Village tale pulls wool over visitor’s eyes

PEOPLE in the east Cork village of Castlemartyr live an idyllic, simple life side by side with woolly sheep from which every bit of their clothing is fashioned.

Or so a piece in the British magazine New Statesman would have readers believe.

Its columnist Shazia Mirza “eloped” to Ireland last week and was whisked off to Castlemartyr by her Irish friend Maria — presumably on a horse and cart. The comedienne waxed lyrically: “There were six houses in this village, surrounded by fields and sheep, where people live the idyllic, simple life. They have shops where they still use tills and calculators, and brown paper bags to put your groceries in. Plastic bags haven’t yet arrived there. They still have pump attendants at the petrol station.”