Waterford’s Cockles of the Heart

In Peter Street or Michael Street
Is where they made their stand
To sell their Tramore Cockles
They dug on the back strand;
They went 16 miles to get them,
They were fresh and tasted grand:
The best of Deise cockles
Picked at dawn be hand.

Chorus 
You can talk of Dublin Herrings,
Or dilsk from Donegal
But a plate of Tramore cockles
Is the dish that beats them all;
And whether you ate salmon
Or it’s Monkfish that you eat,
A plate of Deise cockles
Was Waterford’s own treat!

They picked them in Dungarvan,
In Passage and Tramore
Their work it was backbreaking
Their arms were tired and sore.
And on the streets they sold them 
“Lovely cockles” was their cry!  —
The white shells of the Deise —
To every passer-by.

Chorus 
You can talk of Dublin Herrings,
Or dilsk from Donegal
But a plate of Tramore cockles
Is the dish that beats them all 
And whether you ate salmon
Or it’s Monkfish that you eat,
A plate of Deise cockles
Was Waterford’s own treat. 

There were Tobins, Dwyers and Walshes,
O’Briens and Robinsons;
The Kelly’s and the Organs — 
Their daughters and their sons.
Ellie Murphy, Furlongs, Powers,
Liz Hearne, Mary Ivory,
Whose ghosts are selling cockles
They brought fresh from the sea. 

I hear their voices echo
All down Arundel Lane,
The pride of Deise women 
Who’s bones rest with their fame;
In memory they’re honoured—
Of their city’s life — a part,
Those lovely Deise women
Sold the cockles of their heart.

Chorus 
You can keep your Dublin Herrings,
Or your dilsk from Donegal
For a plate of Tramore cockles
Is the dish that beats them all;
And whether you ate salmon
Or it’s Monkfish that you eat,
A plate of Deise cockles
Was Waterford’s own treat! 

- © Frank Callery

With thanks to David Toms and Breda Murphy for pointers to background information.

Waterford’s Cockles Of The Heart

In this Best Possible Taste interview, Sharon Noonan is joined by Dvir Nusery and Nicola Crowley from Mezze in Tramore, Co 
Waterford who are celebrating 5 years in business.

Mezze has become a firm favourite with foodies from all over travelling to sample their Middle Eastern delights. The dynamic husband and wife duo, Chef Dvir Nusery and Food Entrepreneur Nicola Crowley have worked tirelessly over these last five years, to combine simple locally produced food with Middle Eastern flavours to create innovative and mouth-watering deli style offerings.
 
Believe it or not, it all started on a glacier in New Zealand! Nicola, from Ireland, met Dvir, from Israel and their love, life and culinary adventure started from there. Fast forward a few years, marriage and two kids later, Dvir and Nicola began working on their dream Mezze. From humble beginnings working in Nicola’s mother’s kitchen with Dvir cooking up a selection of his favourite dips, salads and breads usually served at the start of the meal in the Middle East they started to turn their dream into reality. With a small pop-up tent at the Harvest Festival in Waterford city in 2015 Mezze was born and the business grew from there.
 
In 2019, the couple made the leap of opening a bricks and mortar place in their hometown of Tramore. They’d been working at festivals, farmers markets, doing pop up dinners and cooking classes and wanted a place of their own to do all of that and more. Mezze HQ is a dynamic space for foodies with plenty of personality and great food. It runs as a deli, café and shop by day with cooking classes and events by night.
 
Speaking on the milestone Dvir said “As we celebrate 5 years in business we are filled with immense pride and gratitude for the incredible journey we've been on. Mezze has featured on TV, radio, print and digital, we’ve published a cookbook, opened an online store, journalists, celebrities and influencers come visit and so much more, it’s been truly amazing! None of this would have been possible without the support of our customers, the hard work of our team, and the partnerships we've forged along the way. We look forward to continuing to serve our community and delivering exceptional Middle Eastern food for years to come!”
 
Nicola commented “In honour of our 5th anniversary, Mezze will be hosting special events, promotions, and giveaways throughout the month of May. These celebrations serve as a token of appreciation for the continued support and patronage of its customers and the entire Mezze community so keep a close eye in-store, on our website and across our social media channels.” 
 
Mezze is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30am till 3pm. To find out more about Mezze, purchase their cookbook or a delicious food hamper simply visit mezze.ie. 

