I posted this on SF last year and, luckily since I switched to Wordpress in the meantime, saved it. I decided to go ahead and post it again because not many people know the true history behind the day.

What do you think of when St. Patrick’s Day comes to mind? Green? The Irish? Four-leaf clovers? Pots of gold at the end of the rainbow? Snakes? Green beer? I’m guessing the whole subject is a little unknown, right? Up until I started researching Irish history and folklore, I didn’t know anything either. And it shocks me how little is known. In elementary school, we would color leprechauns rather than learn about the holiday.

And, you probably also don’t know that there are two stories of St. Patrick: the real historical truth and the folklore legend. So, for those interested, here is the story of St. Patrick….

Parts of this story are from the historical version and parts are from the folkloric story. To make the story flow, I have combined the two. Please keep in mind that, like all legends, not all is true. It is based on truth (and part is truth), as most legends are, but beware: the Irish have a knack for storytelling. Not all is truth so take from it what you will.

St. Patrick was not Irish. He was a Roman. The year of his birth is disputed, so the exact dates/ages of things are a bit iffy, but I will use exact years (from a book I read where it actually gave an exact year for things).

In the time of St. Patrick, born Patricius, Rome was still flourishing. (You’ve heard of the Roman Empire, correct?) Rome was thought of as the best, whereas Ireland was the worst, filled with barbarians (or so it was told elsewhere). No Roman would step foot in Ireland for whatever reason. Ireland became the only nation that was not captured by Roman forces in eastern Europe; a few army men boasted that they could easily defeat Ireland, but no one ever tried.

Young Patricius (St. Patrick) lived in Ballantrae, Scotland, a country under Roman rule. He was from a well to do Roman family. In the year of our Lord 403 (AD), a group of Irish raiders landed in Ballantrae, prepared to pillage. Their aim was to take anything of value, including humans. Patricius, then 16, was captured and brought back to Ireland to become a slave in County Antrim (northeast Ireland). Patrick (the Anglican version of Patricius) became a swineherd, the person who cared for the pigs. He lived on the side of a mountain and, in all weather, that is where he stayed. Though he took care of the pigs, he envied them. The pigs were fed and cared for much better than he. Patrick was left naked, and during the cold winters (on the mountain, while naked) it is said that his bone marrow turned to ice.

While there, Patrick learned Irish (Gaelic) with the goal of understanding what was happening around him. Patrick prayed constantly to whatever god he knew, asking to be released from the situation he was in. After six years in Ireland, he had a dream. In his dream he was told that his boat had arrived. He had no idea what that meant, but after a while he decided that he was to leave. It is disputed whether he went north-east, north-west, or south-east, but whichever direction he did go, he found a captain at a port who agreed to take him aboard (to ride with the cargo: dogs).

The captain, it so happens, sailed to France. So, Patrick set off from France to return to Scotland (home), and it took him months. Finally, arriving home, his parents were thrilled. Their son was home! After six years away in Ireland as a slave! He was safe! (You can imagine the joy). However, merely months after returning home (after barely settling in once more), he had another dream. He described it as a ghostly chorus of voices, speaking in Irish. He called it The Voice of the Irish. The voices asked him to return to Ireland to live amongst them. Since his previous dream had saved him, he believed this dream to be important, also.

Patrick went to Europe to become part of the church. He became a priest and was soon promoted to bishop and, as he was still a young man, it is therefore obvious that his superiors thought highly of him. He then set off for Ireland (something no Roman had ever done), to convert them to Christianity.

If you have ever tried to get someone to change their religion/belief to your way, and experienced the difficulty involved therein, you can imagine what it must have been like for Patrick to convert all of Ireland. Yet, somehow, he did. Patrick could relate well to all people. His family was high class, so he could relate to the noble. He had been a slave, so he could relate to the lower classes. He knew Latin and Greek from his schooling, and Irish from his time as a slave, so he could easily translate the Christian texts. Patrick also admitted that he had committed a great sin (what it was is not known); he was not perfect, himself, and he accepted that. And, he loved everything, including the Irish (something not many people did). He persistantly showed that he liked the people of Ireland and they began to like him too (’tis hard to hate someone who so adamently likes you). With all this, the Irish could better relate to him and understand him.

