Food of Ireland
Written by Angelica Blouch
Photographed by Bethany Foltz
For descriptions, open the slideshow in fullscreen and click "show info," or view the set.
Between the years of 1845 and 1852, fungus attacked the large potato crop that the Irish so widely depended on for survival. This caused emigration, panic, starvation, disease, and worst of all, death. This disastrous time period became known as the potato famine, a well-known and remembered life-changing event that holds history in all sorts of places, many that come as a surprise. With the large amount of people that the famine affected and the many years that it lasted, it makes sense that the famine holds a connection to literally millions of people as those with Irish backgrounds are scattered all over the world.
Writing my research paper on the famine based on how the media portrayed the situation was difficult because it was near impossible to gather the necessary material. Rather than giving up, however, I compiled what I could and wrote the paper to the best of my ability based on the information but was forced to tweak my work in a way to make the context related to explorations upon arriving in Ireland. My decision was to focus on the food, specifically potatoes, in both the United States and Ireland and report on my findings, while paying special attention to anything related to the famine and connecting it to my research.
Bethany Foltz, a Point Park photojournalism graduate, and I visited three Irish restaurants in the United States: The Claddaugh Irish Pub, Piper’s Pub, and Harp and Fiddle, one for each meal of the day. Each of us ordered something we felt was Irish so that we would have something to compare to when we were in Ireland. Never being to Ireland before, we weren’t sure what to expect, and we were curious how closely America’s Irish restaurants resembled the ones we would soon be dining at overseas.
My first observation, of course, was the potatoes and how they were served with every single dish in one form such as chips (french fries), potato puree, mashed, and boiled potatoes. With breakfast, we were served something resembling a potato pancake. For lunch, potatoes were either in or on the side of our meal, and dinner didn’t lack potatoes either. I wondered if that was a proper representation of Ireland or if they had overdone the potatoes, but our first meal in Ireland at The Brazen Head, Dublin’s oldest pub, proved otherwise. Each member of the group was served potatoes with his or her meal and even Helen Fallon even commented, “Everything’s so good, especially the potatoes.”
Throughout the rest of our meals, my suspicions were confirmed: Potatoes are a large part of the Irish culture, and rightfully so after the tragedy of the famine. Continuing on with the trip, I also noticed the food wasn’t the only aspect of the culture that related to the potato famine.
One of the restaurants we went to, The Danny Man, featured a live Irish folk group, The Irish Weavers, who played “Danny Boy” a song about the famine, which was also sung at our medieval dinner banquet at our last dinner. It didn’t stop there. Spike Island, located across from Bella Vista, one of the hotels we stayed in, was known for being the harbor that the many sailed from when they left Ireland because of the famine. Queen Victoria was known as the famine queen because she visited Ireland by herself numerous times and didn’t tell her husband, King Albert, about the famine because she didn’t want to worry him.
I began to notice books and movies in gift shops, posters on walls, music everywhere, and information from tour guides, signs, and common people that related to the famine, which added life to potato famine. To me it was only something I’d read or heard about. But to the Irish, it is something that made their country stronger and forged a relationship with our countries. To Ireland, the potato famine isn’t a story in a book. it’s their life and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to see some of it first-hand.
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Photo 1: Claddagh Irish Pub in the south side of Pittsburgh offers many different types of Irish dishes, which is displayed in a leather-bound folder.
Photo 2: Unlike what we call wedges, which taste of straight potato, the pub chips had a cheddar and buttery taste. The coleslaw is served with sandwiches in Ireland, but it is not this American kind of coleslaw. It is more like what we think of as a salad.
Photo 3: At the Claddagh, the Shamrock chicken sandwich is a grilled chicken breast with a special Shamrock sauce, bacon, white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and onion on a brioche bun. It is served with pub chips and a garnish of coleslaw for $8.99.
Photo 4: At Mullaney's Harp and Fiddle in the strip district of Pittsburgh, a hearty cheddar potato cake between flaky puff pastry and topped with tender white meat chicken in a velvety chicken veloute is one of its small plated dishes for $8.95.
Photo 5: The fluffy pastry pieces encasing the bacon and cheddar tasting potato cake is a great combination with the smooth chicken sauce.
Photo 6: Many of the dishes in Ireland, as well as Irish ones in the U.S., contain many different kinds of meats and potatoes in just about every meal.
Photo 7: Piper's Pub in the South Side offers "a taste of the British Isles." A well-known dish is the Irish Boxty, which is a crispy potato pancake over bangers, ham, scrambled eggs and provolone cheese for $9.95.
Photo 8: Mr. O'Gara enjoys his poached fillet of salmon at the oldest pub in Dublin, The Brazen Head.
Photo 9: Like any meal, potatoes of any variety are seen in every kind of dish.
Photo 10: The chunks of beef, mushrooms, and onions in a rich Guinness and thyme sauce, is served in a basket of homemade bread. Potatoes and bread are a part of just about every meal, any time of the day in Ireland.
Photos 11 & 12: Serving as Ireland's oldest pub, the Brazen Head dates back to 1198 and has been serving liquor before licensing laws were in place.
Photo 13: The Glendalough Hotel dining area offers many fresh cuts sandwiches and salads, including a honey baked ham, chicken, coleslaw and tomato sandwich served on multigrain bread for 5.75 Euro.
Photo 14: Along with the sandwich is a salad with fresh greens, a cream house dressing, cucumbers, peppers, red onions, and tomatoes.
Photo 15: Just about 90% of condiments were different colored packets of Heinz ketchup, mustard, malt vinegar, and mayonnaise.
Photo 16: The hotel's dining services are at the front on the building on first floor, with a balcony and comfortable 50-person seating area.
Photo 17: A full Irish breakfast at the Bellevista Hotel consists of sausage, bacon, fried/scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms baked beans, and black and white pudding.
Photo 18: An Irish breakfast is the just about the same across the whole country, There might be a variance in the way the meat is prepared, but all contain many kinds of meats, potatoes and eggs, along with the puddings.