Driving home the sights of East Cork with Today FM’s Dave Moore

With cooking fatigue at an all-time high across the country, Today FM’s Dave Moore is determined to dine out for breakfast, lunch and dinner on his family staycation in East Cork. “Just the thought of someone asking me what I’d like to choose from a menu is going to be a big moment.”

Moore, who is best known as one half of the multiple award-winning radio duo, Dermot and Dave, is cutting loose from the radio for a week to enjoy some time out with his wife Tracy and their kids Andrew (11) Samuel (9) and twins Nina and Anna (6).

“Tracy and I used to travel around Cork and Limerick a lot when we were younger but we’ve never managed to bring the kids down here, so we figured it was high time,” Moore says.

“West Cork tends to take all the glory, and yes it’s gorgeous, but personally I love the wildness of East Cork. I’ve more of an affinity with it as we would holiday near here growing up, and if we were very lucky, one of the aunties would bring us into Cork city for a day trip, which was the height of excitement back then.”

Like many families, the Moores have discovered the perfect holiday set-up is to have the space of a self-catering lodge attached to a hotel, so they can make use of all the facilities. The five-star Castlemartyr Resort fits the bill perfectly. It revolves round a beautiful manor house, while the lodges are nestled in and around the estate’s swathes of manicured lawns, wild fields and walled gardens.

“The lodges are absolutely amazing,” Moore says. “Tracy and I are both really into interiors and architecture, and the design of the lodges is so well thought out, and the all the details and finishes are really luxurious. Of course the facilities are pretty incredible too – the kids and I get to chill by the pool, while Tracy can bliss out in the spa.”

“It’s actually incredible how much the standard of accommodation and resort facilities have come on in Ireland over the past two decades. I think many of us still think of Irish hotels with Fawlty Towers visions in mind, but we could rival most international resorts now with all of the options from five-star hotels to cool camping,” Moore says. “Most of us only realised that last year how far the hospitality industry has come on, when we were forced to staycation here and not go abroad.”

That realisation has prompted a bit of a reset in how the Moores holiday. “Last year when we got back from our staycation in Kerry, we realised just how much more relaxed we were than when we normally traipse back from abroad with all the kids and take ages to readjust. It’s just so much less stressful to pack up the car, and not worry about baggage restrictions and PCR tests, and just be off,” he says.

Travel wide in a PHEV

At only 25 minutes’ drive time from Cork city, Castlemartyr is a fantastic base from which to drive around the towns, villages and the coastline of East Cork. There’s plenty to see within easy driving distance, including Midleton, 10 kilometres away, or Youghal, a 16 kilometre hop. The world-famous Balymaloe Cookery School is in nearby Shanagarry and then there’s the fishing village of Ballycotton, complete with a long sandy beach to discover too.

The spec on the new BMW X5 xDrive 45e takes it to whole another level – it's just phenomenal

Moore has just upgraded to a BMW X5 xDrive 45e, so he’s discovering the region in style. The new car is a plug-in hybrid PHEV (petrol, hybrid electric vehicle), which he’s very excited about. “I’m a total car geek,” he says. Moore used to host a motoring podcast with journalists Dave Humphreys and Steven Cooper, called The Engine Room Show, so he knows his stuff.

“I’ve driven BMWs for years, and have had a different hybrid for the last 18 months, which I thought was amazing, but the spec on the new BMW X5 xDrive 45e takes it to whole another level – it’s just phenomenal.”

He has high praise for the up-to 88 kilometre fully electric range*, which he says gets him perfectly between home in Portmarnock, Co Dublin to the Today FM studios in Dublin 2 every day without any added charge or petrol.

The car also boasts various drive modes that can exert influence on real consumption values, so for longer drives, such as Moore’s road trip around East Cork, he flips the car into Max eDrive mode, which uses regenerative breaking to channel force into the battery, which recharges it as you drive.

He has become a big fan of Max eDrive mode: “When I’m out on the motorway, I love seeing how much more range I can add to it,” he says.

The fact that it’s a hybrid also negates all range anxiety for long journeys as the car will switch into petrol mode when required. “I rarely have to refuel,” he notes.

When it comes to the cabin’s design, one of Moore’s favourite features are the hot and cold built-in drink holders in the console. “You put your hot coffee in one and your cool drink in the other – genius,” he exclaims.

The Apple CarPlay system, and the gesture control functions, have also made quite the impression.

“It’s so cool, you just point your finger at the screen, rotate it in a semi-circle mid-air to turn the volume up or down, or you swipe right in the air to change apps or the radio station, and so on. Although my kids get great mileage out of changing the setting and songs by leaning in from the back seat and swiping their fingers all over the place to wind me up.”

More driving is on the agenda for the BMW X5 xDrive 45e this summer because in August, Killarney is beckoning for another family staycation.

“We’re staying at Castlerosse Park Resort, and we all just love it around Killarney – the lakes, the golf, the swimming, the food – everything is top class,” he says. “I look forward to seeing how much range I can win against myself in the car on that trip.”

Discover the BMW X5 xDrive 45e at bmw.ie