1 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:10,760 JEREMY: Hello and welcome to a fresh episode kicking off a new season of Eat This podcast. 2 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:19,800 I'm Jeremy Cherfas. All around the world, people celebrate important days with important foods. 3 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:25,400 In this episode, I'm looking at one country, Ireland, and one day, Saint Brigid's Day, 4 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:30,240 which, for reasons we'll hear, is usually celebrated the night before. 5 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:38,680 CASTRÃONA: So Saint Brigid's Day falls on the 1st of February, and it marks the first of the four quarter days of the Irish calendar 6 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:48,280 year, and these days are significant in that they divide the year into seasons and they essentially inform agricultural work that should 7 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:53,240 happen at that time of year. And actually we still go by that calendar in Ireland. 8 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:59,280 So the 1st of February is the first of spring and still in Ireland, in spite of what the weather might be like. 9 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,700 A nd so the other the other quarter days then are May day, the 1st of May, 10 00:01:04,700 --> 00:01:08,900 and that's the beginning of our summer in Ireland, and Lughnasa or August, 11 00:01:08,900 --> 00:01:12,260 which is the beginning of the harvest, and then OÃche Shamhna or Halloween, 12 00:01:12,300 --> 00:01:15,260 um, which marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the winter. 13 00:01:27,700 --> 00:01:35,460 JEREMY: There are so many stories and legends associated with Saint Bridget, who's one of the three patron saints of Ireland. 14 00:01:36,660 --> 00:01:40,860 Not all of them have to do with food by any means, but a fair few do. 15 00:01:40,900 --> 00:01:44,020 And so to find out more, I turned to an expert. 16 00:01:44,940 --> 00:01:52,060 CASTRÃONA: My name is CaitrÃona Nic Philibin , and I am a Research Ireland scholar and a PhD student in the 17 00:01:52,060 --> 00:01:54,580 Technological University of Dublin. 18 00:01:54,700 --> 00:02:04,200 I'm in my third year of my PhD. I'm a chef by trade, so my comfort zones are either in the kitchen or behind a screen 19 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:10,840 reading these days. Y eah. And my research is based on food in folklore archives in Ireland. 20 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,960 JEREMY: And are all the quarter days celebrated the night before. 21 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,520 Or is Saint Brigid special in that respect? 22 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:25,320 CASTRÃONA: S o all of the quarter days are celebrated the night before, and it's believed that on the eve of a quarter day that time is 23 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:30,640 liminal. So there's kind of a a thinning of the space between the real world and the other world. 24 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:39,120 A nd there you see a lot of, you see a lot of a juxtaposition between Ireland's kind of pagan past and Christianity in that, 25 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:44,880 you know, we celebrate fairies, but then the poor souls or the old souls, 26 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,240 and you see that at Saint Brigid's Day as well. 27 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,960 JEREMY: I've also heard that Saint Brigid's Day is called Imbolc. 28 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:56,200 CASTRÃONA: And there is some kind of controversy over what it means. 29 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:03,300 I don't do my own research to kind of figure that out, but I suppose the most significant thing for me is that all of the 30 00:03:03,300 --> 00:03:07,340 different meanings all relate to food production. 31 00:03:08,340 --> 00:03:13,900 A nd so the one that I suppose that makes sense to me as a Gaelic speaker, 32 00:03:13,900 --> 00:03:18,340 an Irish speaker, is that it means in the belly, in bolc. 33 00:03:18,660 --> 00:03:21,820 Bolc is actually the Irish word for belly. 34 00:03:21,820 --> 00:03:26,460 And so it's related to the beginning of the lambing season. 