Appeal for stolen items to be returned to Fitzpatrick’s Halloween display

One of the displays at Frightfest

The owner of Fitzpatrick’s Bar and Restaurant has issued an appeal for thieves to return a number of items that were stolen from their Halloween display.

The Rockmarshall venue’s sixth annual Halloween event, Frightfest, kicked off last weekend in aid of the Maria Goretti Foundation and Carlingford Scouts.

It is due to reopen this Friday and run right through until Halloween night, Saturday October 31^st.

However, yesterday Danny Fitzpatrick discovered that a “large amount of items” were stolen from the displays.

Fitzpatrick’s in Rockmarshall

He insists he has CCTV images of those responsible and will release them to the Gardaí and the PSNI if the items are not returned.

Commenting on the matter, Mr Fitzpatrick said: “Just arrived today to be told that a large amount of items have been stolen from our displays which I purchase for this event for charity.

“I ask the person or persons who took these items to please return them without any hassle as we do have you on CCTV and the Garda and PSNI will be informed of your photos if they are not returned ASAP please.

“These displays take a lot of time, money and wages to produce this at Halloween and it’s free to everyone to enjoy. Other places charge up to 18 euro per person to enter and I feel that some people in society can’t help themselves. Even if it’s free they want more or to destroy it for everyone else.

“We try hard to raise money and we have many actors as kids giving up their time to help kids who are not as lucky as them so I ask parents if they see any member of their family with items they should not have, for example masks or anything to do with Halloween, please check where they got them and if they are belonging to us please return them thanks.”

This is not the first time there has been controversy surrounding the annual event. In January 2014 Fitzpatrick announced he was pulling the event and the Christmas equivalent due to criticism on Facebook and Trip Advisor.

He later did a U-turn on this decision following huge online support.

Fitzpatrick’s the only Louth entry in 2015 Michelin Eating Out In Pubs Guide

Fitzpatrick’s in Rockmarshall

Fitzpatrick’s Bar and Restaurant in Rockmarshall has been included in the 2015 Michelin Eating Out In Pubs Guide for the sixth year running.

The award-winning peninsula pub, run by Danny and Dympna Fitzpatrick, is the only entry from Co Louth in the listing once more.

For further details on Fitzpatrick’s visit www.fitzpatricks-restaurant.com

Fitzpatrick’s installing new outdoor bar in time for the World Cup

Work is continuing on the new outdoor bar at present

Construction work has commenced at Fitzpatrick’s Bar and Restaurant in Rockmarshall in recent days.

Owner Danny Fitzpatrick and his team are in the process of installing a new outdoor bar in time for the World Cup, which kicks off two weeks today on Thursday June 12^th.

The outdoor bar will be located in the beer garden in front of the Shann-Ronan Bar and will surely be a popular venue with customers if the sun shines this summer.

It is business as usual in the remainder of the premises while work is continuing.

Chowder Champ Danny to judge The Irish Maritime Festival

All Ireland Chowder Champion, Danny Fitzpatrick (extreme right) joins Olivia Duff, The Irish Maritime Festival 2014 and Patrick Kirwan, Kirwan’s Fish Cart, Drogheda to show some of the possible ingredients for a prize winning chowder

All Ireland Chowder Champion Danny Fitzpatrick has been announced as head judge for The Irish Maritime Festival 2014’s Chowder Competition.

Danny and the team at Fitzpatrick’s Bar & Restaurant in Rockmarshall won the top accolade in Kinsale earlier this year and are now finalists in the World Championships. He will be joined by renowned fishmonger Nicholas Lynch of Nick’s Fish of Ashbourne and master chef and author, Dermot Seberry.

The Chowder Competition is just one of the events taking place during The Irish Maritime Festival 2014 which takes place in Drogheda Port from Friday, June 13^th to Sunday June 15^th.

The competition will see both professional cooks try their hands at creating their own chowder fit for a champion, dished up at a designated judging area in the Festival’s Maritime Pavilion.

Danny in helping festival organisers announce details of the Chowder competition had a few handy tips for anyone interested in entering.

“Always use fresh produce and remember Chowder doesn’t have to be a complicated dish.

“Too much seasoning and using out of the ordinary ingredients can spoil the dish. You don’t need something like shark, just good quality fish from Irish waters will do as long as you have seasoning that brings out the natural, beautiful flavour of your main ingredients.”

