Dermot O'leary backs second series with Ireland filming run

Dermot O'leary was recently back filming the second series of Dermot's Taste of Ireland, and the route moved from Northern Ireland into the Republic. He said Ireland is his favourite destination, adding: "I’ve been going since year dot."

"We were recently back filming the second series of Dermot’s Taste of Ireland with my brilliant crew," he said, setting out the scale of the trip in one line. The journey took the production from the Causeway Coastal Route through the Glens of Antrim, Derry, Donegal and on to Sligo, giving the series a run of specific stops rather than a generic travelogue.

From Causeway to Sligo

One of the clearest production beats came in Sligo, where O'Leary said the crew took a tractor out at low tide to harvest oysters and cooked them over coals. "It was marvellous," he said, and he added that he had shucked a couple of oysters in the estuary before heading to the Sligo Oyster Experience, where the team cooked them over fire.

That stop also gave the show a sharper local footprint. O'Leary said the Sligo Oyster Experience makes its own bread and serves local beer, while his own preference for outdoor cooking ran through the trip: "I just love eating outside and cooking over the coals, it’s wonderful, provided the weather cooperates."

Wexford, Belfast and Dublin

Wexford remains the clearest personal reference point in the interview. O'Leary said his family are from Wexford, his parents come from working-class families, and when he was young the family hired caravans by the beach there; he recalled days at Carne and Curracloe in south-east Ireland. He also said, "In Wexford, I’ve never actually paid for accommodation!"

He singled out Mary Barry's Bar in Wexford, describing it as a fish pub restaurant where "the food there is unreal," and said that if he only had 24 hours there he would visit his mum and dad, swim in the sea in Kilmore and then hit the Saltee Sauna on the beach. For Dublin, he named the Merrion, the Westbury and the Shelbourne as "the three classics," while The Waterman in Belfast and Matt the Thresher in Dublin also made his list of recommendations.

Lir in Coleraine

Lir in Coleraine was another concrete stop on the new series, where O'Leary filmed with owners Stevie and Rebekah McCarry. He said the meal there was "probably the best meal they had," which gives the restaurant a prominent place in the series' food trail through Northern Ireland.

He also pointed viewers toward Ballycastle, calling it "a stunning little beach town full of independent shops and a great bakery called Ursa Minor Bakehouse," before moving on to the Slieve League cliffs in County Donegal. O'Leary's view of Donegal was blunt: "Donegal itself is a great place."

For viewers, the series is doing more than ticking off locations. It is built around a route with named restaurants, coastal stops and food experiences that give the second series a clearer identity than a standard travel show, and O'Leary's own habits — from beach swimming to cooking over coals — are doing the heavy lifting.