35 00:03:26,900 --> 00:03:31,620 B ut there are also suggestions that it could be linked to milk or milking. 36 00:03:31,740 --> 00:03:35,300 And we see suggestions that it's specifically derived from ewe's milk, 37 00:03:35,340 --> 00:03:40,780 the word, the word imbolc. But again, there we see that connection to food and food production. 38 00:03:40,940 --> 00:03:43,380 JEREMY: So what are the foods of of Saint Brigid? 39 00:03:44,580 --> 00:03:50,780 CASTRÃONA: So we see lots of potatoes, unsurprisingly in Irish cuisine, and but also dairy. 40 00:03:50,820 --> 00:03:56,540 Dairy is really, really significant to Irish cuisine even before the introduction of the potato. 41 00:03:57,300 --> 00:04:01,460 And Brigid herself is also, was also considered to be a master brewer. 42 00:04:01,460 --> 00:04:07,240 And there is one miracle attributed to her that she turned a bathtub of water into beer, 43 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:09,320 which sure would make her very popular. 44 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:15,440 JEREMY: And was Saint Brigid herself known as a cook? 45 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:23,360 CASTRÃONA: So not specifically as a cook, although there is one miracle attributed to her where she did cook. 46 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:32,400 The miracle tells that she had some unexpected guests, a group of I think it was priests and their retinue, 47 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:38,240 and she had no food. so she sent her servant to to get some food, and the servant came back with a seal, 48 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:45,080 which apparently Bridget cooked so superbly that they had the best meal they had ever had in their lives. 49 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:54,400 B ut more often we see miracles around kind of hospitality, which I suppose that one also could be linked to hospitality. 50 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:58,800 But where Brigid creates food, where there was no food before for people, 51 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,520 be they poor people or people who call on her. 52 00:05:02,230 --> 00:05:11,393 A nd then we also see miracles where she manages to convert people from paganism to Christianity again through the use of 53 00:05:11,393 --> 00:05:20,430 foodstuffs, milk i n this particular case, where she called on the house of a pagan and they had no food to offer 54 00:05:20,430 --> 00:05:24,470 her, but she was parched. So they gave her a drink of milk from the churn, 55 00:05:24,470 --> 00:05:31,150 and they poisoned it. Of course, Brigid knew that it was poisoned, so she made the cross on the drink with a piece of straw from the 56 00:05:31,150 --> 00:05:36,470 ground, and the drink was safe. And therefore the pagans, seeing her, 57 00:05:36,630 --> 00:05:40,670 her powers, were converted and became the best Christians in all of the parish. 58 00:05:41,150 --> 00:05:45,870 JEREMY: And who was she? How much do you know about Saint Brigid herself? 59 00:05:46,670 --> 00:05:50,270 CASTRÃONA: So my understanding of it is that the stories about Saint Brigid have changed, 60 00:05:51,470 --> 00:05:56,270 you know, throughout the course of history. B ut we know that she was born in Dundalk, 61 00:05:56,470 --> 00:06:05,970 County Louth, which is just a border county in Ireland between the Republic of Ireland and the north of Ireland in around 451 AD. 62 00:06:07,290 --> 00:06:14,130 And we know that her father wanted her to marry a rich man, but that she was very much dedicated to her beliefs. 63 00:06:14,810 --> 00:06:22,410 And really the stories about Brigid's kind of kindness, they start from when she was around a teenager. 64 00:06:23,330 --> 00:06:30,250 We also know that she established a monastery in County Kildare, and that is why Saint Brigid's Day is celebrated, 65 00:06:30,290 --> 00:06:32,650 you know, with some significance in County Kildare. 66 00:06:33,570 --> 00:06:38,570 But then after that, as you can imagine, as the long time has passed and the stories change, 67 00:06:38,930 --> 00:06:42,850 I suppose, to suit different circumstances. 68 00:06:43,450 --> 00:06:46,930 JEREMY: And to celebrate Saint Brigid's Eve. 69 00:06:46,930 --> 00:06:51,130 Are there special dishes that are cooked specifically on that evening? 