St Patrick's Day in Ireland

The 17th March is a special date for you if you are Irish. The feast day of St Patrick is now a worldwide event,celebrated with parades,merrymaking and a celebration of all that is Irish. But where did this all begin? To answer that, we must of course examine the life of St Patrick and learn how his mission to turn Ireland away from paganism worked.

Patrick or Patricius in Latin, was not actually born in Ireland as might be believed. He was born in fact in Britain, then under the final years of Roman control, during the late 4th or early 5th century. A lot of debate continues on the life of Patrick, as can be imagined, from 1500 years distance. Most agree on the fact that he was captured by Irish raiders when he was about 16. He escaped, and by all accounts, returned to Britain, where he entered the church, eventually becoming a Bishop. On returning to Ireland he continued his mission, and generally believed to have traveled to the north and west of the country, although no churches established then have any record of patronage to Patrick. However, by the 8th century, he had become the patron saint of Ireland, leading historians to believe his influence is far greater than was actually committed to writing. Also, this was the Dark Ages, a time of raids, local wars,battles, where many items would have been pillaged and burned. However there are two letters generally accepted to have been written by Patrick which have survived. Other accounts of Patrick were written some time after his death by the early Irish monks, such as Columbanus. These accounts are contradictory in some respects, but allow us to build up strong evidence of Patrick and give an indicator of his actual influence during those times. His death is believed to have occurred around the year 493 and March 17th is traditionally his death day, and thus the feat day of St Patrick. He is believed to be buried in Downpatrick in Northern Ireland in Down cathedral,alongside another famous Irish saint,St Brigid. The supposed pace of burial is marked with a plaque and large stone and can be visited today. He was reputed to have died in his 120th year.

The legends surrounding St Patrick are well known, but worth examining. The shamrock, the traditional Irish emblem, is understood to have been used by Patrick to denote the holy trinity when he was traveling, converting his flock using symbolism. Today, the shamrock is worn proudly on St Patrick's day.
Patrick is also credited with banishing the snakes from Ireland. Ireland indeed does not have any snakes to this day, but it is generally accepted that this was a geographical occurrence. During the last Ice Age, Ireland and Britain and most of Northern Europe was blanketed in a huge glacier. When the glacier melted, Ireland was severed from the rest of Europe, and was not connected to the European landmass for long enough to allow snakes to become established. There is some suggestion that 'serpent' was a metaphor for those who Patrick was preaching against, but through time, the legend of actual snake banishment became fact.Patrick is often depicted carrying a staff or crozier. This staff was reputed to be made from an ash tree, and Patrick, on his return home on to England on a visit, stuck the staff into the ground, as he did when evangelizing. But there, it took so long for the good news to get through, the staff took root.This place is called Aspatria.

Patrick is revered as a Saint, although he is not actually canonized,although the Catholic Church declares that he is a saint in heaven, and on the List of Saints. The Orthodox church also venerates Patrick especially in the UK and North America, where there are also icons of him.

Today, March 17th is still celebrated as a special day in Irish culture, both at home and worldwide. The most obvious sign of this celebration are of course the spectacular parades. In Ireland the biggest parade is in Dublin where huge floats, big bands, dancers,actors and a fantastic carnival atmosphere light up the day and indeed the preceding week. In Ireland today, 10% of the population is now non Irish, reflecting the huge immigration into the country during the 'Celtic Tiger' years. With a booming economy, work has been plentiful and this new immigrant population have added there own culture to the parades. Now you can see traditional African, South American and East European music and bands and as a spectacle it cannot be rivaled.

Worldwide, there are now parades in every corner of the world, and especially in America with its huge Irish American heritage. There are parades all over America on this day in the major cities, especially New York, which turns a beautiful shade of green for one day.

On the down side, in Ireland, St Patrick's day is also noted for the quantity of alcohol drunk on the day. This has led to some disturbances late on in the day over recent years as a small minority of people have taken the day off as an excuse to over indulge and cause trouble. Measures have been taken though, not to open venues selling alcohol until after 12pm to help this problem.

But, we must be positive and remember the day for what it is. The bringing of Christianity to Ireland and the celebration of being Irish. Even those of you who do have a Murphy or O'Donnell in your family can raise a glass on March 17th and point it towards that small island off western Europe and cry 'Slainte!', 'Health!'.