St Patrick’s Day is one of those days that almost anyone can get involved in. From the more serious side of celebrating St Patrick through prayer at a special mass, all the way through the wonderful craic of joining with friends over a pint or three and singing to a wonderful anti-establishment ditty.
Australia gets the jump on the rest of the world, ensuring we’re very much ‘on the way’ by the time those in Ireland and North-Eastern USA get into some of the larger celebrations around the globe.
One of the great traditions of St Patrick’s Day is to enjoy a couple of oysters with your Guinness. If you’re a fan of one (but not the other!) it’s a great way to cross the culinary divide. Oysters make such a perfect match for stout that in Galway the whole place shuts down for a weekend each September for a festival celebrating this indulgent pair. It’s delicious – much more than the uninitiated might be willing to think.
On the Sunday, it’s a great opportunity to try this for yourself before the real festivities kick in on Monday morning (and perhaps you have to go to work!). The Canberra Irish Club will have plenty of oysters for you to enjoy with your Guinness, but there is also the ever-popular Bloody Mary that also makes a good match for the tasty little molluscs. You can pick up a glass of naughty tomato juice, along with an oyster for only $5.00, or you can grab a dozen freshly-shucked via the bistro.
The big day – of course – is Monday 17 March, with the club hosting the ever-popular Irish breakfast bringing more black pudding than you could poke the proverbial stick at. The first plates land at 7.00am, and there will be Irish dancers performing traditional routines and raising funds for their next competition. With live music from noon, you can be sure that at any time on Monday you can arrive to find a cold pint and a friendly (and perhaps highly enthusiastic) chat!
It all makes for one of the most fun annual events on the social calendar. Be sure to get down to the Canberra Irish over the weekend and on Monday 17 March for another big year of celebration with Canberra’s Irish Community.
Sláinte!