70 00:06:51,690 --> 00:06:57,650 CASTRÃONA: Yeah. So my own work utilizes folklore archive, and that's where I get a lot of my information, 71 00:06:57,650 --> 00:07:07,630 or most of my information from . And what I have found is that they would make boxty to celebrate Saint Brigid's 72 00:07:07,630 --> 00:07:15,990 Eve. Boxty is a mixture of cooked mashed potato, grated raw potato and either buttermilk or egg, 73 00:07:16,630 --> 00:07:21,870 and it can be cooked on the pan and you sometimes see it referred to as boxty pancakes. 74 00:07:21,870 --> 00:07:27,030 Or it can be boiled as a dumpling and that would be served with melted butter and sugar. 75 00:07:27,790 --> 00:07:30,790 And it's also a dish that you find at Christmas time, which suggests, 76 00:07:30,830 --> 00:07:39,470 you know, that the celebration of Saint Brigid or Saint Brigid's Eve, was as significant a holiday as Christmas would have been, 77 00:07:39,510 --> 00:07:44,950 which is not the case anymore, although we have seen a huge resurgence in the celebration of Saint Brigid today. 78 00:07:44,990 --> 00:07:49,990 Otherwise, we have reports from folklorists of dishes that would be consumed in the celebration, 79 00:07:49,990 --> 00:07:59,470 where we would have mutton and bacon and fowl and colcannon, which is mashed potato made with onion or scallions and again, 80 00:07:59,470 --> 00:08:04,370 buttermilk and butter. As well as sowans. 81 00:08:04,370 --> 00:08:06,050 I don't know if you've ever come across sowans. 82 00:08:06,490 --> 00:08:08,490 JEREMY: That's fermented oats? 83 00:08:09,130 --> 00:08:11,370 CASTRÃONA: Yeah. So it's like the original oat milk. 84 00:08:11,410 --> 00:08:17,010 I think it's amazing that we had oat milk in Ireland long before there was ever a trend for it. 85 00:08:17,170 --> 00:08:23,290 S o it's fermented oatmeal and oat husks, and it can be made into either a, 86 00:08:23,290 --> 00:08:26,850 or consumed as either a drink, depending on how thin it is or kind of a flummery, 87 00:08:26,850 --> 00:08:29,490 so it sets with the starch from the oats. 88 00:08:30,170 --> 00:08:36,170 JEREMY: But these dishes, I mean, when I've visited Ireland, boxty is everywhere. 89 00:08:36,210 --> 00:08:44,210 S o has it expanded from being a special dish to something that you get any time, 90 00:08:44,210 --> 00:08:48,650 any place, like so many luxury foods or special foods have done? 91 00:08:48,650 --> 00:08:53,650 Or was it always kind of common but just special on Saint Brigid's Eve? 92 00:08:54,490 --> 00:09:00,330 CASTRÃONA: I would imagine it would have always been common, considering the ingredients are ingredients that would have been on 93 00:09:00,330 --> 00:09:02,730 hand for a good part of the year in Ireland. 94 00:09:02,810 --> 00:09:07,270 I think probably you would see the celebratory aspect of it in the serving of it, 95 00:09:07,310 --> 00:09:11,910 perhaps with sugar, as sugar would not necessarily have been easily available. 96 00:09:12,590 --> 00:09:17,350 I mean, for me personally, growing up in Ireland and we would have eaten a lot of traditional foods growing up, 97 00:09:17,470 --> 00:09:22,390 I actually never had boxty until I went to a restaurant in Temple Bar called the Boxty House, 98 00:09:22,430 --> 00:09:26,190 a really good restaurant for anyone who's ever visiting Temple Bar in Dublin. 99 00:09:26,190 --> 00:09:29,030 But I think it depends on where you come from. 100 00:09:29,030 --> 00:09:33,510 So you see a good concentration of boxty around the border counties Cavan, 101 00:09:33,510 --> 00:09:37,950 Monaghan and so not necessarily everywhere. 102 00:09:38,870 --> 00:09:41,670 JEREMY: And what about the dairy aspect of it? 103 00:09:41,950 --> 00:09:45,230 Y ou mentioned dairy being important. 104 00:09:45,470 --> 00:09:48,790 Were there special dairy dishes for for Saint Brigid's Eve? 105 00:09:49,830 --> 00:09:59,510 CASTRÃONA: So I think more so we see the use of dairy in dishes, and then we also see stories linking Brigid to dairy , 106 00:09:59,670 --> 00:10:03,790 kind of which drives that idea that that dairy was significant. 107 00:10:04,010 --> 00:10:10,090 So, you know, there was a tradition that you would leave your butter outside on the windowsill or on the Clyde (???), 108 00:10:10,210 --> 00:10:16,170 which is an old type of stone wall, for Saint Brigid to bless as she passed on Saint Brigid's eve. 109 00:10:16,170 --> 00:10:20,370 And that would protect your supply of dairy for the coming year. 110 00:10:20,770 --> 00:10:27,050 Saint Brigid herself was ... There are miracles about Brigid being able to milk the cows three times a day so that she could feed 111 00:10:27,050 --> 00:10:32,130 everybody in the monastery. Yeah, it was it was quite a significant foodstuff. 