A word can mean many things. For millions, epiphany signifies a holy day on the church calendar, the Feast of Epiphany which commemorates the Magi’s presentation of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn Christ child. As the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Epiphany also marks the last festive occasion of the holiday season. Finally, the American Heritage Dictionary defines epiphany as “a sudden comprehension of the essence or meaning of something.”
James Joyce ingeniously used all three definitions to full advantage in “The Dead” the closing tale of The Dubliners. The story takes place on the liturgical Feast of Epiphany at a traditional Epiphany dinner. The plot concerns the personal epiphany of the story’s main character, Gabriel Conroy.
According to Stanislaus Joyce in the book My Brother’s Keeper, his brother James thought of personal epiphanies as “psychological slips by which people betrayed the very things they were most careful to conceal.” It was Joyce’s preferred artistic device to expose a narrative’s central theme.
Gabriel Conroy is depicted as a man consumed by his ego. He doesn’t realize his gift of a gold coin embarrasses the serving girl. He escapes his cousin’s music recital by slipping away to sip brandy int he drawing room. He abandons an aged female guest when she prattles on about her mundane life. He frets endlessly about the speech he will deliver. He sits at the head of the table, carves the goose, and makes the formal toast. He is only at ease when he is the center of attention.
As the tale draws to its dramatic close, Gabriel’s wife is moved by a piece of music which reminds her of a young man who died for love of her when she was sent away to convent school from her home in Galway. When Gabriel quizzes her about the past, he begins to step outside himself. He realizes he never really knew her, and he sees how cut off from the world he has been. Listening to snow falling outside his window, he feels that “his own identity was fading out into a gray impalpable world…” and he experiences an epiphany of communion with all of existence devoid of ego and impersonal as the snow falling “faintly through the universe…upon all the living and the dead.”
In 1987, filmmaker John Huston translated Joyce’s allegorical tale to film. It is the West that represents the essence of Ireland to the characters, and it was in County Galway where Huston owned a family estate for nearly twenty years. Enlisting the talents of his son Tony who crafted the screenplay adaptation, and daughter Anjelica who starred in the feature role of Gabriel’s wife Kate (and who like Kate was schooled in a Galway convent), The Dead was the legendary director’s final opus — a tribute to the Ireland he so loved, and a metaphor for his oneness with its culture.
One of the film’s most memorable moments is the after-dinner toast. The camera sweeps around the table, all eyes riveted on Gabriel who praises Irish hospitality. Though earlier another guest had called him a “West Briton” for advocating things Continental, Gabriel’s words foreshadow his ultimately realized union with Ireland.
“No tradition does our country more honor than its overwhelming hospitality which some might consider a failing but if so it’s a princely one. Ladies and gentlemen, we are living in a skeptical [and] thought-tormented world where the values of the past are often at a discount. But it gives me joy that under this roof the spirit of good old-fashioned warmhearted courteous Irish hospitality is still alive among us. Long may it continue!”
As John Huston’s Irish retreat, St. Clerans manor house in the rolling Galway hills witnessed many a festive occasion. A passionate huntsman, Huston served as Master of the Galway Blazers, and the estate was renowned for its lavish apres-hunt events. The Hollywood connection added another measure of glamour and notoriety with film stars Cary Grant, Liz Taylor, Peter O’Toole and Marlon Brando numbering among the many celebrities who experienced fine Irish hospitality as Huston’s guests.
Built in 1784 by the Burke family (one of Galway’s original 14 clans), St. Clerans is a beautiful example of a Georgian manor house. The Burkes had occupied the land since the 13th Century, building first a castle known as Issercleran. The family estate name was changed to St. Clerans when the house was constructed. In 1811, bay-window wings were added by Robert O’Hara Burke (1820-61), the daring explorer who perished while leading the ill-fated Burke-Wills expedition through Australia.
After his children had grown, Huston sold the property and it remained a private home until 1997 when the 45-acre estate was acquired by entertainment mogul and hotel entrepreneur Merv Griffin. Proud of his Irish roots, Griffin says smiling, “My heritage first drew me to Ireland, and now I have a reason to be here for many years to come.”
Deep in the lush green Galway countryside close by the village of Craughwell, a tree-shaded drive winds through the grounds past a waterfall and the ivy-covered ruins of the ancestral Burke tower house. A last turn of the road opens onto a courtyard with splashing fountain, reflecting pool and a view of the granite manor, its welcoming yellow door framed by a colonnaded portico.
Griffin spared no expense refurbishing the estate. The Georgian charm remains intact, and each room is furnished with the finest Irish carpets and antiques, gilt sconces, exquisite crystal chandeliers, and an international collection of art treasures. Butter and cream colored walls, plus vases of fresh flowers positioned throughout interject a subtle California nuance.
