I have long argued that British cuisine has not been given its fair due. (See “The Best of Britain” September 2007 for further rantings on this subject.) Well, now it’s time for me to argue in favor of the Irish, too. On a recent trip through Ireland I experienced firsthand the country’s culinary renaissance. Whether in the Republic or in Northern Ireland, the menus featured fresh, seasonal, and locally produced foods. Fish caught right off the coast. Cheese made down at the town shop. Eggs laid in the innkeeper’s backyard. It couldn’t get much fresher or more locally produced than that. Irish cooks seemlessly melded the old with the new. Take creamy leek and potato soup. Intead of pairing it with the customary hunks of brown soda bread, the soup was partnered with micro greens or a salad of frisee, arugula and radicchio. No more bland iceburg lettuce or pale pink tomatoes in this land. At the bright and cheery The Farm on Dawson Street in Dublin the updated fare was organic, all natural and utterly delicious. The salmon came with sides of sauteed spinach, mashed potatoes, and …