Travel

Captivating Connemara: A week in the west reveals delightful seafood

French food writer Katia Valadeau ventures to Connemara for a solo staycation and finds the picturesque region contains plenty for discerning diners

“Between online recommendations and my own research, I had a fair idea of what I wanted to visit and a lot of it naturally revolved around food,“ says Katia Valadeau. Picture: Getty Images

A few days into my holiday in Connemara, I’m sitting quietly in the window seat in O'Dowd's bar and restaurant in Roundstone, about to dive into a bowl of the most comforting-looking chowder. It's silky, and smells like the sea.

A regular has just ordered two pints and his friend pops his head in the door, shouting, "I'll be at the wall!". The wall in question is across the road, looking out over the harbour ...