In the monasteries of early medieval Ireland, the meal (proind) follows the rhythm of prayer and liturgical fasts. The foundation is the bánbhia — the 'white foods': milk, butter, fresh cheese (gruth), whey (meadhg), accompanied by a flat barley or oat bread. Light ale quenches thirst, and only feast days see meat appear. There is no distinction between starter, main course, and dessert: you share, in the same moment, what the land and the herd have given, always keeping a portion for the poor who knock at the door.

Brigid is the saint of milk and the churn: tradition credits her with a thousand miracles of multiplied butter to feed the hungry. Golden butter, salted or buried, is the thread running through her entire table — precious fat, currency, and a sign of Irish hospitality.