The first settlers arrived at Ireland's coasts in 8000 BC, but the potato only arrived in Europe some 400 years ago. So what was it exactly our ancestors lived on? On a magical evening in the Brewers Dining Hall at the Guinness Storehouse in James' Gate, I had the pleasure of enjoying a sumptuous feast prepared Guinness Storehouse Executive Chef, Justin O'Connor. As well as a dinner of Irish food we had great entertainment in the presence of Irish food historian and Dublin Institute of Technology lecturer (professor) Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire.
With snippets of food history, bardic recitation, and even a song, Mac Con Iomaire stirred the diners thoughts, to think of Ireland's food and what our forefathers would have eaten.
"The first people who came here were hunter gathers. When they arrived in Ireland the country was covered in trees," said Mac Con Iomaire. "So those people made their way along the coast or in boats up the rivers and that's how they broke their way in.
"What would they have to hand? Oysters would have been huge, scallops, mussels, herrings, all the various fish but particularly shellfish that you could forage along the coastline.
Archaeological evidence has shown us not only what Ireland's prehistoric residents ate but also how they lived. Mac Con Iomaire reminded us that those people of Ireland built Newgrange, in total alignment with the winter solstice, 500 years before the pyramids in Giza and 1,000 years before Stonehenge.
He said, "They really knew their stuff and I think it's important to remember this. We come from a sophisticated people.
From 8000BC to now has been a long journey and what we ate along the way has been recorded, at least to some extent. There are even some tales about food from pre-Christian Ireland that have survived to this day.
In Ireland's mythology, there's evidence of what we ate. Most famously perhaps in the tale of Queen Maeve of Connacht.
Mac Con Iomaire explained that in these tales the heroes' and villains' wealth was always judged by how many heads of cattle they had. However, they rarely killed their cattle unless they failed to produce milk or were at death's door. What they ate at the time was dairy based.
The dairy industry in Ireland really does date back millennia.
Another internationally famous Irish legend is the Salmon of Knowledge or "Bradán Feasa," which saw the hero Finn Mac Cool cooking the magical salmon for his master. Burning his thumb with some of the oil he stuck it in his mouth and the knowledge became his.
There is more evidence of what the Irish chowed down on following the adoption of Christianity. The monks kept histories and records on paper, a move away from the bardic traditions that had prevailed.
The descriptions of our bountiful land recorded are impressive.
Heathberries and whortleberries for a sweet.
In "Aislinge Meic Con Glinne" or "The Vision of Mac Conglinne" a parody written in the 11th or 12th century another great description of the foods available is provided.
Mac Con Iomaire points out that this wonderful tale is a great example of the satire of the time. The Irish have always prided themselves on their hospitality. Their insistence that you have a cup of tea, a drink or a piece of cake once you cross the threshold of their house is a throwback to bygone days.
This particular tale is about this young scholar from Fermanagh traveling the route of the Santiago de Compostela to Cork, and taking advantage of the monasteries' hospitality along the way.
Sadly his stay in Cork was unsatisfactory and so he wrote this tale of the King Cathal mac Finnguine who is cursed with the "demon of gluttony" that lives in his throat. In the story the hero comes up with a way to rid the king of his illness by starving him, chaining him up, and reciting the following description of a "vision" so the demon would come forth.
A compact house and strong.
What these rich descriptions clearly show is that Ireland had a deep tradition of great food before the arrival of the potato and it's not only Ireland that the discovery of the New World changed.
"It's interesting to remind ourselves that until Columbus sailed off on the ocean blue and the New World was discovered that tomatoes, chilies, potatoes, corn, chocolate, all these things came to Europe, said Mac Con Iomaire.
And when the potato arrived in Ireland a lot changed.
"In about 1590 there were 1.2 million people living on the island of Ireland. By 1841, a few years before the Famine, there were 8.4 million people or so," said Mac Con Iomaire.
How did this massive growth occur?
The Irish were using the potato as a cleansing crop, as they found the spud, and later sugar beet added rich nutrients to the earth. At the time the other fields were mostly planted with wheat.
Every field of crops needed to be dug, plowed, planted, weeded and harvested by hand. This meant there was a great deal of work for the poor Irish and also plenty of food to eat in the potato.
Then came Ireland's Great Hunger and everything changed.
"Since then we have become fascinated with potatoes. We become obsessed.
He pointed out that we need only look to our famous poets and writers for evidence apart from the stereotypes.
Secondly, he recited Seamus Heaney's "In Memoriam" which is about that sacred quiet time with his mother when everyone's away at Mass. It's no coincidence that this was recently voted as the Irish people's favorite poem in "A Poem for Ireland" poll, carried out by the RTE.
Irish food has certainly come a long way, but what our meal at Guinness, made up of oysters, black pudding, braised lamb, wild garlic and other delicious Irish foods showed is that there's more to the history of Irish food than the humble spud. It's worth sitting back and considering our ancient ancestors' knowledge of the land and also appreciate those who kept these records.