Genealogist Ita O’Boyle is not slow about exposing her own antecedents. Within a couple of minutes of starting our conversation in the basement of Wicklow Library, she lets it be known that, though brought up in County Meath, she has proud Donegal roots on the father’s side of the family.
Here’s the choice. You may curse the darkness. Or you may light a candle. John Cox is very much a light-a-candle type of character. The 68-year-old has noted how climate is changing and species are dying and the world is generally going to hell in a hand-cart. Others confronted with such gloom may wait and wait and wait indefinitely for government action or international conventions. But John is not a man to hang about when there are deeds to be done; he is out in the field and working with purpose and optimism.
It goes without saying that chef Tadgh Byrne is a very good cook, as satisfied customers over the years, on three continents, will readily confirm. But, as well as serving up a good dinner, the Arklow man is capable of providing food for thought too as he explores the ideas behind his craft. He has produced a recently released film exploring the menu of the future and he previously examined the history of what we eat.
Ah, yes, 2024. The year of the Paris Olympics. The year that the voters of the United States choose a president to run their mad country for a four year term.