St. Paddy’s Day celebrations at the local Bennigan’s aside, my first trip to Ireland was in college. My friend and I took an overnight ferry from the French port town of Le Havre up the Celtic Sea into Cork. From there, we took a train on the Irish Rail System along the eastern coast to Dublin, giving us breathtaking views of rolling green hills, lush valleys, sparkling lakes, and the Irish Sea.

After a few obligatory days in Dublin swilling Guinness and trying to catch a glimpse of Bono or The Edge, we headed west across miles of Irish farmland. We spent a week exploring Galway, Killarney, the Ring of Kerry, and the Cliffs of Moher. Our budgets being slim, we lived off cheap but deliciously hardy pub food, which usually consisted of rich potato soup and a loaf of warm brown bread covered with Irish butter.

Many years later, I took my husband and our new baby to Ireland to revisit Killarney and the Ring of Kerry. We hiked the Gap of Dunloe, which aside from the absence of a dilapidated barn at the entrance to the valley (a barn my godmother painted for me as my college graduation present), the hike was just as gorgeous and refreshing as I remembered.

“There is stardust in your veins. We are literally, ultimately children of the stars.” – Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Irish Astrophysicist

Burnell established a fund to help female, minority, and refugee students become physics researchers.

I didn’t get to visit Northern Ireland, sadly, because the political climate there was troubling at the time. But I would love to see Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway one day.

For our Irish World Geography Wednesday, we started by digging out my old photo albums of Ireland and giggling over my questionable 90’s fashion choices. Then we looked at a world map so I could point out the difference between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

We read from our Irish folklore books, though some of the stories were pretty bloodthirsty. As usual, Mary Pope Osborne didn’t disappoint with her LEPRECHAUN IN LATE WINTER story. For movie night, we watched SONG OF THE SEA, an absolutely gorgeous film about a little girl who is a Selkie. It’s a tear-jerker, but my kids keep requesting it year after year.

When teaching kids about Ireland, you’ll inevitably see a Celtic Cross, the most revered Christian symbol in Ireland since ancient times. A Celtic Cross, or Irish Cross, is basically a Latin Cross intersected by a halo of light, or a sun. Irish folklore says that St. Patrick – the patron saint of Ireland – introduced the Celtic Cross to the pagan Celts when he was trying to convert them to Christianity. They were said to worship the sun, so he supposedly added a sun to a traditional cross to ease their transition.

St. Patrick also apparently rid the island of snakes, so there is that.

Next, let’s talk about rain. You cannot have such a lush, green, beautiful island as Ireland – or their iconic rainbows, for that matter – without rain. Depending on the region, it rains an average of 225 days per year! BUT the rain doesn’t last long, and it’s usually very mild by most standards. In general, we would wait thirty minutes for it to pass, then get on with whatever outdoor activity we had planned for the day.

But enough research – it’s time to eat! Now keep in mind, these recipes are meant to teach an appreciation for Ireland and aren’t as authentic as what you’ll find in the country. But we try.

Drinks and Nibbles

We started the meal with creamy Irish cheddar on thick slices of rye bread with butter. It was simple, but heaven.

My husband and I drank some Bailey’s Irish cream over ice, while my kids had Irish breakfast tea with cream and sugar. They don’t usually get caffeinated drinks, so they loved it.

Main Course

The main attraction was a Dublin corned beef and cabbage with a homemade Cumberland sauce. The beef was simmered in a slow-cooker for about four hours and seasoned with onions studded with cloves. I’ve included the recipe below in case you’re interested.

The sweet yet tart Cumberland sauce really brightened it up. It was definitely worth the extra effort.

I cooked the cabbage separately so it wouldn’t turn into an overcooked slimy mess. The recipe made more than was strictly necessary for just the four of us, but it was good.

Dessert

For dessert, I went a little overboard and made end-of-the-rainbow cupcakes. They’re not authentic at all, but they were adorable! The kids helped me make the pots of gold and they got to eat all the leftover rainbow candy.

I regret nothing.

“May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

– Traditional Irish Blessing

Dublin Corned Beef

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 lb corned beef brisket

olive oil

salt and pepper

3 onions, halved

whole cloves

8 cloves of garlic, sliced

4 ribs of celery, cut into 2” pieces

½ bunch of parsley

peel of 1 orange, cut into strips

1 bunch of carrots, peeled and cut into 2” pieces

5 lb red potatoes, cut into quarters

4 leeks (white part only), cut into pieces

1 cabbage, cored and cut into wedges

TOOLS:

knife and cutting board

vegetable peeler

large soup pot

slotted spoon

roasting pan

aluminum foil

PROCESS:

Rub the corned beef with olive oil and season it liberally with salt and pepper. Place it in a large soup pot. Stud the onion halves with cloves and add them in. Add the garlic, celery, parsley, and orange peel and cover everything with water. Turn the heat to High until the water boils. Once it boils, reduce the heat to Med-Low and let it simmer for at least 3 hours, turning the meat over every 30-minutes and skimming off the foam.

When the meat can easily be pierced with a fork, remove it from the cooking liquid and put it in a roasting pan. Cover it with foil and keep it in the warming drawer of your oven (or set the oven to 200°). Scoop out the vegetables from the broth with a slotted spoon and discard.

Add the carrots, potatoes, leeks, and cabbage to the broth. Season it liberally. Bring the broth to a boil and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the beef from the oven and cut it into thick slices. Scoop out the vegetables from the broth with a slotted spoon and place them around the beef. Ladle some hot broth over everything and serve with Cumberland sauce or horseradish.

I hope you enjoyed this post on teaching kids about Ireland! Check back here – or at my World Geography Wednesday YouTube channel – for more ideas on teaching geography to kids with delicious international recipes. Hope to see you next week!