Domestic life and special occasions in Ireland
DOMESTIC LIFE
The emigrant Irish may dream of potato fields, turf-roofed cottages, and a
hearth with bubbling stew, and they could return to Ireland today and see
much unchanged. Modern Irish cities, however, are as noisy and crowded as
most around the world, but one need not travel far into the countryside to
find examples of life as it has traditionally been lived and as it will
likely continue for a long time.
Accustomed to a frugal existence and hard work, many rural Irish still
find deep contentment in simple daily life. The huge hearth for cooking
and heating a cottage, and open shelves to store dishes and groceries are
used today much as they were several hundred years ago.
The term "to take pot luck" reputedly originated with the three-legged
iron pot that the Irish homemaker hung over her fire to cook potatoes,
make a soup or a stew, and even bake breads and cakes. Skill was necessary
to bank the coals of the fire just so, and to raise or lower the "bastable
oven" as the three-legged pot is sometimes called. A kettle for boiling
water, a churn for butter, and a sturdy wooden board for making dough
(mostly quick breads) as well as mixing bowls and stirring spoons
comprised the important utensils of the Irish country kitchen.
City kitchens, like those in most of the rest of Europe, are efficient and compact, and contain as many electrical or gas conveniences as needed. However, the Irish cook, like the Scottish, prefers simple substantial meals with no frills so there is little need for many of the gadgets and "conveniences" found in so many western kitchens. Although this too is changing.
SPECIAL OCCASIONS
Most Irish are of Celtic origin and about 95 percent are of the Roman
Catholic faith. The majority of Protestants live in the north. Freedom of
worship is guaranteed by the constitution.
A Christian country, Ireland celebrates Christmas and Easter, but since
there is still more than a small belief in the "wee people" and in spirits
and fairies, Halloween is also still very much a part of the festival
calendar.
Christmas is the most lavish family celebration of the year with many
specialty dishes that are also very much a part of holiday tradition in
Canada and the United States. The traditional dressed boar's head is
sometimes replaced with a potato-stuffed roast goose or turkey, and
homemade spiced beef is a frequent holiday delight. Spicy-sweet plum
puddings, hot mince pies, and traditional iced rich Christmas cake round
out the meal. New Year's is a more important celebration in Scotland than
in Ireland, but the Irish do celebrate it with the Scots currant bun and
Scottish shortbread.
The austerities of the Lenten season are ushered in with Shrove Tuesday,
when pancakes highlight every meal and homemakers happily attempt to win
the many pancake-flipping races held locally. Lenten dishes are based on
fish, cereal, and vegetables and are really not too different from the
rest of the year. Soups like brotchan and brotchan roy made
from an oatmeal-thickened vegetable broth and sometimes garnished with
grated cheese as in the meatless cottage soup, champ, and
colcannon, and dishes like mealie greachie (pan-fried flaked
oatmeal served with fried eggs) are all examples of filling and meatless
dishes.
Easter is welcomed with the spicy warm fragrance of hot cross buns,
simnel cake (marzipan-topped fruit cake), and Easter biscuits made
with currants, grated lemon rind, and egg yolks.
Halloween is celebrated with parties and fireworks. Roast goose is part of
the traditional menu, topped off with apple cake, toffee apples, and nuts
in the shell. Often tiny charms are wrapped in paper and baked in the cake
or in dumplings to add to the fun of the evening. A must with the goose
dinner is the making of dozens of boxty pancakes, gobbled up as
fast as they are fried. The large potatoes grated for the pancakes are
usually too big to store and no one objects to this method of storage.
Barmbrack is the fruited yeast bread for Halloween.
There could not be an Irish wedding or christening without a many-tiered
darkly rich fruitcake, beautifully iced and decorated. Because it is
considered good luck to share this cake with the guests, all are given a
small finger of it, often specially wrapped. The top tier of the wedding
cake is the smallest one and is often stored away to be used for the
christening of the first child. Sometimes the middle tier is saved for a
25th wedding anniversary. If these wedding customs have a familiar ring,
now you know their source!