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All things Irish

With the Warrenton Rotary Club holding their third annual Irish Fest this Saturday, lets take a little time and learn a bit about Ireland. When we think of Ireland, many of us think of the four leaf clover and leprechauns, but Ireland is more than just a mystical culture. Ireland is rich in history, delicious delicacies, intricate artwork, and toe tapping music.

HISTORY

Most arguable one of the most famous figures in history related to Ireland would be St.Patrick. Originally named Maewyn Succat, St. Patrick was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave. After he escaped and became a bishop he returned to Ireland to spread the gospel to the very people who enslaved him. Though he was not a native, he changed the history of Ireland. The Holiday we in America celebrate as St. Patrick’s day was “based on the original Christian saint’s feast day also thought to be the date of his death. In 1737, Irish immigrants to the United States began observing the holiday publicly in Boston and held the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City in 1766.

One of the most notable points in the history of the Irish people is that of their mass migration to the New World during the potato famine. The potato was originally shipped from South America in the 1500s. Farmers grew potatoes, as it would mean they could grow more food in the same amount of land. However, potatoes could not be stored for more than 9 months, and potatoes were hard to transport. New varieties were cultivated and introduced, so that by the early 1800s most farmers were almost wholly dependent on the potato. So before the famine 1/3 of the Irish people were dependent on the potato for survival, and it did not store or transport well. So when in September of 1845 a disease infected the potatoes of Ireland casing them to turn black and rot, over 1/3-1/2 of the crops were destroyed. Price of potatoes skyrocketed, but the disease continued into subsequent crops causing more starvation, and since the people were weakened they were more susceptible to human diseases, like Cholera. It is estimated that over a million people died.

FOOD

You might think of potatoes or Corned Beef when you think of Ireland. However, it wasn’t till the Spanish shipped over potatoes that the Irish found out potatoes were not poisonous. And it wasn’t till they migrated to the Americas and could not afford good cuts of meat they would eat corned beef. One more distinctly Irish food is the Soda Bread. Here is an “Irresistible” recipe.

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
Yields: 12 servings

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ART

The Celtic cross and the Celtic knot are both distinctly Irish. Or are they? Thousands of years ago all of Europe was Celtic. Celts are a people group, not just a style of art. The Celts were overrun by the Romans, Angles, and Saxons. The Celts moved to the northwest. So Irish is not synonymous with Celtic. The Celts can include Irish, Scottish, Manz, Welsh or Breton. But, one thing is true about their art, it reflects their deep European roots.
The Celtic Cross isn’t just a symbol used in Presbyterian and Catholic churches, it is an “emblem of ones Irish, Scottish identity.”* The Celtic Knot seems to have come under some scrutiny of late. “Celtic knotwork. It isn’t just a “complicated and elaborate interlacing of lines, cures and geometric shapes.”* This was actually a Saxon Christian art form “used exclusively to illuminate the hand-written Christian Gospels.”* So, what is Celtic Knotwork? Celtic Knotwork is a relatively new art, it was a conglomeration of Chinese, unknown megalith builders who arrived before the Celts and other people groups. It first arrived in Ireland around the seventh century AD, and was most commonly used to decorate Biblical texts. Each piece had and has its own meaning, whether it is the more simple square celtic knot meaning eternity, or the more elaborate hound of Cuchulainn that “represents steadfastness to goals.”

The hound of Cuchulainn – art from http://www.freeceltic.com/irish_celtic_art.html

More modern Irish/Celtic Art can be found here.

Book about Celtic Art

MUSIC

If you would love to hear some Celtic music, straight from Ireland. Here is a free website. Also, The Celtic Women are coming to Portland on April the 16th to the Rose Garden Arena. I already have tickets, so I’ll see you there!

MORE INFORMATION

http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/history/events/index.shtm
http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/
http://members.tripod.com/~JerryDesmond/index-2.html

SOME BOOKS AVAILABLE FROM ASTORIA PUBLIC LIBRARY

Encyclopedia of Ireland
Ireland beautiful by Wallace Nutting
Great hunger : Ireland, 1845-49 by Cecil Blanche Woodham-Smith
For kids
Ireland by Lisa Gerard-Sharp and Tim Perry
Jamie O’Rourke and the big potato by Tomie de Paolo
Favorite fairy tales told in Ireland by Virginia Haviland

THIRD ANNUAL IRISH FEST

Warrior Hall at Camp Rilea, Warrenton
5-8:40pm Saturday, April 5th.
$25 per person or two for $45.
Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling Donelda Annat at (503) 325-4030,
Barbara Blue at (503) 861-0492 or Ken Johnson at (503) 325-2144.

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