — who has lost two siblings to the disease — describes the situation as 'challenging and unfair'. The Central Bank (Amendment) Bill will give statutory weight to what was previously a voluntary code of practice, which was not universally adopted, and will bring Ireland into line with laws which are already in place in France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Under existing guidelines, a survivor can access mortgage protection after seven years of remission or five years if individuals were diagnosed when under the age of 18. While the proposed new law does not cover travel insurance this will be a logical next step for campaigners. The Government, says Mr Troy, has focussed first on 'where the need is greatest and where there is the clearest evidence base'. Removing the uncertainty around house purchase is certainly a priority, but there is an equivalent value emotionally of liberating people from being defined by the most difficult chapter of their lives. Loss adjustors and risk assessors will, no doubt, point to the costs. It is their job to do so. But the rest of us may consider that, in a country where hundreds of thousands of people have been visited by cancer, it is a price worth bearing. Read More Irish Examiner view: Rural communities are losing their light


The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Dunnes Stores shoppers set for frenzy over new ‘stylish' co-ord that makes perfect airport look – & it's just €35 total
DUNNES Stores shoppers are set for a frenzy over a new co-ord - and it makes the perfect airport look. The retailer has been keeping shoppers happy with a range of must-have 4 The Short Sleeve Button Detail Jersey Co-Ord Top is just €15 Credit: DUNNES STORES 4 The Straight Leg Jersey Co-Ord Trousers cost just €20 Credit: DUNNES STORES 4 The navy option has sold out online Credit: DUNNES STORES And now, Dunnes Stores has added another The retailer is selling the two piece for €35 in total and it fits any occasion. The Short Sleeve Button Detail Jersey Co-Ord Top is just €15. READ MORE IN DUNNES STORES But unfortunately for fashion fans, the navy shade is sold out online - though may be available in your local Shoppers can get the top in sizes XS to XXL - and all options are still in stock online. The short-sleeved red jumper has ribbed detailing, and features three gold buttons on the left shoulder for a chic addition. In the official item description on the Most read in The Irish Sun "In a textured finish, wear with denim or the matching trousers (sold separately) for a coordinated look." It's perfect to wear to a variety of events, either with the matching trousers or paired with something else. I tried 'cute' summer dress that's 'so flattering' cries Dunnes Stores fan - and it comes in two colours The Straight Leg Jersey Co-Ord Trousers cost just €20. These pants also come in two shades, red and navy, though again the navy is completely sold out online. Shoppers can pick them up in sizes XS to XXL - and all sizes are still in stock online. The wide-leg trousers feature the same ribbed detailing as the top, and come with an elasticated waistband. In the official item description on the Dunnes Stores website, "Pair them with the matching top (sold separately) for a relaxed, coordinated look." Shoppers could wear the co-ord together for an easy go-to option. Or mix and match the pieces depending on the event. Both the top and trousers are available online and in stores now, but they are set to fly off the shelves. 4 The co-ord is €35 in total Credit: Garrett White THE HISTORY OF DUNNES STORES DUNNES Stores opened its first store on Patrick Street in Cork in 1944 - and it was an instant hit. Shoppers from all over the city rushed to the store to snap up quality clothing at pre-war prices in Ireland's first 'shopping frenzy'. During the excitement, a window was forced in and the police had to be called to help control the crowds hoping to bag founder Ben Dunne's 'Better Value' bargains. Dunnes later opened more stores in the 1950s and began to sell groceries in 1960 - starting with apples and oranges. The retailer said: "Fruit was expensive at the time and Ben Dunne yet again offered Better Value than anyone else in town. "Over time, our food selection has grown and that spirit of good value has remained strong. "Now we offer a wide range of carefully-sourced foods from both local Irish suppliers and overseas." The retailer's first Dublin store opened its doors in 1957 on Henry Street and a super store on South Great Georges Street was unveiled in 1960. They added: "In 1971, our first Northern Irish store opened, and many others soon followed. "Expansion continued in the 1980s in Spain, and later into Scotland and England." Dunnes now has 142 stores and employs 15,000 people.

The 42
5 hours ago
- The 42
Next year's Women's Irish Open to take place at The K Club
THE 2026 WOMEN'S Irish Open will be played at The K Club, the Ladies European Tour (LET) has confirmed. The championship will take place in Co. Kildare from 27-30 August on the club's Palmer South Course, which has previously hosted three European Opens. Advertisement The Women's Irish Open, which will again have KPMG as its title sponsor, has been moved back to August to offer players 'a prime opportunity to compete in front of passionate Irish crowds in the build-up to the Solheim Cup', the LET said. 'Tournament organisers are confident that this new venue will attract even bigger names and further elevate the fan experience.' Early-bird tickets for the 2026 KPMG Women's Irish Open will go on sale in due course, with U16s once again able to attend for free. MJ Fetherston, director of The K Club said: 'This is a tournament we want to support and elevate. There is so much brilliant talent in women's golf. We have been supporting Leona Maguire for the past few years and this is a terrific development on that. 'The Palmer South course has been given a lot of love and energy over the past few years. We are excited to bring tournament golf back to this challenging course. 'Our family and the whole team at the resort want to make this the best Women's Irish Open yet.'