Saint Patrick is world-renowned as the patron saint of Ireland, as the man who brought Christianity to the Emerald Isle and as the man who banished snakes from the island. His feast day is celebrated all over the globe with parades, costumes and the odd pint of beer. He is not only the patron saint of Ireland, but also of Montserrat and Nigeria.
On the 17th of March the Irish across the globe pause and raise a glass to our patron Saint. As far as we are concerned, anyone who parties with us is Irish as well, even if it is just for a day. Read on to learn more about the original Paddy, how he first came to Ireland and how St. Patrick’s Day became a global phenomenon.
But first, this is the perfect time to consider a hiking trip to the Emerald Isle. Walk in the footsteps of saints and heroes, in a place where history and myth are woven into the very landscape. Take the time to take time off in Ireland.
Harry Clarke, The Consecration of St. Mel, Bishop of Longford, by St. Patrick, 1910, stained glass, 67.3 x 60.3 cm. © Crawford Art Gallery, Cork
The Story of St. Patrick
As a young man (16), Patrick, the son of wealthy Christians in Roman Britain was kidnapped by Irish pirates and taken as a slave to Ireland where he worked as a sheep herder on Slemish Mountain in County Antrim. He escaped, returned to his family and then became a cleric in France where he took the name Patricius. Despite his ordeal in Ireland, he returned after a vision encouraged him to do so and then began his mission of spreading Christianity. Part of the motivation for his mission was atonement for a youthful transgression which Patrick mentions in his Confessio but never details.
The History of St. Patrick’s Day
Lent is a time of abstinence in the Catholic calendar and it wasn’t uncommon to abstain from alcohol and meat during that time. However when it came to St. Patrick’s Day one could break your Lenten vows temporarily with what was referred to as ‘St. Patrick’s Pot’, where people would allow themselves a day of drinking alcohol and eating meat. The tradition of “drowning the shamrock” involves placing your shamrock in a glass downing the drink and tossing the plant (not the glass) over your shoulder for luck.
In 1903 the day became a public holiday but pubs were not allowed to open on Patrick’s Day until 1973. Before that clubs and societies that could serve alcohol such as the Royal Dublin Society Dog Show became strangely popular. As a result of its association with alcohol, St. Patrick’s day celebrations were targeted by the Irish temperance movement which introduced parades as an alcohol-free alternative to mid-19th century excess. This custom spread around the world as Irish emigrants from the United States to Australia celebrated what is now a global phenomenon.
The tradition of green beer originated in New York in 1914 while Savannah, Georgia unsuccessfully dyed its river green in 1961. Thereafter Chicago took up the challenge and has coloured its river annually ever since. In New York 150,000 take part in the parade while up to 2 million line the streets to watch it.
The Symbols of Ireland
As is tradition on St. Patrick’s Day anything green or Irish is especially valued as a national symbol but how did they become emblematic of the Irish Nation?
Leprechauns: Grumpy little men in green, smoking pipes, guarding pots of gold, of course they’re real! The modern day image of the leprechaun (originally luchorpán) can be traced to Walt Disney’s visit to Ireland in the 1940’s preparing for the production of “Darby O’Gill and the Little People” (1959). The recorded origin of these magical creatures dates back to an 8th century document which detail three sprites who drag Fergus mac Léti, King of Ulster, into the sea. After he captures them they grant him three wishes in exchange for their freedom, sound familiar? The romanticized version continued in the 19th century with the leprechaun cobbling shoes because he was on the run so often from treasure thieves. The mischievous nature of these little men does tie in with the ambivalent and superstitious relationship old Irish mythology has with fairies. The magic of fairies is powerful and can be threatening should they be upset which is why to this day rural Irish people fear disturbing fairy forts or ancient ruins of ringed enclosures which were originally farming homesteads.
Shamrocks: There is nothing so Irish as a shamrock right? Hmmm… According to Irish folklore it is so Irish it will not grow anywhere else. The term “shamrock” comes from the Gaelic seamróg, or “little clover”. Yet, according to the Smithsonian it doesn’t really exist. St. Patrick supposedly used the plant to explain the Holy Trinity while preaching, but most historians agree it’s a fable. In the 19th century it was used extensively as a symbol of Irish independence and now represents all traditions so much so that it appears on the United Kingdom’s royal coat of arms along with the Scottish thistle and English rose. The shamrock appears 4 times on the crest, twice as many as any other flower. No sign of any Welsh daffodil by the way. In order to finally determine what three leafed plant the Shamrock was a 1988 study by E. Charles Nelson, then horticultural taxonomist in Ireland’s National Botanic Gardens asked people across the island to send in sample plants. The result was that yellow clover accounted for 46% of the 243 samples, followed by white clover (35%), black medick (7%), wood sorrel (5%) and red clover (4%). In light of these results the Department of Agriculture in Ireland officially designated the Shamrock as being the yellow clover. A four leafed clover is rare and therefore considered to be lucky. Despite it’s contested origins the wearing of the green can be traced back over 400 years and was always associated with St. Patrick’s Day.
Harps: When royal chaplain Gerald of Wales traveled to Ireland in the 12th Century he believed the Irish to be barbarous until he heard the harp being played. Harpists were part of an Irish chieftains’ entourage, creating music to accompany odes to their masters’ greatness. The harp has since become a symbol of the nation being used on all official correspondence, minted coin and signage. However seeing as Guinness had procured the harp as its logo in 1862 the Irish government had to flip theirs to avoid confusion in 1922. Ireland has the distinction of being the only nation to have a musical instrument as a national emblem. The harp was first recorded as the arms of Ireland in medieval times on a single folio of the Wijnbergen roll of arms (1270). The model for the current standard representation of the heraldic Harp is the 14th century harp now preserved in the Museum of Trinity College Dublin, popularly known as the Brian Boru Harp. It can be viewed as part of the Book of Kells Experience.
St. Patrick and the hill walking tradition
St. Patrick travelled extensively around the north of Ireland. We know of many of the famous sites and it is assumed he travelled on foot. What is intriguing about these locations is that so many are hills or mountains. Slemish mountain in County Antrim is the area where Patrick looked after sheep as a slave when captured in Ireland aged 16-22. On the Hill of Slane, County Meath, Patrick lit a holy flame before King Laoghaire lit his pagan summer fire thereby symbolising the triumph of Christianity. Down south to the height of a limestone escarpment where Patrick baptised Aengus the King of Munster on the Rock of Cashel. He accidentally impaled the king with his crozier in doing so but escaped any retribution.
In the far west Patrick climbed Maumean Pass and blessed Connemara, you can still find the rocky spot where he slept on the trail. Further north to St Patrick’s Causeway and the holy mountain of Croagh Patrick where having fasted for the 40 days of Lent, he magically banished serpents from Ireland. After he slayed a monster in Lough Derg (named the Red Lake from the creature’s blood) he went to Armagh where on opposite hills above the town we have the Catholic and Protestant cathedrals bearing his name. Quite an impressive legacy for a Roman Christian from Wales.
The tradition of pilgrimage is strong in Ireland due to historic resonances with St. Patrick’s original mission. Hillwalk Tours offers a St. Patrick related tour of Connemara as well as a Kerry Camino Trail and St. Kevin’s Way and Glendalough tour in Wicklow.
We hope that you enjoyed this guide to St. Patrick’s Day: The Story of St. Patrick. If you are interested in the trip of a lifetime to Ireland on a self-guided hiking tour, check out our range of Ireland hiking itineraries.
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