112 00:10:32,170 --> 00:10:34,610 JEREMY: Yeah. Modern dairy is only just catching up with that. 113 00:10:36,130 --> 00:10:40,570 What about, w hat about these Saint Brigid's crosses? 114 00:10:40,570 --> 00:10:45,530 Now, I've seen them. But what's the significance of Saint Brigid's crosses? 115 00:10:46,010 --> 00:10:47,810 And what do they look like? 116 00:10:48,170 --> 00:10:51,130 CASTRÃONA: I'm sure you've seen the four legged Saint Brigid's cross. 117 00:10:52,290 --> 00:10:57,610 And I think a lot of people think that that's the most common. But actually, that was popularised in the 1960s when our national 118 00:10:57,610 --> 00:11:03,010 broadcaster chose it as their logo , so that is the cross that that most people know. 119 00:11:03,210 --> 00:11:07,270 A nd as I said, it's four legged and it is made from rushes. 120 00:11:08,470 --> 00:11:12,150 But there are many, many kinds of different crosses. 121 00:11:12,150 --> 00:11:18,190 And I think the biggest collection of them in Ireland is in the Museum of Country Life in County Mayo. 122 00:11:18,350 --> 00:11:21,510 It's well worth a visit for anyone visiting the west of Ireland. 123 00:11:21,550 --> 00:11:28,070 It's a really beautiful museum, and so many of the crosses are made with rushes, 124 00:11:28,070 --> 00:11:30,770 and they may have four legs or three legs or ... 125 00:11:30,770 --> 00:11:39,390 And they come in various different sizes, and they would be hung around the house to welcome Saint Brigid. 126 00:11:39,390 --> 00:11:43,790 Or they could be given to newlyweds to protect their house or ... 127 00:11:43,790 --> 00:11:47,590 And to ... In the hopes that they may produce children. 128 00:11:47,590 --> 00:11:54,230 You see a lot of things around fertility at Saint Brigid's Day with the spring awakening. 129 00:11:54,230 --> 00:12:03,270 B ut in terms of food, we see crosses used in sheds for animals, where they would be hung above the door to protect the animals. 130 00:12:03,270 --> 00:12:06,130 But then we also see them in the planting of crops. 131 00:12:06,130 --> 00:12:14,410 So there's a beautiful story that a folklore informant told actually in County Roscommon whilst making a cross himself. 132 00:12:14,770 --> 00:12:20,850 And we see that same juxtaposition between Ireland's pagan past and Christianity, 133 00:12:20,850 --> 00:12:27,570 where he is making a cross with a small sheaf of unthreshed oats, potato and a slender rod of sallow. 134 00:12:27,570 --> 00:12:34,290 He calls it a scallop. The cross would then be thrust up in the thatch and left there until the first sowing of the oats for the year, 135 00:12:34,290 --> 00:12:37,410 after which it would be removed and the seed used from it. 136 00:12:37,410 --> 00:12:41,810 In the first planting before planting, the seed would be covered in hen dung, 137 00:12:41,850 --> 00:12:48,650 a sovereign remedy against witchcraft and fairy machinations, and then sprinkled with holy water and a little salt. 138 00:12:48,930 --> 00:12:52,050 The cross would then be replaced until the first sowing of the potato, 139 00:12:52,090 --> 00:12:57,650 which would then be cut up and used as the, you know, the first seed potato on Good Friday. 140 00:12:58,610 --> 00:13:05,440 And then it would be put back up on the thatch and removed the following year and replaced with a fresh cross. 141 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:09,280 So again that's you know, that juxtaposition. 142 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:14,160 We see the hen dung and the holy water when really you've got fertilizer and liquid. 143 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:21,600 JEREMY: But in the old pagan tradition, hen dung is more than just a fertilizer? 144 00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:31,160 CASTRÃONA: Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. But I think the interesting thing is that we are seeing because Saint Brigid's Day itself is a Christian holiday. 145 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:36,400 But within the celebration of it, we are also seeing the kind of carrying on of those pagan traditions, 146 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:40,240 perhaps unbeknownst to people, through superstitious practices. 147 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:48,880 JEREMY: Well, and finally, is there a tradition around Saint Brigid of of charity? 