Every St Patrick’s Day in Kansas City I was asked about food in Ireland. And I wasn’t sure what to say.

Because, despite all the changes, food in Ireland is different to food in America. Meals are different. Eating is different.

I know it didn’t have to be that way, but in general I found food in America poisonous.

Breakfasts were what other countries call desserts, portions were double the sizes you found in other countries, processed food dominated the grocery store shelves and home-cooking, and sugar was added to everything. I think it was even added to sugar.

And I ate it all.

Rather than buy fruit and vegetables, or food generally, I opted for chemicals. And frequently in all-you-can-eat restaurants.

And because in Ireland I was brought up to always clear my plate, all-you-can-eat restaurants provided a real moral problem. As did people’s houses where everyone always cooked enough for small countries.

The sedentary lifestyle didn’t help and within 6 months of living in the Land of Sugar and Salt I had increased my weight by almost 50%. I was literally a man and a half.

Eventually I reversed that trend. By taking control of my life and buying food that wasn’t junk. It sounds simple but ignoring all processed foods and conjuring up regular meals from what was left did not come naturally.

My favourite food website in Ireland is called Not Junk Food. Because it’s all about the simple cooking of fresh ingredients.

Today Not Junk Food shows you how to cook the best bacon & cabbage, the nearest meal we have in Ireland to a national dish - even if America still insists on the non-typical Irish dish of Corned Beef & Cabbage for its supposed traditional Irish food.

You’re looking at actual meals prepared and cooked in Ireland so if you want to see what people in Ireland are eating, don’t ask me - have a look at Not Junk Food.

More on Irish Food:
   • Turkeyed Out In Ireland
   • A Vegan Irish Recipe
   • Sausages in Ireland are NOT called Bangers
   • Chicken Sandwich Imperialism

Read: Not Junk Food »

Once again you have a full day of activities for the whole family on St Patrick’s Day at the Irish Museum and Cultural Center (IMCC) in Kansas City’s Union Station.

Location/Parking
The IMCC is located in the lower level, west wing of Union Station, where you get 3 hours free parking.

Admission
Entrance to the Museum for St Patrick’s Day is free with some activities carrying a small fee or suggested donation.

St. Patrick’s Day, Wednesday March 17, 2010 at the Irish Center

Family Fair
The Family Fair runs all day, from 10am - 4pm, which means you can go before or after the parade - as well as during of course. There are refreshments available.

11 am - 1 pm - Shamrocker Irish Guitar game
1:30 pm - Reddest Hair contest
1:45 pm - Wee Little Parade through Union Station, led by piper Jody Watson

All-Day Activities for All:
   • Face painting
   • Irish balloon figures
   • Celtic art “stained glass”
   • Storytelling
   • Song leading
   • Plant a shamrock to take home
   • Green hair and nail painting
   • Scavenger hunt
   • Your name as Gaeilge (in Irish)
   • Genealogy lookups
   • Irish tourism and classic movies

Nelly Don “A Stitch in Time” program, by Terence O’Malley is on at 1:30 pm, in Union Station’s Town Hall. $2 is the suggested donation, with tea and scones (that I presume you receive rather than give for entry)

See the IMCC’s website for more information.

Other St Patrick’s Day & Irish Events in KC
I’ll post these events on the Kansas City Irish events calendar.

Read: St Patrick’s Day 2010 at the Irish Museum & Cultural Center of KC »

For those of you who want to sing the Irish national anthem but don’t want to learn the Irish language, or have learned it but find that all that fighting talk is not how you wish to celebrate a small open economy with candles in its windows, I give you now an alternative anthem

Specially recorded for The Irish Times with St. Patrick’s Day almost upon us, is “Ireland, Ireland!” by The Duckworth Lewis Method - who you may know as Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh.

So yes, it’s not a million miles away from the “My Lovely Horse” of Father Ted fame.

Called “Ireland, Ireland!”, I believe in the tradition of Filthy, Rich, & Catflap (successor series to The Young Ones) playing Trivial Pursuit and “Iceland comma Rejkjavik full-stop” that this new anthem should be called “Ireland Comma Ireland Exclamation Mark”.

Here are the lyrics - you can listen or download the song from The Irish Times

Ireland, Ireland!
By The Duckworth Lewis Method

Ireland, Ireland, damp sod of earth
lost on the surf of the North Atlantic.
Ireland, Ireland, mountains and mist,
Vodka and chips, it’s so romantic.

Joyce and Heaney, Beckett and Wilde,
Bill O’Herlihy, Dunphy and Giles,
Evans, Hewson, Mullen and Clayton,
Westlife and Jedward the pride of our nation!

Ireland, Ireland, once we were poor,
Then we were wealthy; now we are poor again.
Cows and horses, donkeys and sheep,
Munster and Leinster, Connacht and ******.

Chinese, Polish, Africans too,
Doing the jobs we don’t want to do.
An Irish stew, a nation of nations,
Working for peanuts in petrol stations.

Ireland, Ireland, you are the best
Place to the west of Wales and Scotland.
Sometimes it’s heaven, sometimes it’s hell,
But I’d rather be Irish than anything else.

