Six loaves of soda bread lay in a basket alongside a pad of butter. Voices mingled with Irish music playing through the speakers.
Members of the Irish American Community at IU gathered Tuesday for a soda bread social complete with bread, butter, stew and conversation.
For Irish exchange student Lorna Reid, the event was a piece of home in a new country.
“Back home soda bread was definitely a staple,” she said. “So many afternoons were spent eating soda bread and drinking tea. Our child-minder growing up would make soda bread with us, and we’d bring it to school in our lunch boxes.”
Staff sponsor Mara Bernstein said soda bread can be considered a symbol of Ireland and part of everyday life. She said when people think of Ireland, an image of a loaf of soda bread with butter alongside tea with milk often comes to mind.
Soda bread also takes Bernstein back to her year of research in Ireland, when an Irish woman brought her into her home to show her how to make soda bread, she said.
“I had all these notes on how to make soda bread in my notebook, and this woman just invited me into her home and her space and shared a piece of her heritage with me,” she said. “It really stood out to me and contributed to me falling in love with Ireland.”
She said this experience and the symbolic nature of soda bread is representative of Irish hospitality, and this hospitality is what became the focus of her research.
“That’s the golden word,” she said. “The Irish just have such a welcoming nature about them. When I visited Ireland what really stood out was their hospitality, and that’s one of the things I think they’re known most for.”
Despite this image of hospitality, Bernstein said there are many other negative stereotypes associated with the Irish.
“This club kind of gives us the opportunity to discuss some of these negative stereotypes,” she said. “The things Ireland is so beloved for — their ability to have fun and have a good time — is also one of the things that vilify Ireland. A lot of people still have that image of Ireland being full of drunks.”
Community liaison Devin Blankenship said this is part of why discussing Irish culture is so beneficial. Another reason is because even though so many people in the United States are of Irish descent, Irish culture and language are often overlooked.
“I think it may be because of certain patterns of colonialism,” he said. “When a lot of people first move to the U.S., they try to assimilate and adapt so that their children can really be seen as American, but now I think it’s important for us to go back and remember our Irish roots and culture and history and heritage.”
Bernstein said she encourages everyone, regardless of Irish heritage, to come learn about Irish culture. She said she is not of Irish descent but has an interest and love for the culture that forms a connection to Ireland.
“I’m not Irish, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have an interest in Ireland,” she said. “No one questions it if someone who isn’t French or German or whatever learns the language, so it should really be the same with the Irish. We really want to bring in people who want to learn more about Ireland regardless of their Irish descent.”
