By Fiona Frawley

To the ones we once loved... ice creams

Amidst the Titanic submarine and Kourtney Kardashian pregnancy news, a quiet corner of the internet has been in mourning ever since the news broke that Irish summer staple Choc Ice ice creams are being discontinued. For so many Irish people, childhood was punctuated with boxes of Choc Ices or their fruitier cousin Super Splits, to be enjoyed after an incinerated chunk of ash that once resembled meat on the barbecue. There are Irish mothers who refer to every ice cream as a Choc Ice (the hoover effect in full swing here) - a true measure of their lasting influence on our culture. Their exit from the Irish market has us yearning for other ice creams from our youth, some of which are still with us, some now sadly departed.

Super Split

Luckily these babies are still available, but it felt wrong to list out the others without paying brief tribute to the holy grail of Irish ice-creams.

Chilly Willy's

Puns for days with these no-fuss lollies, just good old-fashioned flavoured ice on a stick for the more frugal consumer.

Loop the Loop

Yes, Loop the Loops are technically still available - but we all know the flavour has changed. Connoisseurs believe the Super Valu own-brand version taste more similar to the Loop the Loops of our youth than the HB offering available today - you'll just have to try both for yourself to assess.

Zoom

Maybe the moon landings were fake and Apollo 11 never happened, but these fruity rocket-shaped lollies were 100% real.

Wibbly Wobbly Wonder

This one cuts particularly deep - strawberry and banana flavoured ice cream with jelly and a chocolate coating, Wibbly Wobbly Wonders just made sense and we can only hope the newfound appreciation for old Irish dishes like coddle and summer salads will help bring these babies back into production once more.

Mini Milk

These little milk-pops are still available, but deserve a shout out for being almost as instrumental in our childhoods as a slice of raspberry ripple between two wafers.

Sparkles

Dracula

So-called for its blood-style innards and because your mouth would be turned completely red after eating one, the Dracula was instrumental in the rise of novelty treats in Ireland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xeb0xjHoPU&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Flovin.ie%2F&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY&feature=emb_logo

That-A-Way