Métier: Gráinne's Meat and Potatoes

Gráinne's métier was service, especially to those who could not help themselves, so Seamus and Kieran were not surprised when they found notes, like the one below, on the kitchen counter:

 

Boys,

 

St. Kev's needed my help with a troubled lad. Supper is in the refrigerator. Bake at 350 for an hour. Enjoy your hockey game. I'll see you later this evening.

 

Love,

 

Mom

 

P.S. Save some potato bake for me. Rinse your plates—they won't wash themselves.

Penny-Wise: Path to a Parochial Education

Kieran's penny-wise ways and Gráinne's insistence on a sound education, afforded the opportunity for Seamus, the O'Sheehan's only offspring, to attend St. Kevin Parochial School.

Kieran: The Lord of Misrule

Every Gaudete Sunday, for as long as Seamus J. O"Sheehan could remember, his father would revive, on humble scale, a controversial Christmas tradition: The selection of the lord of misrule. Rather than being appointed by lot to reside over yuletide shenanigans that mocked the Church's hierarchy, however, Kieran would anoint himself to this household position as a means to coordinate ( albeit with a modicum of levity) a peaceful rejoicing in the season.
 

"Je suis le Prince de Sots," he would say and then light a rose-colored candle to signal his month-long reign over Christmastime protocol. Everything from the tree selection to the songs performed during the O'Sheehan St. Stephen's Day Procession to taking down the holly on Twelfth Night, this was Kieran's domain. Everything, that is, except what transpired in the O'Sheehan kitchen, for Gráinne was the queen of mince pies and soda bread.

Cloche: Covering Grianne's Baked Goods

Gráinne's Irish soda bread, baked on Saturday mornings and then covered by a fine crystal cloche that Kieran had purchased at a garage sale, would tempt Seamus J. O'Sheehan to break away from whatever book he was reading and reward himself with a late-night snack.

Garage Sales and Garniture

Kieran was fanatical about garage sales. Grainne less so. But she tolerated her husband's acumen for rediscovering relics, allowing some of these historical remnants—such as a vintage American Waltham Watch timepiece—to serve as garniture in the couple's renovated basement.

Happy Birthday, Gráinne: WordSmart's WotD

Moved by Irish mythology and the full moon's luminosity, Nana and Granda named their first-born daughter Gráinne.

Gráinne's Garden: Scarlet Pimpernel

When she wasn't working to secure endangered children or preparing her signature pot roast and noodle dinner, Gráinne often found peace in tending to her garden, which was punctuated with Scarlet pimpernel and blue-eyed grass.

Welkin: Welcome to Heaven, Gráinne

When Gráinne, a selfless volunteer and devoted mother, passed away, those who knew her well heard the welkin ring as their friend, their mother, their champion passed through Heaven's gates.