I first heard of Breezy about eight years ago when my cousin met her and suggested she might be someone I’d like to know.

It took me a while but I eventually found her on Facebook. We had a conversation by phone and I got involved in writing songs and creating bread making events for peace in my own neighbourhood.

I eventually met her in person at a special bread festival she organised in Ardara, in Donegal a few years ago. It’s a lovely project to be part of and Breezy now has connections all over the world. A bread project in Venezuela ….. The Bread Houses ….. She has even done breadmaking on Zoom with girls in Syria.

Every day she can she bakes bread for peace, opening her kitchen door and sending it in the four directions so that peace like the aroma of bread may spread around the world.

Some of those songs can be found in the songs section.

Breezy is a native of Glenties, in the Irish County of Donegal.

She has been involved in promoting the ancient tradition of home-baking since 2006. For over a decade she was a Heritage Specialist visiting primary schools throughout the country to engage children in a direct experience of their heritage.

Breezy comes from a background where traditions were very important and it was her realisation that these traditions are fast disappearing that prompted her to launch “Sillybucks”, a project collecting stories, songs, recipes, and cooking methods of days gone by.

In 2006 she published a collection of traditional tales recipes – “Bread, Scones, Stories & Songs”

In 2013 she was involved in organising and facilitating the ‘Born and Bread’ project, as part of the ‘One Donegal Cultural Diversity Month’.

Breezy came up with the ‘Bake Bread for Peace’ idea in 2014, and on October 24th of the same year she organised the first ‘International Bake Bread for Peace’ day. Working mainly through social-media, she encouraged countless individuals, in Ireland and abroad, to share their wishes for World-Peace and bring their neighbours and communities together through the ancient and peaceful activity of baking Bread together.

During 2015 Breezy, along with her wee dog Sheila, a bag of bread soda, and a tub of Bextartar took to the roads of Northern Ireland, to share the idea of Bake Bread for Peace. During her journey, she was hosted by various individuals and families and wherever she stayed she organised an evening of baking, songs and stories, encouraging her hosts to invite family and friends and to turn the evening into a celebration of peace, unity and neighbourliness.

Breezy ended this journey on the steps of Stormont Castle (Northern Ireland’s Parliament buildings), and although she wasn’t allowed (for health and safety reasons!) to bake the bread herself, the Stormont baker used her mother’s recipes for soda bread and Indian meal bread, which were later broken and shared with representatives of all the Members of the Legislative Assembly.

Breezy hopes that Bake Bread for Peace can be more than a one day a year event. For her it is a philosophy, a universal wish, an urge to make a positive change in the world that we are all invited and welcome to take part in.

Breezy wishes to encourage those who wish to organise their own evenings of baking, songs and stories to contact her. She believes in ‘Think globally – Act locally, Peace begins at home’. All that is required is an invitation, and baking ingredients.

“If you want to get involved, I’d be delighted to hear from you!”

Email: breezy.willow@hotmail.com

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