Bernard O'Shea: There are five things you need for an Irish picnic, including a flask of tea

Generation plastic flask will identify with the contents of my home-packed motorway feast

The Irish weather rarely allowed for the luxury of eating picnics outdoors without getting wet.

I’m not a fan of picnics. Picnics inhabit different visual territories. In movies, they are often romanticised. A couple on a date is feeding each other strawberries, laughing giddily. On Instagram, perfectly laid-out plates on a checkerboard ground cloth and the pièce de résistance is the achingly cool wicker basket strewn down with perfect, polished cutlery. Beautiful people are clinking flutes of prosecco in unwrinkled, brilliant white linen. However, the reality is quite different, particularly in Ireland.

Necessity