432 AD
In the Christian faith, there is only one God, that of the Holy Trinity: God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Irish were, at that time, pagan and believed in countless gods. They believed that gods were everywhere and in everything. Patrick began by converting the upper class people: kings and chieftans. The Irish were loyal to their rulers and were more likely to follow their lead. Rather than dismiss the Irish belief system, Patrick accepted it and worked it into his teaching. If the Irish went to a specific rock to worship one of their pagan gods, he would preach about the Lord there. Patrick preached everywhere to anyone. He traveled all over Ireland, teaching the word of God. And many began to follow him along.

He also used their national symbol (the shamrock) to explain the holy trinity. Like there are three leaves on one shamrock, there are three people (parts) to one God: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. “Three persons in one God, three leaves on one stem.”

In the pagan religion, the Irish had to remember which god to pray to; in the Christian faith, they no longer had this trouble. There was only one God and they embraced the faith exuberantly.

In legend, St. Patrick also drove the snakes out of Ireland. One day, Patrick went to preach to a man name Gara and his family. Gara was a judge, and therefore held high status among the Irish. In the open area beside his house was packed; people who traveled with Patrick, all of Gara’s family, all of the people Gara invited, and all of Gara’s servents attended. All present converted their faith and Patrick baptized them all, one by one, saving Gara for last.

As a “thank you” for bringing him the Christian faith, Gara told Patrick of a mountain three days south of where he lived, near Templemore, where there was a cave. Inside, it was said, was a great force of evil that committed all sorts of wrongs: murder, thievery, destorying crops, and the like. Along with Gara’s drummer, Patrick went to confront this evil.

440AD
Patrick reached the mountain along with all of his followers. Close to a thousand people stood behind him, wanting to help Patrick defeat the devil in return for hearing him speak of God. He agreed to preach, but declined the help. He was used to doing things on his own.

As they drew closer, a black cloud began to hover above. The closer they came, the more unhappy they became. Where they had been singing and laughing, as they came nearer, one by one, they stopped. A horrible smell - the smell of hell itself - filled the air and they began coughing. Patrick told everyone to return back until they could not smell the odor anymore. One woman gave Patrick a cloth bundle that smelled of meadow flowers and he held it to his nose, drowning out the stench. Everyone retreated.

After traversing the rocky terrain — that had looked smooth from afar — he reached the mouth of the cave. Even with the cloth, the smell was physically difficult to bear. A pair of black snakes guarded the cave, hissing and rattling. Patrick grabbed the first snake and flung all 5 feet of it into the distance where it fell on a rock and broke its head, dying. The second, more menacing, came at him, shooting deadly venom that could fly thirty yards and farther. Patrick grabbed him and flung him in the opposite direction. The snake, however, did not die. He snuck aboard a ship and spread the word to all snakes that they should never go to Ireland. And no snake has been found in Ireland ever since.

Patrick entered the cave but could see nothing. A well educated voice spoke in Latin and he and Patrick exchanged hostile conversation. He insulted the devil, reasoning why the devil coul.d never be as good as the Lord. The devil began landing blows that hit their mark. Patrick lunged and the devil thrice but could not penetrate the devils forcefield. Gara’s drummer began to drum, using his music as magic, that to inspire people, yet beat so low that only Patrick could hear. The force keeping Patrick back disappeared as he repeated the word’s to a poem-like hymn over and over.

A wild shape flew towards him, becoming bigger and bigger as it flew over the drummer’s head. Patrick ran after him so fast that he almost caught him (pretty good for a now old man). All of the people began to chase after them. The devil, in the shape of a goat, took the form of a snake as that form was more aerodynamic. Patrick grabbed the tail but immediately let go as it was as hot as fire. The mountain was in the devil’s way, so he bit a chunk out and carried it with him. Patrick, stunned, was distracted and gave up the chase as the devil got far ahead of him.

At Cashel, the devil dropped the stone; it became the Rock of Cashel. If you brought the rock back to Templemore, it would fit exactly in the hold on the mountain, now called The Devil’s Bit.

Lucifer looked back and knew he had lost. He ran as fast as he could to the nearest port, in Waterford, changed his shape to that of a gentleman, caught a boat to England, where he lives to this day. Some say that is why Ireland has so much trouble with England: the devil stirs it up.

A Gift For You

I’m also VERY excited about a movie coming out tomorrow, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which is about Ireland’s fight for Independance, their civil war, the IRA, etc. I’ve researched all of the history and could talk for hours about it and FINALLY they’re making a movie about it. We’ll see if it’s accurate. I also found–and bought–a movie called “Patrick,” which I’ll be watching tomorrow with my dude, that is about the history behind St. Patrick. We’ll see if that one is accurate as well. :) *is all excited* Am I obsessed or what?