Thank you for visiting my ancestral heritage project website. I hope you enjoy what I have put together for you. My dominant heritage is Irish. I also have some German and English. My last name, Kelley, did not have an "E" between the "L" and "Y", until my great-grandfather went to school. He went to school in Montesano, and his last name kept getting misspelled with an extra "E", so he kept it.
The Gaelic equivalent of my name "Kelly", is o'Ceallaigh.
Foods of Ireland
Some of the foods of Ireland include the following;
Dublin Coddle Recipe
Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds pork sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
1-1/2 pounds smoked ham, cut into 1-inch dice
1 quart boiling water
2 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly diced
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Place the sausage and ham in the boiling water and boil for 5
minutes. Drain, but reserve the liquid. Put the meat into a large
saucepan (or an oven-proof dish) with the onions, potatoes, and
parsley. Add enough of the stock to not quite cover the contents.
Cover the pot and simmer gently for about 1 hour, or until the
liquid is reduced by half and all the ingredients are cooked but
not mushy. You may need to remove the lid during the last half of
the cooking process. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with
the vegetables on top and fresh Irish Soda Bread and a glass of
stout.
Yield: 8 servings
Irish Lamb Stew
Ingredients
1/2 pound thickly sliced bacon, diced
6 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup water
4 cups homemade beef stock or use canned
2 teaspoons sugar
4 cups carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced
3 pounds potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut into 1/2-inch
pieces
1 teaspoon dried thyme, whole
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry white wine
chopped parsley
Instructions
Using a large frying pan, sauté the bacon. Reserve the fat and
the bacon. In a large mixing bowl place the lamb, salt, pepper,
and flour. Toss to coat the meat evenly. Reheat the frying pan.
In batches, toss the meat in the flour to coat evenly, then brown
in the reserved bacon fat. If you run out of fat, use a little
oil. Transfer the browned meat to a 10-quart stove top casserole,
leaving about 1/4 cup of fat in the frying pan. Add the garlic
and yellow onion to the pan and sauté until the onion begins to
color a bit. Deglaze the frying pan with 1/2 cup of water and add
the garlic-onion mixture to the casserole, along with the
reserved bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar. Cover and simmer
for 1-1/2 hours, or until tender. Add the remaining ingredients
to the pot and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes until the
vegetables are tender. Check for salt and pepper before serving.
Top with the parsley garnish before serving.
Irish Cream Fudge
Ingredients
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup light corn syrup
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Irish Cream liqueur
1-1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, melted
Instructions
Spread nuts evenly in bottom of a greased 8 x 11-inch baking
dish. Grease sides of a large stockpot. Combine next 6
ingredients in stockpot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring
constantly until sugar dissolves. Using a pastry brush dipped in
hot water, wash down any sugar crystals on sides of pan. Attach
candy thermometer to pan making sure thermometer does not touch
bottom of pan. Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil. Do
not stir while syrup is boiling. Cook until syrup reaches soft
ball stage (approximately 234 to 240 degrees F.) Test about 1/2
teaspoon syrup in ice water. Syrup should easily form a ball in
ice water but flatten when held in your hand. Place stockpot in 2
inches of cold water in sink. Add liqueur to syrup; do not stir
until syrup cools to approximately 110 degrees F. Add chocolate
and beat fudge using medium speed of an electric mixer until it
is no longer glossy and thickens. Pour over nuts. Allow to cool
completely. Cut into 1-inch squares. Store In an airtight
container in refrigerator.
Yield: about 7 dozen squares fudge
Clothing of Ireland
Although it is commonly thought that Kilts are from Scotland, Irish Highlanders also wear Kilts, as well as wedding kilts.
Where in the world is Ireland?
Ireland is a small country in Europe just west of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom and Ireland make up the British Isles. Below is a map of part of western Europe. You can see Ireland as the left side island.
Customs of Ireland
| Handfasting: An
Ancient Irish Wedding Tradition by Pat Friend |
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| Handfasting is an ancient
Celtic custom, especially common in Ireland and Scotland,
in which a man and woman came together at the start of
their marriage relationship. Their hands, or more
accurately, their wrists, were literally tied together.
This practice gave way to the expression "tying the
knot" which has come to mean getting married or
engaged. The handfasting ritual recognized just one of many forms of marriages permitted under the ancient Irish (Brehon) law. The man and woman who came together for the handfasting agreed to stay together for a specific period of time, usually a year-and-a-day. At the end of the year the couple faced a choice. They could enter into a longer-term "permanent" marriage contract, renew their agreement for another year, or go their separate ways.
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