Céilithe

A céili (pronounced 'key-lee' or 'kay-lee" - I've found an equal number of each pronunciation) is, in America, a celebration of Irish music, dance and food. It is a fantastic way to learn about Irish traditions. Céilithe is plural for céili. The Irish word céili originally referred to a gathering of neighbours in a house to have an enjoyable time, dancing, playing music and storytelling. Today, in Ireland, it refers to an informal evening of dancing. The céili can be traced back to pre-famine times, when dancing at the cross-roads was a popular rural pastime. These dances were usually held on Sunday evenings in summer when young people would gather at the cross-roads. Since I've already discussed Irish music, I thought I'd touch on dance and food and touch on the three areas of an Irish-American céili.

Traditional Dance:

Irish dancing traditions changed as often as the new peoples who inhabited the island. Irish dancing was accompanied by music played on the bagpipes and the harp. Dancing was also performed during wakes. The mourners followed each other in a ring around the coffin to bagpipe music.

Three Irish dances are mentioned often in early writing: the Irish Hey (where female dancers wound in around their partners, in a fore-runner of the present day reel), the Rinnce Fada (long dance similar to today's Riverdance) and the Trenchmore (which was an adaptation of an old Irish peasant dance). One of the first references to dance is in a letter written by Sir Henry Sydney to Queen Elizabeth I in 1569. "They are very beautiful, magnificently dressed and first class dancers," Sydney wrote of the girls he saw dancing enthusiastic Irish jigs in Galway. Sydney went on to describe the dance formation, observing the dancers in two straight lines which suggests they were performing an early version of the long dance.

Group dances were developed by the masters to hold the interest of their less gifted pupils and to give them the chance to enjoy dancing. The standard of these dances was very high. Solo dancers were held in high esteem and often doors were taken off hinges and placed on the ground for the soloists to dance on. Today, jigs, reels, hornpipes, sets, half sets, polkas and step dances are all performed. Solo dancing or step dancing first appeared at the end of the eighteenth century. Today, when step-dancing is performed (particularly as a solo dance), it is generally characterized by a stiff upper body and the quick and precise movements of the feet.

There are currently two forms of Irish dancing, social dances or performance dances. Irish social dances can be classified as either Céilithe or Set Dances. A céilí dance may be performed with as few as three people and as many as sixteen. Céilí dances may also be danced with an unlimited number of couples in a long line or proceeding around in a circle (Such as in Shoe the Donkey or the Gay Gordons). Céilí dances are often fast-paced and may be quite complicated. Set dances are folk dances of Ireland based on French quadrilles. Most are done in square sets of four couples and consist of several "figures" each of which has a number of parts. Throughout the dance, as they perform the figures, the dancers use various steps, with the style of the step varying from place to place and from set to set.

The costumes worn by Irish dancers today commemorate the clothing of the past. Most of the dresses are adorned with hand-embroidered Celtic designs, copies of the Tara brooch are often worn on the shoulder. The brooch hold a cape which falls over the back. The clothes worn by men are less embellished but steeped in history- they wear a plain kilt and jacket, with a folded cloak draped from the shoulder. Male and female dancers today wear hornpipe shoes, and for reels and jigs, soft shoes similar to ballet pumps are worn.


Traditional Food:

Rumor has it, that Ireland is currently having a gourmet revolution. But, I have to say, when we were in Ireland, the traditional fare was often the most popular. We were advised to eat in the pubs as they had the best food...and our advisers were correct.

For those of you who may not have been brought up on traditional Irish foods, some typical Irish dishes include: potato soup, Irish stew, potato cakes, beef stew, shanty potatoes, corned beef and cabbage, scones, soda bread and my least favorite of all, black and white pudding. I've decided to let you do your own research on what these famous dishes entail. But I can tell you, they aren't all so tasty. In fact, (keep in mind, I'm a picky eater) as much as I love all things Irish, I don't like the food. I did enjoy the ever-popular fish and chips though.

