When the O’Brien sisters are cooking together, they’re listening to The Irish Balladeers.
The decades-old local band plays traditional Irish music at venues in Northeast Pennsylvania. The O’Briens listened to them on a cassette tape growing up.
The sisters, Amalia O’Brien Thomas and WVIA’s Haley O’Brien, often make their own version of shepherd’s pie around St. Patrick’s Day.
Shepherd's pie with a twist
Shepherd’s pie is a comfort meal made with ground meat, vegetables and potatoes all baked together.
A traditional shepherd’s pie recipe uses ground lamb, but the O’Briens like to make it with ground beef. Some refer to the dish as cottage pie when it’s made without lamb.
“We're doing the ground beef style here,” Amalia said. “I think it's good to have a different variation of your dish, because that's what makes it special.”
There are many ways to personalize the dish.
The meat is cooked with vegetables and the mixture is then topped with mashed potatoes. Haley likes to add carrots, corn and zucchini to hers.
“I would put peas in mine,” Amalia said.
But Haley doesn’t like peas. The meat is usually cooked with onions, too, but they skip that step.
To season the dish, they use garlic powder, salt and pepper.
“We're Irish. We don't go crazy with the seasonings,” Amalia said. “I sprinkled some paprika on top, though, for a little flavoring there.”
Scranton Irish
Born and raised in South Scranton, the O’Briens have always considered Ireland a second home.
Their dad, Fergal O’Brien, immigrated from Ireland to New York City in the 1980s and eventually settled in Scranton.
He was a member of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Association of Lackawanna County and founded the local group Irish Organizations United (IOU).
IOU educated the community about Irish history and hosted events including a Bloody Sunday memorial vigil.
The group organized a visit from political leader Gerry Adams in 1996 to speak about peace in Northern Ireland.
Adams is the former president of the political party Sinn Fein who some associate with the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Fergal was outspoken about injustices and encouraged people to learn about and discuss them.
Fergal died from cancer in March 2022 and his funeral was held at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton on St. Patrick’s Day.
The O’Briens wear their heritage on their sleeve.
“We just want to follow in those footsteps,” Amalia said. “We always like to show our pride, especially locally.”
Haley studied abroad in Ireland at the University of Limerick. She spent four months living there and had the chance to shadow her late grandmother, Mam'Brien, who was a radio host in Ireland.
Amalia has visited, too, and named her son after dad’s hometown — Cashel in County Tipperary.
“It means rock or castle in Irish,” Amalia said. “He's our little rock.”
The O’Brien family celebrates St. Patrick’s Day differently every year.
As kids, Amalia and Haley marched with the parade committee and took Irish dance lessons. Amalia played the snare drum with the Greater Scranton Black Diamonds Pipe Band for a few years.
This year, they will take 3-year-old Cashel to the parade in Scranton.
And on St. Patrick’s Day, the Irish Balladeers are playing at Andy Gavin’s.
The O'Brien sisters' shepherd's pie
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef (or lamb)
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup diced carrots
1.5 lb. russett potatoes
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cheddar cheese
salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown the ground beef in a large pan on medium heat with salt and pepper. Then, add the worcestershire sauce and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and tomato paste and stir. Add the beef broth and vegetables and bring to a boil. Then let it simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put the meat mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish and begin working on the mashed potatoes. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces and boil until fork tender. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. Stir in butter, sour cream and milk. Mash the potatoes with half the shredded cheese. Add the potatoes to the dish and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
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