The porch at Warehouse 535 in Lafayette provided a dry spot Saturday on a rainy day for revelers to share the blarny and a Guinness at the Celtic Bayou Festival. The kilted Cajuns are Blake Vincent, from left, Travis McCoy, Peter McCarther, Chelline Carter and Daniel Carter.

Feasts and festivals common for revelry

St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated Thursday, but the Irish have already been cooking and have celebrations in honor of the patron saint of Ireland.

One of the world’s most popular saints, according to Catholic.org, Patrick was born in Roman Britain but at the age of 14 was captured by Irish pirates and taken to Ireland.

At 20 years of age, after having a dream in which God told him to leave Ireland, Patrick wrote in later years, he escaped along the coast and returned to Britain. Patrick had another vision that inspired him to study for the priesthood. Then for 40 years he traveled throughout Ireland converting the Druids and pagans to faith in God, the Website said.

St. Patrick often used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity and entire kingdoms were eventually converted to Christianity after hearing Patrick’s message, the Website said. Patrick worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions.

After years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461, as Saul had died — where he had built the first Irish church. He is believed to be buried in Down Cathedral, Downpatrick. His grave was marked in 1990 with a granite stone.

“Patrick was a humble, pious, gentle man, whose love and total devotion to and trust in God should be a shining example to each of us,” said the Catholic.org Website. “So complete was his trust in God, and of the importance of his mission, he feared nothing, not even death.”

St. Patrick’s poem of faith and trust in God said, “Christ be within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ inquired, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.”

Ode to St. Patrick

Like many of the holidays that have foundations in Christianity, St. Patrick’s Day is now often a merriment celebration which includes libations, food and Irish music.

The National Ancient Order of Hibernians, established in 1836, is the oldest and largest Irish-Catholic organization in the United States. Members of the Lafayette chapter were anointed with rain from heaven as they celebrated a new inaugural event March 11 and 12 — the Celtic Bayou Festival.

The family-friendly event began with a Friday night crawfish boil and continued throughout the rainy Saturday with the food booths and vendor food booths nearly isolated by the rain.

Children donning mud boots eventually played in the mud puddles outside the children’s activity tent. The music and dancing was never daunted inside a dry building.

Kilt-wearing festival-goers sang along with the Irish bands and cheered Ryan’s School of Irish Dance students as they performed to live music. Area genealogists sat behind laptops to help anyone interested in tracing their Irish roots.

From the Teche Area

Among the wondering crowd was Trent Oubre of Loureauville. A German by descent, Oubre said about his experience at the festival, “The Shepard’s Pie from Saint Street Inn was delicious. I really enjoyed the collaborations of the various artists and cultures and how they seamlessly demonstrated the ties between Celtic music and Cajun music. Sean Bruce was my favorite performance of the day. David Greely and Megan Brown with Tony Davoren were great, too, because they told interesting stories of the meaning of the songs they performed.”

N.I. Competitor

Kernis Louviere of New Iberia was one of the competing chefs in the Guinness Cook Off. Only seven teams competed but Louviere said the judges “didn’t pick anything Irish. It was cowboy stuff, a gravy with smothered potatoes and smothered pork.”

As the chef at Halliburton in New Iberia, Louviere takes his food preparations seriously starting with the curing of the pork bellies.

“Cajun people cook mostly with the green pork bellies,” Louviere said. “They cure their own. We cured ours in brown sugar, salt and lemongrass, then Guinness beer and pork stock. We boiled some pork bones from Boston butts and rib meat and reduced it down. My glaze was a reduction of Steen’s syrup, balsamic vinegar and raspberry chipolte sauce, it’s like a pepper jelly.”

Louviere also served portions of Irish stew with lamb served with homemade Irish soda bread. His recipes are part of today’s Irish cuisine. He is usually called upon to cook for a boucheree but has bragging rights in New Iberia for winning 10 out of the 26 World Championship Gumbo Cook-offs sponsored annually by the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce.

“Whatever the client wants we do,” he said. “Going to Houston for a boucheree, home for a gumbo cook-off, pork stews. I’ve been teasing everyone I got my Irish recipes from the Betty Mc-Crocker Cookbook.”

In spite of the rain, attendance Saturday for the new Irish festival was good and the crowd joined in the revelry. Louviere told organizers, “You better thank God that it rained today, if it had not, you wouldn’t have been able to handle the crowd.”

Turnabout Fair Play

Mark Foley and Kevin McKay, president and vice president of the Lafayette chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, said some of the members are planning to join the New Iberia Marching Men on Thursday for its annual walk down Main Street to Mulligan’s Pub.

Irish-clad members of the Fir Màirseàil Nua Iberia will parade on Main Street at 6 p.m. as they do every St. Patrick’s Day. The nonprofit civic and social organization is dedicated to the organization and celebration of the Irish holiday highlighted by a march ending at Mulligan’s Irish Pub on Iberia Street.

The members meet regularly at the pub but can often be seen at E&E Sports Bar and Black Dog Cigar store.

Ken Munnerlyn, captain and secretary for the New Iberia Marching Men, said at any given time, they can find a quorum at Mulligan’s.

His contribution to today’s recipes feeds the masses and is actually part of their fund-raising efforts to help support the St. Patrick’s Day parade. He said they will be handing out green candy and the annual doubloons uniquely designed each year as a collectible keepsake of the kilted marching clan.

The Fir Màirseàil Nua Iberia, New Iberia Marching Men, are available to march in other similarly organized or dedicated parades or events in the area, Munnerlyn said.