Speciality pork products have long been a strength in Ireland but some producers seem to have a unique magic ingredient, and Kelly's of Newport would certainly be up there among the chosen few.
An excellent traditional butchers with a licensed abattoir where they slaughter all their own locally sourced lamb and beef, Kelly's history is one of brothers - Dominick and Michael, who founded the business in the 1930's; Dominick's sons Sean and Seamus, who took over from them; and Sean's sons Kenneth and Cormac who have more recently joined the business.
It's a great team, headed up by Sean who is the very essence of the cheery traditional butcher - and, between them, they do an exceptional job.
Although their products are now widely distributed, people love the shop and travel great distances for a bit of banter and to buy Kelly's black and white puddings and sausages - and, especially, their traditional 'putog' black pudding, a unique product similar to haggis (but with a different recipe - a family secret of course); the name translates as 'gut', 'intestine' or 'belly', referring to the sheep's stomach traditionally used for the casing.
This hard working and imaginative team is also known for coming up with creative variations on traditional themes - a well known example is the 'pint of stout' black pudding, which features on a postcard that has winged its way all over the world, and they also have seasonal themes, such as Christmas crackers.
Recently, they introduced the Kelly's Wild Atlantic Pudding; developed in celebration of Wild Atylantic Way (and the Gourmet Greenway Food Trai, which goes through Newport), its magic ingredient is seaweed from the nearby Atlantic shoreline. The perfect souvenir, Sean Kelly says "It’s our modern twist on the old stick of rock.”
Among many awards received down the years, a particular point of pride is successive honours in the international competition run in France by the Confrèrie des Chevaliers du Goute-Boudin (The Brotherhood of the Knight of the Black Pudding) leading, in 2010, to a full ceremonial visit by the Chevaliers, when Sean was made an official member. An honour indeed.
Kelly's Kitchen
Next door to Kelly's Butchers, this homely café (www.facebook.com/KellysKitchenNewport) is run by Sean Kelly’s daughter, Shauna - whose appealing cooking includes many ingredients from her dad’s shop, as well as lovely desserts and cakes to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. This is just the place to find a traditional mixed grill - an the house speciality, Kelly's Black Goat - a hot open baguette sandwich with black pudding and St Tola goats cheese. Café open Mon-Sat, 9-6.