The closing date for entries to the Chowder Competition is June 10th. Entry is free. For further details, entries etc go to www.maritimefestival.ie or contact Olivia Duff at oliviamduff@gmail.com

The Irish Maritime Festival 2014 also includes a Maritime Museum, featuring the history of boats on the Boyne River through the centuries, a photography quarter, Artisan Market and Classic Ships, amongst a host of attractions. Admission to the Festival is €2 per adult with children free of charge.

For regular updates on The Irish Maritime Festival 2014 at Drogheda Port, visit www.maritimefestival.ie, follow @maritimefest on Twitter and like our Facebook Page ‘The Irish Maritime Festival 2014’

Fitzpatrick’s named All Ireland Chowder Champions for 2014

Fitzpatrick’s in Rockmarshall

Danny and Dympna FItzpatrick celebrate their success in Kinsale with staff members including Aimee Hanlon, Aidan Digney and Janine Renaghan

Danny Fitzpatrick, the chef and owner of Fitzpatrick’s Bar and Restaurant in Rockmarshall was crowned All Ireland Chowder Champion 2014 at the fourth All Ireland Chowder Cook-Off, which took place in Kinsale on Sunday.

A record attendance of over 1,000 people travelled to Acton’s Hotel for the event, which saw chefs from all over Ireland serve steaming pots of delicious chowder to ticket holders, who were also the judges of the event. Members of the public had only one vote to cast for the best of 32 chowders. On entry, everyone received a voting card that allowed them to sample all chowders from the individual stalls before casting their vote.

Competition among the chefs, who had travelled from all parts of Ireland seeking the title of All Ireland Chowder Champion, was intense.  The chowders were many and diverse, with such variations as a roast red pepper base, queen scallops, lobster, smoked mackerel, mussels, clams, and hand-made ravioli. Crab crostini, seaweed scones and home-baked bread on the side provided a wide variety of tastes and textures.

Visiting chefs revealed some of their trade secrets to MC Derek Davis during the event. However, it was Fitzpatrick’s seafood-rich chowder, presented under the banner “The smallest county with the biggest chowder” that won the most votes.

This was especially rewarding for Danny, wife Dympna, and their team, as Fitzpatrick’s had been voted into second place at the 2013 Chowder Cook-Off. Eugene Callaghan of Kelly’s Resort Hotel in Wexford won second prize this year and in third place was Ryan’s Bar, Navan, Co Meath, with Damien Clarke and his team.

Winner Danny Fitzpatrick received a customised trophy, and will now travel to Newport, Rhode Island, USA, in June 2015 to represent Ireland in the Great Chowder Cook-Off, following in the footsteps of Noel Wallace of Bunratty Manor, Clare and John McGrath and Frank Walsh of the West Bar, Westport.

Huge support for Fitzpatrick’s continuing with Halloween and Christmas displays

Fitzpatrick’s in Rockmarshall

A massive social media campaign has begun to try and convince Fitzpatrick’s Bar and Restaurant to bring back their popular Halloween and Christmas grottos later this year.

Following criticism from a select few of this year’s events on Facebook and Trip Advisor, the Rockmarshall venue’s owner Danny Fitzpatrick took to Facebook yesterday to announce that he was pulling the plug on the Halloween and Christmas displays, which attracted huge interest in recent months.

Danny said he and his team had invested over €25,000 in the displays as part of a four year plan.

While he admitted in his post that there were some minor issues, he believed this was part of a learning curve and “going forward in years to come they would be corrected.”

Amongst the criticisms of the display were its price but Mr Fitzpatrick insisted that he felt it was reasonable, especially as huge sums were raised for charity on the back of the displays.

He said: “I feel it necessary to address the price issue. The price was €12.50 per child which included a child’s breakfast / juice, and a quality toy. We have had very positive feedback on the pricing of the Christmas event. There was an option of a fully cooked children’s breakfast, pancakes and cereal.

“Due to the amount of people who have “hopped on the band wagon” and the amount of negativity that has been displayed on the Facebook page I myself have taken the very sad decision to cancel all future events at Halloween and Christmas.

“It is with deep regret I do this as at Halloween 2013 we raised €7014.00 for Temple Street children’s Hospital (proof of this will be displayed). At Christmas 2013 we also raised €645 (again proof will be displayed) for the charity Aware.”

Since his post yesterday afternoon, Fitzpatrick’s have received huge support with people flocking to the page encouraging Danny to change his mind.

To date there have been over 3,500 likes for the post, with almost 600 comments mainly encouraging him to keep what was a popular event going.

You can follow the post yourself on the Fitzpatrick’s Facebook page here