Don't Miss St Patrick's Day in Ireland!

That's right, it's Paddy's day on Sunday 17th March so I thought I would share with you some Irish goodness from five bloggers I have recently come to know.  This is the delight of the internet, connecting with interesting & inspiring people the world over.

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Excitement number one! Susan from Vibrant Ireland asked me to do a guest post (my first ever!) for St. Patrick's Day. Take a look here.  Susan has a lovely blog about all things Irish and we share at least one thing in common, we both live in a country other than the one we were born in! Susan came from the USA to Ireland, just as I came from the UK to Australia.

   Graiguenamanagh from Susan's blog

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Aoife writes the Daily Spud, so how could we potato lovers not follow that!  I thought you'd enjoy this amazing Potato Risotto ( Ristato!) recipe of hers which is pretty appropriate for St Patrick's day because of all the green, and of course the Guinness! Find the recipe here 

Irish Risotto with Potatoes,
 Mushrooms and Guinness 

And while we're on the subject of potatoes, you'll be fascinated by this post on the Daily Spud about Lumpers, the variety most widely grown in Ireland at the time of the Great Famine in 1845.

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Catherine writes a beautiful blog called Foxglove Lane and this recent post is a wonderfully evocative one of a Real Irish Pub that really hasn't changed at all.  The photos are fantastic and Catherine's personal recollections  bring it to life so that you can really taste that Guinness!

"Smoke from the fire and a kettle on the boil. The clock tick tocks. A lad sits at the counter. He dropped in "just for one" to his home away from home......"

Photo of Morrrissey's of Abbeyleix, County Laois from Foxglove Lane

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And for dessert how about this scrummy Potato Apple Tart from Caroline at bibliocook.com. A freelance journalist & broadcaster married to a Kiwi who makes beer in Ireland, Caroline has some tantalising recipes to share from both sides of the world. Potato Apple Tart I hear you say!  I know, but just take a look and you will be hooked! 

Potato Apple Tart

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I found Felicity, through my guest post with Susan.  Felicity lives between Bermondsey in London and rural Ireland, and writes a blog about these two disparate places.

Felicity is a professional writer whose book  "The House on an Irish Hill". looks to me like a fascinating read.

 'From the moment I crossed the mountain I fell in love. With the place, which was more beautiful than any place I'd ever seen. With the people I met there. And with a way of looking at life that was deeper, richer and wiser than any I'd known before. When I left I dreamt of clouds on the mountain. I kept going back.'

 Look out Amazon, here I come!

"When you know where you come from, you can see where you are going".

Take a look at this interview with Felicity about St. Patrick's Day for discoverireland.com.

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Thank you Susan, Aoife, Catherine, Caroline and Felicity for all graciously allowing me to share insights into your lives through this post.

According to the website timeanddate.com about 30 percent of Australians are believed to have some Irish ancestry today. And that is in no small way due to the Potato, and the emigration from Ireland in the mid 19th Century due to the Great Potato Famine.   So let's join hands across the oceans and say a very happy St.Patrick's Day, one and all!

How are you celebrating St. Patrick's Day?

  Here's hoping it involves a potato!