Since we’re coming into tourist season (although from the rain outside today it’s hard to see it), I wanted to do a post for non dwellers on visiting Ireland and eating gluten free. I will do a separate post to place some particular emphasis on Dublin as pretty much anyone visiting the country will visit the capital at some point.

Ireland has a high incidence of coeliac disease so most shops and restaurants have a knowledge and understanding of what gluten free is. I have visited the States, the UK, France, Spain, Argentina and Italy since being diagnosed and I really feel the choice here is unparalleled. But hey, maybe I’m a little biased!

Shops

Irish supermarkets are generally pretty well stocked with gluten free and other dietary foods. There will almost always be a specialty diet area in the shop, often labelled ‘Free From’.

Typical items you will find would be gluten free bread (fresh and long life), cereal, cereal bars, rice cakes, sauces, pasta and flours

The most common supermarkets in Ireland are Tesco, Supervalu and Dunnes Stores. All three have good selections and usually the bigger the shop the more choice you will have.

Smaller mini markets like Centra or Spar may not have a section in the shop so I would advise visiting a supermarket to stock up on supplies.

You will find gluten free foods in health food shops and artisan food stores also.

Labelling

Gluten free labelling has come a long way in recent years across Ireland and the UK. You will find a lot of products are marked if they are gluten free but unfortunately, not all will have this. A good resource for you if you’re visiting Ireland will be the Coeliac Society of Ireland who can provide guidance on gluten free foods as well as eating out.

Hotels and Restaurants

As I mentioned, knowledge of gluten free is good here so any restaurant with a chef insitu will be able to cater for you in some form or another. I’ve stayed in quite a few hotels around the country and once I have notified them in advance of my requirement I’ve never had an issue with getting gluten free food (including bread) at breakfast. I’ve mentioned a few places around the country on my blog already, just click on the county links on the right hand side of the page.

If you’re visiting a particular town or city, I recommend googling gluten free options there in advance. You will find comments from bloggers like myself and also usually from the coeliac society messageboards.

You can also use Menupages.ie which you can filter by county and coeliac options. Gluten Free Ireland  is also a good resource.

Beer

You can get gluten free beer in Ireland – YAY.  I’ve previously blogged about this here.

Snack Foods

I know how frustrating it is as a coeliac traveller to arrive in a country absolutely starving and then having to figure out how you’re going to find something to eat. You’ll hopefully have requested information from the Coeliac Society of Ireland before you go but just so you aren’t stuck, the following snacks are gluten free and found in most Irish shops and supermarkets

  • Manhattan Popcorn
  • Keoghs Crisps
  • Eat Natural Bars
  • Naked Bars
  • Kelkin Rice Cakes and rice cake bars
  • Delicious Bakery Brownies and Coconut Macaroons

Enjoy your trip to Ireland and if you have any queries, I’m more than happy to help if I can, just use my contact form.

Photo used was taken by Mos in Ballina, Co.Mayo.