The old adage “every picture has a story” had a new twist last weekend.
Erin Nelligan, one of more than 100 entrants in the 32nd running of the Irish Soda Bread Contest at Reilly’s Daughter in Oak Lawn, had this to say about the seemingly endless tables of soda bread that awaited the judges:
“Every piece of bread has a story,” the Beverly neighborhood resident said.
Indeed.
“Some of the recipes used are 100 years old,” said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who has been a judge at the event for a quarter of a century.
Nelligan’s recipe figures to be older than that, although an exact origin date is impossible to track down.
See, Nelligan was given the recipe by her mother, Marge Ryan.
Marge got the recipe from her mother Helen Ryan, who was originally from County Mayo in Ireland.
Helen got the recipe from a neighbor named Mrs. Mack and Nelligan is not sure what Mrs. Mack’s first name is.
That’s where the trail ends. Whether Mrs. Mack came up with the recipe on her own or if it was passed down to her is a mystery that will likely go unsolved.
“My grandmother would have been 100 years old this year,” Nelligan said. “It’s possible that the recipe is 150 years old.”
It’s a pretty good one, too.
With a tweak from Marge Ryan and another tweak from Nelligan, this recipe netted her a second-place finish in 2019 and a third-place finish in 2020. Nelligan said the tweaks are a secret that she will not reveal to anyone.
After the contest was canceled in 2021, she was hoping to take the top prize — a trip for two to Ireland — in 2022.
But that award went to another Beverly neighborhood resident, Mary Kay Gavin-Marmo, who is the founder of the Professional Irish Women’s Organization and was a former fashion and beauty editor of the Irish American News. Reilly’s Daughter boss Boz O’Brien said the difference between first and second place was by one point and this was the closest the contest for the championship that he could recall. Sue Sullivan took third place.
O’Brien said he was happy to be able to bring back the event after the pandemic hiatus.
Having that year off had the owner missing the event, which has brought out so many memories.
“When we started, it was just nine ladies from the neighborhood,” he said. “Now it has grown to over 150 entries with celebrity judges.”
He remembers a time when one of the judges — political cartoonist Jack Higgins — cut open an entry and found a bribe.
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“He found two five-dollar bills in the bread,” O’Brien said. “That contestant really wanted to win.”
Although the day of the contest is festive and full of fun, contestants take it seriously, Dart said.
“Some of these events really get competitive,” Dart said. “They spend weeks working on this. When the winners are announced, there is a lot of shouting and it’s exciting.”
Judging after all these years gives the sheriff an appreciation for the popular bread.
“I’ve never been the biggest fan of soda bread,” he said. “But I’ve had some of the best, here. There’s a certain type I like and if I see one in someone else’s bracket, I want to trade with them, but you can’t do that.”
Other judges this year included Evergreen Park Mayor Kelly Burke, State Rep. Frank Hurley, State Sen. Bill Cunningham and 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea.
O’Brien said the judges don’t sample every entry. With 101 this year, and more than 150 in past contests, that would be an impossible task.
Each judge tastes five or six breads and the winning entries out from each judge go into a final round.
Nelligan has come so close in her first three tries and said she will keep trying to win the top prize.
“My girlfriends encouraged me to enter a few years ago,” she said. “They are always with me. I always make two loaves in the morning, so they have one for snacking all day.
“I have a terrible sweet tooth, so it does have a little sweetness to it. It’s extremely moist. I just think it’s the best.”
Mrs. Mack’s recipe will be passed down again to Nelligan’s daughter, Ciara, who is in college.
“She’s in training and has been with me when I made the bread,” Erin said. “My friends say it will stay in good hands with Ciarna.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.