Irish Stew and Candlelight Mass for a Cool St. Patrick’s Day

Our St. Patrick’s Day celebrations took an unexpected turn this year. A short but powerful storm moved through Monday evening. Though it lasted less than 30 minutes, it was intense enough to knock out the power. Fortunately, our generator kicked on, keeping the inconvenience to a minimum. By morning, however, the outage persisted, with no estimated restoration time from the power company.

We learned that power was also out at our church — but of course, Mass was still being said. We headed over to celebrate our parish’s patronal feast. Mass by candlelight proved a quiet delight, though the after-Mass festivities were sadly canceled. Back at home, we made the most of it, enjoying Colleen’s homemade Irish soda bread with our morning coffee.

Thanks to the hardworking utility crews, power was restored by early afternoon — about 16 hours after it went out. After spending some time clearing storm debris around the house, I decided the weather wasn’t exactly inviting for a visit to the local brewery. That Red Ale can wait for another day.

Instead, we sat down early for our traditional Irish beef stew dinner, accompanied by more soda bread. The hearty mix of beef, potatoes, and carrots — made with Guinness Stout — was served with an extra scoop of mashed potatoes, a custom we happily adopted after our travels to the Emerald Isle.

I did manage a wee pour of Redbreast Irish Whiskey after dinner — a proper digestif ahead of the planned indulgence of bread and butter pudding with hot whiskey sauce.

Alas, no cigar this day. By late afternoon, the forecasted overnight snow had faded from the weather app, but I opted to enjoy my drink in the warmth of the living room instead of the cool porch.

Despite the rough start, the day unfolded much as it should — filled with good food, good drink, and proper observance of our saint.

The blustery weather also brought to mind past St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at the long-gone Blue & Gray Brewing. Fredericksburg’s St. Patrick’s — and Oktoberfest — haven’t quite been the same since those days when the festivities stretched across the entire weekend. More often than not, the weather was just as cold and damp then, though I suspect I was made of slightly hardier stock in those years.

Sláinte!