The votes have been counted, and the best chips in Ireland, according to our readers who voted by email and on Facebook, are to be found at McDonagh’s, Quay Street, Galway and Jackie Lennox’s, Bandon Road, Cork.
These two chip shops received an equal number of nominations.
Anne Carey voted for McDonagh’s, which she says has “the best chips in the world”. Helen McGuinness seconded that vote, saying: “No other chips compare”. Andrew King voted for Lennox’s for its “great portions and very reasonable prices”. Fióna Ní Gháibhín also gave Lennox’s her vote, saying” it beats anything Dublin and Galway have to offer”.
Runner-up position goes to Hyland’s in Navan. Beth Price says that Hyland’s chips are “perfectly crispy yet fluffy on the inside”. Maeve Henry, a student at St Joseph’s in Navan, says they are “the best chips I have ever tasted”.
Aprile’s in Stillorgan, Co Dublin finished in fourth place, with Leo Burdock’s and San Remo in Ashbourne equal fifth.
When it comes to where we eat our chips, outdoors scored highly. Zandra Ball buys hers at Beshoff’s in Howth and eats them after a walk on the pier. Ann Power likes to get hers from Dooley’s in Tramore and eat them while walking on the beach. Anne-Marie Cunningham recommends buying chips from the Saltees chipper, Kilmore Quay, and eating them in the car, overlooking Burrow Beach on a wild and windy day.
Sarah-Louise Gill likes hers from Borza’s in Sandymount, followed by a walk on the strand. Eleanor Walsh says the chips at Reel Dingle Fish are worth driving 220 miles for. Ciara de Búrca shared the news that gluten-free chips (cooked separately from the battered fish) are sold at Beshoffs in Mespil Road, Dublin on weekends. And Seamus Martin came up with possibly the best comment of all when he said that “a good chip is the one you silently steal from the plate of the person next to you”.
Restaurant-made chips that came in for special mention include those seved with smoked paprika aioli at the Tannery in Dungarvan, nominated by Aoife Ryan; the truffle or pesto chips at Rustic Stone in Dublin (Ruth Hanly), and the ones served in the lounge at the Clarion Hotel, Dublin airport (Anne Steyaert).