Month: March 2015

Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday in Ireland. The cross on the top symbolises the Cross Jesus was crucified on.

There are superstitions in Ireland related to Hot Cross buns and Good Friday for example:

Hot Cross Buns made on Good Friday, have magical powers, they will not go mouldy, but if you keep a Hot Cross Bun from one year to the next your house will be protected from fire.

Ingredients for making Hot Cross Buns
•1lb plain flour
•2 oz caster sugar
•1 oz fresh yeast or 1 level tablespoon dried yeast
•¼ pint lukewarm milk
•1 level teaspoon salt
•1 level teaspoon mixed spice
•1 level teaspoon cinnamon
•4 oz currants
•2 oz chopped mixed peel
•2 oz butter, melted and cooled
•1 beaten egg

For the Glaze:
•2 oz granulated sugar
•3 tablespoons milk

For the cross:
•2 small strips of short crust pastry per bun

How to make Hot Cross Buns

Sift 4 oz flour into a bowl and add 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Blend the yeast with the milk and water.

Add to flour and sugar. Mix well and leave for 30 minutes or until frothy.

Sift remaining flour, salt and spices into another bowl.

Add the rest of the sugar, currants and peel. Toss lightly together.

Add to yeast mixture with butter and beaten egg.

Mix to a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean.

Turn on to floured board and knead for 5 minutes (or until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky).

Cover and leave to rise until double the size.

Turn onto floured board and knead lightly, divide into 12 pieces.

Shape into round bun.

Stand well apart on floured baking tray.

Cover and leave for another 30 minutes.

Cut a cross on top of each bun with a sharp knife and lay strips of pastry in each cut.

Bake in a hot oven (220 degrees C / 425 degrees F) for 20 – 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack.

Brush twice with glaze, made by dissolving sugar in milk and boiling for 2 minutes.

Serve warm with lashings of butter

Makes 12 buns

President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and a parade of other top politicians are to descend on Dorchester today to speak at the formal dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

The kickoff, like the institute, is poised to be both a paean to the power and majesty of the legislative body as well as a celebration of Kennedy, the liberal lion who served as US senator from Massachusetts from 1962 until his death in 2009.

The new monument to a member of the state’s most famous political family is on Columbia Point in Dorchester, next to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

The president, Biden, Governor Charlie Baker, US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey, Mayor Martin J. Walsh of Boston, members of the Kennedy family, and other politicians are set to speak at the ceremonies, a day before the $78 million interactive museum devoted to civic education is opened to the public.

Read More Here.

 

It’s one of the most significant historical buildings in Ireland and the country’s “best and earliest example of a Palladian villa”, according to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage – and yet Bellamont Forest in County Cavan is on An Taisce’s list of significant buildings at risk, due to vacancy, water damage and neglect.

The house was completed in 1730 by Judge Thomas Coote and designed by the talented architect Edward Lovett Pearce. The estate was gambled away by descendant John Coote in 1874 and bought by the Dorman-Smiths, whose most famous member, Eric ‘Chink’ Dorman-Smith, served in the British army in both world wars before being sacked in 1942.

We would like to thank all our members for coming out for our St Patrick’s Day party, which was held at our new exciting venue, the State House. The event was sold out, over 400 guests took part in the festivities, and the evening was a great success by all accounts! We were delighted to have wonderful entertainment by Hogan’s Goat band and the Brady Kenny O’Brien Irish Dance Academy North/South Shore. We would like to say a big  thank you to Mayor Marty Walsh for attending the event and addressing the crowd.

We would also like to thank all our sponsors, without whose support the event would not be what it is today;  Crean’s Irish Lager, Deep Eddy Vodka,O’ Hara’s Beers, Burke Distributing, Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, Enterprise Ireland, Irish Dairy Board, Bord Bia, IDA Ireland, Tourism Ireland, Irish Consulate Boston, and Silent Chef.

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Check out all of the photo’s on Facebook.

TICKETS ARE SELLING FAST FOR THE 2015 IRISH FILM FESTIVAL, BOSTON

Irish Network Members will receive an email today with codes.

This year’s lineup will offer a host of contemporary Irish films, intimate receptions with visiting Irish filmmakers, cocktail parties and a few surprises!

VIEW PROGRAM & BUY TICKETS HERE

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all our valued IN members. We hope you have a wonderful day celebrating our Irish Heritage. Yesterday the IN Board had the pleasure of meeting with the Tanaiste, Joan Burton, to discuss economic and cultural links between Boston and Ireland. We thank the Tanaiste for her efforts in keeping the ties between Boston and Ireland a priority.

 

With St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in high gear, NECN delves into the business connections between Greater Boston and Ireland. The guide for the journey is Sean Moynihan, President of Irish Network Boston and VP of the Boston Irish Business Association.

The Global Greening has begun, with the first of an expected 150 landmarks around the world lighting up for St. Patrick’s Day. The Global Greening is a Tourism Ireland initiative that encourages iconic structures around the world to go green for March 17 – throwing a spotlight on the island of Ireland.

The initiative began in 2010 with just a single building – the Sydney Opera House

New participants for 2015 include the Colosseum, the Sacré Cœur basilica in Paris, Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry and Edinburgh Castle.

“Being able to put ourselves front and centre on the world stage in this way reaps unrivalled dividends in terms of publicity, promoting Ireland and getting the message out about our recovery,” said Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe TD.

“It is estimated that last year, the Government’s St Patrick’s Day efforts secured €5 million in new business,” the Minister added.

Check out the photos here at Independent.ie

As Irish celebrity chef Rachel Allen says, “there isn’t a definitive recipe for Irish stew simply because each household has adapted their own family recipe”. Some people use lamb, some beef, some people add carrots, some not. Many recipes call for celery and parsnips, and who doesn’t like parsnips!? Check out Rachel’s recipe here and tell us how you make yours!

 

The Irish Times video team is putting together a compilation of clips from Irish people around the world celebrating St Patrick’s Day this week, so if you’d like to send a greeting home to Ireland, say Happy St Patrick’s Day to friends and family, or share your plans for the day, record a short video clip (under 30 seconds) and send it via WeTransfer to video@irishtimes.com by next Monday morning Irish time (March 16th).

WeTransfer is a file sharing service that is incredibly simple to use – log on to wetransfer.com, upload the video file, enter your own email address and send to “emigration@irishtimes.com”.

You can also email your photographs to emigration@irishtimes.com, with a line saying who is in the photograph and where it was taken.