Each of the eleven guestroom doors bears the crest of an Irish family including Burke, O’Hara, Yeats, Joyce, and Griffin’s own coat of arms. The octagonal Anjelica Suite, once the actress’ painting studio, reflects the happy years she spent in residence. Bedrooms boast stunning views of the countryside and carved fireplaces as well as marble bathrooms, oversize beds, CD players, two-line phones, and remote control television.
Instead of a gym and swimming pool, St. Clerans offers quiet moments in the library, tea by the drawing room fire, wooded trails, gardens, a trout stream, and a par-3 golf course.
It is the gracious dining room where nobility, international notables, and cinema luminaries once gathered that affords the experience of quintessential Irish hospitality with the best of Ireland’s culinary traditions married to impeccable international cuisine. Guests could easily be offered herb-poached Irish lobster with champagne sauce, or Magret duck with peach confit followed by a refreshing lemon-vodka sorbet. Menus feature seasonal specialties and local products including luscious farmhouse cheeses and choice regional whiskeys.
“I am not exactly the gentry,” Griffin admits, “but I am really comfortable here, and I hope to give St. Clerans a future as memorable as its historic past.” As Joycean character epiphanies reveal the story’s theme, the attention to historic detail and gracious hospitality at St. Clerans reveals strong indication that Griffin will succeed. Sláinte!
Recipes
Oak-smoked Rack of Lamb
with Wholegrain Mustard Potato Mash and Garlic Confit
4 French trimmed half-racks of lamb
3 handfuls of oak sawdust for smoking
10 juniper berries
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 medium/large potatoes
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
1 1/4 cups beef stock
1/4 cup of red wine: Pinot Noir
3 tablespoons cold butter cut in cubes
12 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper
fresh rosemary sprigs for garnishing.
Prepare a smoker by lining a heavy-based frying pan with aluminum foil. Spread the sawdust, brown sugar and juniper berries onto the foil and place a wire rack over it. Season the racks of lamb with salt and pepper. Place the lamb on the smoker wire rack and cover with a stainless steel bowl (same size as the pan.) Put the smoker on a high heat until the sawdust starts burning and smoke comes out of the pan. Turn down the heat to medium and smoke the lamb for approximately 20 minutes or until the sawdust is burnt out. The meat is now flavored but not fully cooked.
Peel te potatoes and boil until tender. Drain and mash the potatoes, then add the mustard, salt and pepper to taste.
For the sauce, reduce the beef stock together with the red wine by half and blend the cold butter cubes into the residue for a buttery texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To make the garlic confit, toss the garlic cloves in olive oil and cook in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes until tender. Remove the garlic, chop it finely and set aside.
Cook the smoked rack of lamb until medium in the oven for 15-20 minutes (30 minutes for well-done.) Remove and separate the racks into cutlets.
Arrange the mashed potatoes in the center of four warmed plants and circle with the lamb cutlets. Pour the warm red wine sauce around the lamb. Garnish with the garlic confit and fresh rosemary sprigs. Makes 4 servings.
Recipe courtesy of St. Clerans Manor House
Irish Whiskey Trifle
Note: Assemble the trifle 24 hours before serving so the flavors can age and mellow.
2 packages of Ladyfinger cakes (open and let air dry for 24 hours before using.
Raspberry jam
Irish whiskey
1/2 pound ripe pears (peeled, sliced, and held in lemon-water to keep from discoloring)
1/2 pound firm bananas (peeled, sliced, and held in lemon-water to keep from discoloring)
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
1/4 cup slivered almonds
Custard
3 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla pod, slit
In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar, then put aside. Put the milk and vanilla pod into a non-reactive saucepan (enamel or stainless steel) over medium heat and bring almost to a boil. Remove from the heat and discard vanilla pod. Gradually whisk the milk into the egg mixture. Return the milk-egg mixture to the saucepan over very low heat and stir until it thickens. Do not let the custard boil or it will curdle. As soon as the custard thickens, remove it form heat and let it cool. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming over the top surface.
Assembly
Split each Ladyfinger and spread the inner surface with a thin layer of raspberry jam. Use them to line the bottom and sides of a lovely glass dessert bowl.
Sprinkle generously with Irish whiskey. Make lawyers of sliced fruit, custard, and Ladyfingers until the bowl is full. Sorinkle each layer with additional whiskey. Spread whipped cream over all. Garnish with slivered almonds. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Recipe: Classic Irish Recipes by Georgina Campbell. Sterling Publishing Co., New York.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the February / March 1999 issue of Irish America.
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