Gone with faithful Fridays, we have other fish to fry

A PIECE of salted ling, barely visible among many common and even exotic species in the fish department of Cork’s throbbing English market the other day, evoked memories.

It recalled times when ling was a fixture in the staple diet of many Irish families: that was when Friday used to be a fast day and the Catholic Church forbade the faithful to eat meat.

We used to buy ‘Friday ling’ in a shop that had long white sides of it hanging on a nail at the back of the door. In those days, people reluctantly ate fish because they had to: there was little choice. But things have changed, and the negative element of compulsion has long since disappeared — four out of five Irish people now opt for fish as part of a healthy balanced diet.