Written by ‘Duckworth & Lewis’ c.2010

And from the article in the Irish Times by Elaine Edwards, here’s Thomas Walsh’s thoughts on how “Ireland, Ireland!” might fare:

We’re completely at the whim of The Irish Times and the nation. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves, but we’d like them to sing it before the Scottish game this weekend.

Read: “Ireland, Ireland!” The Alternative Irish National Anthem »

The 3 gigs on St Patrick’s Day by Rattle & Hum, Kansas City’s U2 tribute band, have been added to the KC Irish Events calendar.

That’s 3 - one in the morning at the KC Live! thing in the P&L, one in the afternoon at the Beaumont Club, and the final one in the evening at the Irish Hooley in Waldo co-hosted by Lew’s Grill & Bar & The Well, though R&H are appearing at The Well.

Times etc are on the Kansas City Irish events calendar.

Read: U2 Tribute Band Rattle & Hum on St Patrick’s Day in KC 2010 »

Ashley Davis is back in Kansas.

Since leaving Kansas Ashley has studied and performed in Nashville, studied Irish music in Ireland - earning a Masters in Traditional Irish Music at the University of Limerick (where her father was a guest lecturer), performed regularly in New York, written & performed music for movies, and been an artist in residence of the Isle of Man.

At the University of Limerick, she specialized in DADGAD guitar, which included studying and working with John Spillane. After Limerick Davis was chosen as the soloist for Michael Flatleys Lord of the Dance where she went on to spend a year.

In October Davis moved back to Lawrence and although she is performing in her former home of New York city on St Patrick’s Day, her new - and original - home is not getting neglected.

Ashley Davis is performing 2 concerts at the Lawrence Arts Center this Sunday, March 14, 2010. At 2pm there’s a “Celtic Kids Show” followed at 7pm by “Celtic Music”. In both performances Ashley is accompanied by native Irish speaker, the harpist Cormac De Barra.

In case you don’t know, Cormac De Barra has played with The Chieftains and the Irish Harp Orchestra, Clannad, Cathy Jordan (of Dervish), Liam Ó Maonlaí, Brian Kennedy, and Moya Brennan. Have a listen to De Barra on MySpace.

The pair will perform tracks from her Davis’ new album, “Down by the Sea,” that she recorded last year in Dublin. The 11-song disc features a who’s who of traditional Irish musicians, including The Chieftains’ Paddy Moloney, Cherish the Ladies’ Joanie Madden and Clannad’s Moya Brennan.

Davis stresses her belief that traditional Irish music is something that grows:

“I see that it really needs to have people creating music that is a nod at the tradition but it’s also new. It’s not the same song being done in a different way over and over again. … If they like the voice, they’re going to buy your album. It doesn’t have to have ‘Danny Boy’ on every record.”

See Ashley’s official website

Read more about Ashley Davis, including her fans in the Irish literary world, in the Lawrence Journal-World

These events have been added to the KC Irish Events calendar

Read: Irish Music by Ashley Davis »

Well actually a magazine.

The current edition (#12 March-April, 2010) of KC Studio, Kansas City’s guide to the performing, visual, and cinematic arts, features a host of people from the Kansas City Irish community that we know and love.

Starting at page 40 in its online version (38 on the printed page) you can read Rachel Casey on the Irish Museum & Cultural Center, Renata Henley on teaching the Irish language, Kerry Browne on neighborhood and community, Bob Reeder on heritage and Irish music, and Ian Byrne on national identity and folk rock.

Read: KC Irish Get Their Name In The Paper »

The family friendly Snake Saturday Parade & Festival (with its adjacent BBQ Contest) in NKC boasts the largest St Patrick’s related event in the KC Metro area. Presumably after the main Kansas City St Patrick’s Day parade itself that is? Correction The Snake Saturday parade is indeed larger than the Kansas City one with 125 floats/entries to KC’s 112. And Brookside also has more parade entries with 124.

Parade
The 2010 parade route starts at 14th & Swift, goes north to Armour, east to Howell and south to 18th Ave. You’re advised to get there between 9:30 and 10am if you can (the parade starts at 11am) , drive the route and figure out where you want to be.

The parade theme is “2010: An Irish Odyssey”. Harry Baker will be announcing from the Judges’ Reviewing Stand at Armour & Howell. Debbie Van Pelt-McEnroe will announce in front of CVS at Armour & Swift.

Parking
There’s tons of FREE parking. If you want to hear info about the floats, park near Armour & Swift or Armour & Howell. If you want to be near the festival, try to park near 18th Ave, near the bowling center.

Weather
Accuweather forecast is currently showing cloudy but dry in the morning, 43 at 10am, and getting up to 48 when the parade ends, and 50 by 3pm - with only a slight chance of rain at 2pm.

Festival
From 10am - 3pm at 18th Avenue & Fayette

Carnival Midway, Yummy Food, Race Car Show, Mascot Mania
FREE Childrens’ Square open from 11am - 3pm includes kiddy train rides, petting zoo, balloons, face painting, pony rides & entertainers from TheaterTech

BBQ Contest
The Missouri Championship Barbecue Contest will still be held adjacent to the Snake Saturday Festival. This year it is being hosted by NKC’s Rotary Club. For information see www.nkcrotary.org

Irish Events
Snake Saturday Parade & Festival are posted on the KC Irish Events calendar

Read: Snake Saturday 2010 North Kansas City »