Ashford College - St Patrick's Day 2023 at Ashford College

Our Level 1 Employability students are taught by ALS Tutor Kate, who is Irish. To celebrate her culture (just in time for our main Celebration of Culture next week), she has been teaching her students about Irish folklore, music, food and greetings.

Students started the day by learning some key Irish phrases to celebrate the holiday, which you can learn for yourself below!

Dia Duit - this is one of the Irish ways to say Hello! Reflecting the country's religious history, it translates to "God be with you".

Slainte - this word means "Health" and is used interchangeably alongside "Cheers".

Céad Míle Fáilte - this phrase is literally translated to "One hundred thousand welcomes" as Fáilte means welcome. This is a common greeting in Ireland.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig - the end bit may give the meaning of this phrase away - it means "St Patrick's Day"!

Students today in Kate's class have also been learning how to do some Irish dancing, as well making traditional Soda Bread. This easy loaf can be made in under an hour and doesn't need proving, and also doesn't use yeast. Why not give the following recipe below a try?

Easy Soda Bread Recipe:

Ingredients:

½ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
500ml buttermilk
500g wholemeal flour

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Put the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and stir. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, mixing quickly with a large fork to form a soft dough.
Put onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Form into a round loaf and flatten the dough slightly before placing on a greased baking tray.
Cut a cross on the top and bake for about 1 hour (or until the loaf sounds hollow when you tap it).
Cool the soda bread (ideally on a wire rack) and serve.