Hi, my name is Mike and I'm from Kent.
I visited Ireland for the first time last week (shame on me, I know) with the intention of tracing some family roots. My Gma was a Slattery and girlfriend is a Crotty with ancestors around Carrick-en-Sur/Portlaw/Waterford. We ended up spending three nights in Cobh which was great.
I have a 10 gallon, 3-vessel brewing system currently sharing space with what I laughingly call my kitchen, so we enjoy good beer. I have just moved to AG and have 5 x 5 gallon brews under my belt (not brave enough to commit to a 10 gallon batch yet).
Ended up in Cork for the day and found, quite by chance, The Franciscan Well. One of the guys mentioned the surge in craft ale interest so I thought I would pop in and see what's going on.
Slainte!