11 June 2024 - Dvir Nusery & Nicola Crowley

Over Three Hours Live At The Slip Bar, Tramore On The 23rd November, 2024.

Tracklisting
1. Risk Assessment - Party People	
2. Coeo - Like It Is	
3. Mulya - Silvio	
4. Gledd & The Funk District - Late At Midnight
5. Punky Wash - Love Buster	
6. Lasso D'Amore - Brazil 23
7. Miku Yonezawa - Miss Funk (Moodena Remix)	
8. Palavas - Get Up (Dicky Trisco Remix)	
9. Da Lukas - Satisfy Your Soul	
10. Opolopo - Bebeccie's Theme	
11. Moodena - Deep Fried Funk	
12. Unlimited Touch - I Hear Music In The Streets (Michael Gray Remix)
13. Hotmood - Mutluluk	
14. Col Lawton - Funky Bones	
15. Space Echo - Woo Disco
16. Social Disco Club - Daft Funk	
17. Ridney & Richard Earnshaw - Roadblock VIP	
18. Jack District - Sunny Days (Mannix Remix)
19. Nadie La Fond - Three Way Situation (BOSQ's Disco Special)
20. Nate Laurence - Lil Gringo Loco
21. Luke Delite & Michelle Weeks - Things Will Get Better (Moodena Remix)
22. DJ Turmix - Copasavannah	
23. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (Sgt Slick ReCut)	
24. Sam Ruffillo & Kapote - La La Tune (Extended Version)
25. Basement Jaxx - Bingo Bango (Tom Staar & Kryder Extended Remix)		
26. Hotmood - Baby Come Down (DJ Sneak B.B.B. Remix)	
27. Kerri Chandler Feat. Nae (SA) - Caged Bird (Full Vocal Media Mix)
28. Phonk D - Work Dance	
29. Tonique & Man - Running After Time (Kraak & Smaak Remix)
30. Dancing On Lego - Middle Man
31. Bontan - Get Down
32. Filip Le Frick - Da Latin Bomb (Bora Bora Mix)	
33. Bicep - Glue (Darren After Rework)
34. Mr. Tony Technics - Summer In Chicago
35. Flash Beats - King Of Ding
36. Sonic Soul Orchestra Feat. Phebe Edwards - Deeper Love (John Morales M+M Church Mix)
37. Toman - De Bongo Man	
38. Tobehonest - Daka
39. Basile De Suresnes - So Good
40. Red Rack'Em - Italo Disco Banger	
41. Laurent Garnier - Crispy Bacon

DiscoDaze - Live @ The Slip Bar, Tramore, 23.11.24

Three Hours Live At One The Waterfront, Tramore, Waterford On The 20th December, 2024.

DiscoDaze - Live @ One The Waterfront, Tramore, 20.12.24

Three Hours Live At One The Waterfront, Tramore, Waterford On The 26th April, 2025.

DiscoDaze - Live @ One The Waterfront, Tramore, 26.04.24

For DJ Bookings / Remixes: stephenrichards11@gmail.com

** Music Producer / Remixer / DJ
** Former Producer & Presenter of DiscoDaze radio show on Open Tempo FM
** Former Producer & Presenter of The Waveform radio show on Open Tempo FM

Forthcoming Releases On ▶︎
Hot Digits Music
Get Down Edits

Past Releases On ▶︎
Tropical Disco
Hot Digits Music
Discoweey
Spa In Disco
Spa Club
Super Spicy Records
Masterworks Music
Bandolier
Rare Wiri Spain
Slightly Transformed
Hot Gorilla Records
Deep Sense
Mango Sounds
Act Of Sedition
Agenda Records
Golden Soul
Alpaca Edits
Thunder Jam Records
Situationism
Particle Zoo Recordings
House Stewardess
Housewreck Media

Food and Drink Podcast with Sharon Noonan.
Ireland's longest-running food and drink podcast airing since 2013.

Some people like to blog, Sharon Noonan likes to interview!  In 2013 her food and drink show, Best Possible Taste, premiered on West Limerick 102FM and entertained listeners for 11 years up until October 2024.  

Sharon continues to interview guests from the food and drink scene in Ireland and beyond for the podcast.  From restaurant reviews to discussing current affairs issues affecting the hospitality industry to hearing a famous family recipe to enjoying an award winning artisan product, the topics covered are diverse and delectable.  Happy listening and Bon Appetit!

New tracks tagged #tramore