From Dublin to The Barrier: Orla and The Currach shine in Woman’s Day
Great Barrier Island’s own Orla Cumisky and The Currach Irish Pub have been making international headlines, with a feature in Woman’s Day and a starring role in British TV presenter George Clarke’s new series Homes in the Wild.
The story, written by Kasia De Vydt-Jillings, profiles Orla’s journey from Dublin to the island, her decision to settle here with her family, and how she came to take over The Currach in 2020 – right as the pandemic struck. The article celebrates both the pub’s community spirit and its unique claim to fame as the world’s only fully solar-powered Irish pub.
Clarke, best known for his hit series George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, visited The Currach earlier this year while filming. According to Orla, the architect and presenter was instantly taken with the pub’s charm – even peeling off his shirt at the bar to try on a Currach T-shirt, to the delight of locals.
Orla credits local renewable pioneer Pete Blackwell in the series, noting his solar grid worth several hundred thousand dollars powers the pub. Clarke is shown sharing a pint with locals at The Currach before he visits three Barrier homeowners living off-grid in distinctly Aotea-style properties. He also meets local kaumātua Rodney Ngawaka (Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea) at the wharenui of Kawa Marae, where he’s immersed in the whakapapa of the island. Later episodes in the series move further afield to Rākino, Kawau and Lord Howe Islands, along with several remote homes dotted across the Marlborough Sounds.
For a week, George and the crew returned nightly to The Currach. “The pub is the heart of a community – a non-judgemental space open to everyone,” Orla told Woman’s Day. “Whether it’s someone famous, or Jonny who’s just stepped off the digger, everyone’s better off for walking through the doors of The Currach.”
The Currach features prominently in the first episode of George Clarke: Homes in the Wild, the series showcases remote and remarkable island properties across New Zealand and Australia. The Aotea episode aired last week on Sky Open and is now available on Neon and Sky Go, with new instalments screening on Sky Open, Thursdays at 8.30pm.
Orla said what makes The Currach special isn’t the celebrity visitors – Lorde, Six60 and Holly Smith have all stopped in – but the Irish welcome at its heart: “There are no strangers in Irish pubs, just friends who haven’t met yet.”
You can read the full Woman’s Day article here, and more about the pub at currachirishpub.co.nz.
