Our Mom would make this every year for St. Patrick's Day.  When we were kids, she'd come to school with us with enough for the whole class to try.  In later years, she'd make it for friends and drop it off at their houses.  Thanks to Colleen for saving Bridie's recipe!

• 5 cups flour
• 3/4 to 1 cup sugar
• 5 tsp baking powder
• 4 tbsp caraway seeds
• 2 cups raisins (the plumper and moister, the better; baking raisings are good for this)
• 2 sticks butter (8 oz total)
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375º and leave butter out (or microwave just a little) to soften.  Break the eggs into a measuring cup, beat, and fill to 1 cup with buttermilk.  Mix the dry ingredients in a big mixing bowl.  Add butter and buttermilk/eggs, mix with a spoon and then by hand.  It may seem just a little dry and crumbly when it's completely mixed.  Shape into two balls and flatten them a little onto cookie sheets.  Cut an X in the top of each loaf, and paint the tops with some egg.

Bake at 375º for 30 to 40 to 50 minutes... until the center is cooked (to test, poke with a toothpick or skewer to see if any dough still sticks).  This makes two loaves. 

Tips:
- Colleen puts some in muffin trays and bakes them for a little less time to make scones.
- To avoid pesky caraway seeds stuck in your teeth, omit them, or replace the caraway seeds with caraway butter, made by melting 1-2 tbsp of the butter over about half an ounce of caraway seeds in the microwave, and pressing the butter out of the seeds out into a cup using a garlic press.