 Renowned, worldwide for their sporting prowess on the rugby field, they are equally famous in more erudite circles, for their literary achievements. Now, St Patrick’s Day aside, 2004 also happens to be the 100th anniversary, on June 16th of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. And, never averse to any old excuse for a knees-up, Dubliners have particularly ambitious plans, for the Ulysses centenary celebrations. In true ebullient Irish fashion the aim, it would appear, is to have a double whammy of celebrations, one lot on March 17th, St Patrick’s Day; the other on June 16th. That surely is cause for celebration!
The fact that few people have read this impenetrable epic, with its famous lack of punctuation, is beside the point. Why, as the Irish are the first to admit, should we let such a simple omission get in the way of an opportunity to celebrate? All we need to know, of course, is that Ulysses is a tale about a fictional hero, Leopold Bloom who in a stream of conscious broodings and obsessions talks us through a typical day in his life. His ruminations include descriptions of his favourite pubs and eating haunts, (as well explicit details of some rather less savoury venues!).
To mark the Ulysses centenary in style, the Irish Government is reported to have allocated a generous one million euros (approximately £700,000) for the Ulysses centenary celebrations. There are even moves afoot to make June 16th a “second St Patrick’s Day” and possibly turn it into a Bank Holiday!
And the ripples of enthusiasm are spreading around the globe, New York, Chicago, Boston and closer to home in Dublin and London, Bloom’s favourite beverage, Guinness, will surely flow in 2004! London, for example, has a large Irish population, concentrated in the Boroughs of Brent and Islington. But the genial Irish are everywhere and most of them know how to celebrate.
To return, however, to our everyday hero and his intriguing lifestyle and peculiar eating (and drinking) habits…
Joyce describes Bloom as a modest man who, nevertheless “ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls; he liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods’ roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faint scented urine”, all washed down with several pints of Guinness – that enduring token of Irish hospitality.
Clearly, Joyce’s fantasy fodder is not for the faint-hearted. Nor, does it in any way reflect upon the reality of modern Irish cuisine, which is arguably one of the finest in the world! But, these enthusiastic observations are interesting in their own right; they serve as a timely reminder that the simple pleasures of eating and drinking have a feel-good factor that is hard to match.
And enthusiasm is infectious. Indeed, it was in response to the above passage about Bloom’s foodie odyssey that the city of Dublin decided to develop this gastronomy theme. Not satisfied with the lavish celebrations planned for St Patrick’s Day, the powers that be also intend to hold a sumptuous free Bloomsday breakfast on June 13th, three days before the centenary itself, on O’Connell Street, serving up 10,000 portions of offal and fried kidneys!
In addition, an increasing number of London’s pubs and restaurants are putting on special menus, this year, to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Look out for Irish specialities such as:
Coddle: a hot pot of bacon, pork sausages, onions and potatoes.
Irish lamb stew: a simple stew of home reared Irish lamb simmered slowly with potatoes, onions and a variety of other vegetables including cabbage and carrots.
Colcannon: Cabbage, onions and potatoes mashed with cream or butter.
Champ or “poundies”: potato and green onion mash, also mashed with cream or butter.
Steak and kidney pie with Guinness: needs no explanation!
Boxty bread: soda bread made from mashed potatoes, flour and buttermilk.
Boxty pancakes: similar dough to boxty bread, but the pancakes are fried in bacon fat instead of being baked in the oven.
Brack: spiced fruity bread made with yeast or baking powder
Irish celebrations in 2004 are certainly looking promising. So, why not go with the flow and enjoy a glass or two of Guinness and some traditional Irish cooking, wherever you may be. Cheers!
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