With meager resources for the kitchen (traditionally), Irish cooking is based on simple, but hearty dishes. Irish cooking is poetic cooking, however, and a simple dish of potatoes and cabbage is lifted from the ordinary by calling it 'bubble and squeak' after the music heard in the pan. When fair Molly Malone sells her cockles and mussels, she doesn't shout that the mussels are fresh, she sings out that they are 'alive, alive-o.' There are even rhymes based on Irish food, such as the potato pancake, called Boxty: "Boxty on the griddle, Boxty in the pan, If you don't eat your boxty, You'll never get your man."

George Bernard Shaw said it best: "There is no sincerer love than the love of food." That pretty much sums up the philosophy of the Irish and their cuisine...and our (I mean "their") dress sizes.

A few fun and traditional recipes:

Barm Brack
Cream the yeast and the sugar and allow to froth up in the milk, which should be at blood heat. Sieve the flour, caster sugar and spice and rub in the butter. Make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture and the egg, beaten. Beat with a wooden spoon for about 10 minutes until a good dough forms. The fruit and the salt should be worked in by hand; the gold ring wrapped in greaseproof paper should then be added, and the whole kneaded. Put in a warm bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour until doubled in size.
1/4 pt/ 125 ml/ 1/2 cup lukewarm milk1 tsp sugar1 tsp fresh yeast8 oz/ 250 g/ 2 cups plain flour1 tsp mixed spice, pinch salt 1 egg, 3 tbsp butter6 oz/ 200 g/ 2 cups mixed fruit(currants, sultanas, raisins, candied peel)1 gold ring (in greaseproof paper)2 oz/50 g/2 tbsp caster sugar
Knead lightly and place in a lightly-greased 7 in /15 cm diameter cake tin and allow a further 30 minutes rising time. Bake near the top of a pre-heated oven at gas mark 6, 400°F, 200°C for 45 minutes. On removing from the oven the brack can be glazed with a syrup made from 2 tsp sugar dissolved in 3 tsp boiling water.
From the Appletree Press title: A Little Irish Cookbook.


Irish Stew
Irish stew is easy to make and if made with mutton and cooked slowly will be both flavorsome and tender. Mutton, being an older meat, has more flavor than lamb but does need to be cooked for a couple of hours over a low heat with liquid. It should not be allowed to boil or the flavor will be spoiled. There is little agreement as to the classic recipe - should there be carrots? Should the meat be browned? Should mutton, lamb, beef, bacon or even kid be used? The following dish will be found to be hearty and nourishing and traditional enough.
2 1/2 lb boned mutton4 large potatoes2 large onions3 or 4 medium carrotssprig of parsley2 cups watersalt and pepper(serves four)
Cut the meat into good size chunks. Peel the vegetables and slice thickly. Chop the parsley. Choose a pot with a well-fitting lid and put in the ingredients in layers, starting and finishing with potatoes. Pour in the water and season to taste. Cover and put on a very low heat for about 2 1/2 hours until the meat is tender and the potatoes have thickened the liquid. The dish may also be made with lamb, in which case it requires only 1 1/2 hours cooking time.
From the Appletree Press title: A Little Irish Cookbook.


Potato Soup
The basis of a good soup - especially a simple soup such as this - is a good stock. The soup should be made with a white stock, that is, water in which a chicken, ham or bacon has been boiled. Alternatively, stock can be made from a ham bone or chicken carcass boiled with a few root vegetables and herbs as available, and an onion. The stock should be drained, allowed to cool and the fat removed from the surface.
6 medium potatoes2 medium onions3pt/ 1/2 l/ 6 cups stock or milk and water mixed1tbsp butterparsleysalt and pepper(serves six)
Peel and dice the potatoes and chop the onions. Melt the butter and gently cook the onions and potatoes in a covered saucepan until soft but not coloured. Add the liquid, adjust the seasoning to taste, sieve if wished and serve in bowls decorated with a little chopped parsley.
From the Appletree Press title: A Little Irish Cookbook.


Very cool Irish website I just found today: http://www.irishabroad.com/

Resources:
http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/SEASONS/Irish_cooking_SainntPat.html