By Keighley’s Mike Armstrong, an award-winning master baker with a big passion for baking...

IT'S that time of the year again folks when Irish eyes are smiling and St Patrick's Day is just around the corner.

As the holiday often involves parades and celebrating in restaurants and pubs, what is the history of St Patrick’s Day?

Interestingly, St Patrick’s Day celebrates the feast day for Ireland’s patron saint. You guessed it – his name was Saint Patrick!

After a tumultuous life, St Patrick worked to convert the citizens of Ireland to Christianity way back in the 400s. However, St Patrick’s Day didn’t become official until much later. In 1631, the feast day was made official by the Church. Many, many years later we still celebrate this important Irish holiday. In fact, it is so popular that it is observed not just in Ireland, but around the world.

St Patrick’s Day has a lot of very distinct symbols associated with it. To help you plan your day, here are a few symbols to include in your outfits and decorations. Shamrocks – also known as clovers – are commonly found with three leaves; the four-leaf clover is said to be extremely lucky.

Leprechauns, these mythical creatures, are supposed to be quite small and not very friendly. However, they are quite popular because they own pots of gold that you might be able to get your hands on. If you see a rainbow and follow it to the end, legend has it you will find the leprechaun’s gold.

Green perhaps has the most famous association with St Patrick’s Day. Since green symbolises Ireland, it is the perfect colour to represent this Irish holiday. Many people say if you don’t wear green on the day then you will get pinched. It’s probably best to wear green on March 17 just in case!

Another entertaining way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day is to make delicious themed foods. There are a few types of food you can make depending on how much you like to cook. Why not try traditional Irish foods? When you think of classic Irish food, you probably picture a feast of Irish stew, cottage pie, black pudding and plenty of spuds. But what about Irish soda bread? Almost every family in Ireland has its own recipe for this delicious bread, hand-written on a slip of floury paper, tucked away in an old cookbook. While its ingredients may be simple, soda bread is an Irish tradition and baked in droves on St Patrick’s Day.

RECIPE

ST PATRICK’S DAY GUINNESS AND CHEDDAR CHEESE SODA BREAD

Ingredients:

454g/1lb plain or bread flour

100g/3.5oz porridge oats

Teaspoon of salt

20g/1oz baking powder

2 large crunchy dessert apples, roughly chopped with the skins on

100g/3.5oz grated Cheddar cheese

200ml/7fl oz buttermilk or live yoghurt or milk

250ml/9fl oz Guinness or stout

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas Mark 6 then grease a large baking tray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the flour, salt, oats and baking powder, then stir in the apples and 75g/3oz of the cheese.

3. Make a well in the centre and stir in the buttermilk and Guinness until you have a soft workable dough.

4. Lightly knead the dough on a floured work surface and shape it into a ball.

5. Place onto the baking tray, pat down slightly, score a cross halfway through the dough, and sprinkle over the remaining cheese.

6. Bake for around 30 minutes or until golden brown and well risen. Enjoy the remaining Guinness while its baking, you’ve earned it.