148 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:56,640 I mean, you say she fed people who came to her and and fed the whole monastery and all the rest of it, 149 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:01,360 but is there a general tradition about hospitality to strangers? 150 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:07,380 CASTRÃONA: Yes. Well, again, you know, in those miracles that I mentioned before, 151 00:14:07,380 --> 00:14:08,980 she feeds people who come to visit her. 152 00:14:08,980 --> 00:14:15,580 But there is also another miracle that I came across in the course of this research of the Schools Collection, 153 00:14:15,860 --> 00:14:22,860 where Brigid called to a house that a man had no food to offer her, and the cupboards were bare, 154 00:14:22,860 --> 00:14:29,060 and but he showed her kindness. And after she left, he found that the cupboards had been completely stocked with 155 00:14:29,060 --> 00:14:34,860 everything that he might need. S o you do see some kind of charitable donations of food also. 156 00:14:35,620 --> 00:14:38,580 JEREMY: L et's just talk about one other thing. 157 00:14:38,620 --> 00:14:46,060 You said earlier on that there's been an expansion in the celebration of of Saint Brigid's Eve, 158 00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:50,020 Saint Brigid's Day. H ow has that taken place? 159 00:14:50,020 --> 00:14:52,060 And what do you think has been driving it? 160 00:14:53,780 --> 00:15:00,380 CASTRÃONA: I would say that ... So there are several factors. There's one very practical factor in that after the pandemic, 161 00:15:00,540 --> 00:15:05,800 the Irish government added a bank holiday to the Irish calendar, and it is on Saint Brigid's Day. 162 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:14,160 So, you know, there is all of a sudden kind of a drive and funding for celebration of that day because it's good for tourism, 163 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,760 it's good for business, and it's good for the hospitality industry. 164 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,400 So that would be one one aspect of it. 165 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:26,160 I also think in general, we've seen a huge resurgence in interest in traditions and folklore, 166 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,320 which I think, again, we can maybe link to the pandemic. 167 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:38,000 I do think after a big scare, I suppose people tend to maybe look inwards and go back to their roots. 168 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:40,720 And so we have seen a, you know ... 169 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:46,880 There are other traditions, not just Saint Brigid's Day, like the Mummers or the Wren Boys on Saint Stephen's Day have become 170 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:53,320 really popular again. So, you know, I think that those two reasons have been big driving forces in the 171 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,320 resurgence of the celebration of Saint Brigid's Day. 172 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:01,320 JEREMY: CaitrÃona Nic Philibin , who's currently expanding her study of food and folklore, 173 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:06,700 and Saint Brigid to stories collected in the 1950s in Northern Ireland. 174 00:16:07,740 --> 00:16:13,260 There's a huge amount on Saint Brigid available online and it can be hard to find your way around. 175 00:16:13,620 --> 00:16:20,860 I'll put links to a few pieces by CaitrÃona, along with a couple of tunes composed specially to celebrate the day, 176 00:16:20,860 --> 00:16:24,180 in the show notes at Eat This Podcast.com. 177 00:16:25,180 --> 00:16:33,060 And as we're starting a new year and a new season, a quick reminder that there's a transcript for each episode on the 178 00:16:33,060 --> 00:16:39,420 website, made possible thanks to the generosity of the good people who assist me with a donation. 179 00:16:39,860 --> 00:16:46,180 You can join them at Eat This Podcast.com/ Supporters. 180 00:16:46,220 --> 00:16:51,860 I'm also always happy to hear from you with comments, suggestions, or even complaints. 181 00:16:52,380 --> 00:16:56,740 You can email me . Jeremy at Eat This Podcast.com. 182 00:16:57,340 --> 00:17:02,540 For now though, until the next time from me, Jeremy Cherfas and Eat This Podcast, 183 00:17:02,660 --> 00:17:07,020 goodbye and thanks for listening.