Three delicious bakes to celebrate St Patrick’s Day!

I look after communications and marketing at Dairy Diary. I’m a busy mum and love home baking and cooking for my family. In my spare time I enjoy visiting the theatre, eating out with friends and exploring the great outdoors!

17th March is St Patrick’s Day

It’s only a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland but on this day many people all around the world join the Irish in celebrating St Patrick’s Day!

Some fascinating facts about St Patrick’s Day …

1) St Patrick was actually British and quite possibly Welsh! Legend suggests that he was sold into slavery in Ireland when he was a teenager, found religion and converted Irish pagans to Christianity. The date of his death has been observed in Ireland as a religious holiday for 1500 years.

2) It’s said that St. Patrick used shamrocks (aka clovers) to explain the holy trinity (God, Son and Holy Spirit) to the Irish.

3) In the 1960’s, a law was passed that allowed pubs to open on St Patricks Day – before this time, the day was a quieter, more religious occasion.

4) The first St Patrick’s Day parade took place in Boston in the United States in 1737. Ireland’s first parade was held in Waterford in 1903.

5) The colour green is synonymous with St Patricks Day but Patrick himself apparently preferred blue! It wasn’t until the 1798 Irish Rebellion that wearing the clover and the colour green became a symbol of nationalism

6) Rivers, monuments and even ski resorts have all been turned green to commemorate St Patricks Day in different parts of the world. It is also common for food and drink to be turned green on this day!

7) Thanks to the popularity of Irish pubs throughout the world, during St. Patrick’s Day, the worldwide consumption of Guinness almost triples – from 5.5 million pints on a regular day to 13 million pints. That’s 150 pints per second! Cheers!