Darina Allen: A recipe for my favourite Irish stew and celebrate Mother's Day with cake

"If cooking isn’t your forte, you could treat your mum to a slap up meal in anything from a ritzy restaurant to the local café."

This this a recipe for my favourite comforting Irish stew

There’s a special day allocated to celebrate almost anything one can think of these days but I’m sure we all agree that if ever a celebration was warranted, it’s Mother’s Day.

It’s a movable feast so keeping up with the annual date is tricky enough. Here in these islands, it’s rooted in the Christian observance of Lent so Mothering Sunday is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, exactly 3 weeks before Easter. Not only does it land on a different date each year, but it’s celebrated at different times around the world. If your mum is in the US, it’ll be the second Sunday in May.