The mythology surrounding St. Patrick is rich with symbolism. These are the symbols of St. Patrick. Patrick is associated with numerous symbols some more famous than others.[1] The Shamrock The most famous St. Patrick symbol is the shamrock. Patrick is said to have used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the idea of the holy trinity.[2] The shamrock became one of Ireland's national symbols.[3] Crosses St. Patrick is associated with several styles of crosses.[4] One type commonly associated with Patrick is the cross pattée.[5] The cross pattée can be seen on the white stole on Patrick's vestments in this stained glass window. Perhaps the most famous St. Patrick cross is one used on flags: St. Patrick's Saltire.[6] It is used in the insignia of the Order of Saint Patrick, established in 1783 by King George III. After the 1800 Acts of Union it was combined with Saint George's Cross of England and Saint Andrew's Cross of Scotland.[7] St. Patrick has also been credited with bringing the Celtic cross to Ireland.[8] There are no known Celtic crosses from St. Patrick's time. Popular legend posits that Patrick combined the cross symbol of Christianity with the sun cross to impress pagan converts of the importance of the cross. These two ideas were linked to appeal to pagans. Another interpretation says that placing the cross on top of the circle represents Christ's supremacy over the pagan sun symbol. St. Patrick’s Blue The official color of Ireland in heraldic terms is azure blue.[9] The association of blue with Saint Patrick dates from the 1780s, when it became the color of the Anglo-Irish Order of St Patrick. Like St. Patrick's Saltire, the association of blue with St. Patrick came from the establishment of the Anglo-Irish Order of St Patrick. The Irish Presidential Standard - A gold harp with silver strings on field of blue. This shade of blue has been described "St. Patrick's Blue". St Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle. Home of the Order of St. Patrick, Is carpeted in St. Patrick's blue. There is no official Irish national color. Green is the de facto national color. The only rules about color are in the Irish Constitution regarding the national flag.[10] St. Patrick’s Holy Wells St. Patrick baptized a lot of Irish people. Often these baptisms took place at wells and springs that had been scared pagan sites.[11] There are at least 25 holy wells associated with St. Patrick in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This St. Patrick's Holy Well is at Ogulla in County Roscommon. Snakes A famous myth involves Patrick driving snakes out of Ireland.[12] Often this myth may be the only thing that many people know about St. Patrick. There have been no snakes in Ireland since before the last ice age, 12,000 years ago.[13] The Shepherd's Crook St. Patrick is often depicted holding a shepherd's crook.[14] A shepherd's crook is a long stick with a hook at one end used by shepherds to manage and catch sheep. The crook symbolizes Patrick as a slave shepherd and as shepherd to his Christian followers. References: [1] St. Patrick's Day Facts: Snakes, a Slave, and a Saint Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine National Geographic [2] Monaghan, Patricia (2009). The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1438110370. [3] Hegarty, Neil (2012). Story of Ireland. Ebury Publishing. ISBN 978-1448140398. [4]List of Saint Patrick's crosses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saint_Patrick%27s_crosses [5] "Ireland: St Patrick's Cross". Flags of the World. 6 June 2012. [6]Galloway, Peter (March 1999). The most illustrious order: the Order of St Patrick and its knights. Unicorn. pp. 171–2. ISBN 9780906290231. [7] "The Union Jack or The Union Flag?". The Flag Institute. 20 June 2014. [8] "The History and Symbolism of the Celtic Cross – Irish Fireside Travel and Culture. [9] Galloway, Peter (1999). The most illustrious Order: The Order of St Patrick and its knights (2nd ed.). London: Unicorn. p. 174. ISBN 0-906290-23-6. [10] Article 7 of the Constitution of Ireland (1 July 1937) [11] Ireland's ancient holy wells of Saint Patrick, Driscoll, Amanda, IrishCentral, 27 Jan. 2023https://www.irishcentral.com/travel/best-of-ireland/ireland-holy-well [12] Roy Flechner (2019). Saint Patrick Retold: The Legend and History of Ireland's Patron Saint. Princeton University Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-691-19001-3. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020 [13]Owen, James (13 March 2008). "Snakeless in Ireland: Blame Ice Age, Not St. Patrick". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012 [14] Caeremoniale Episcoporum (Vatican Polyglott Press, 1985) Images Patrick depicted with shamrock in detail of stained glass window in St. Benin's Church, Kilbennan, County Galway, Ireland, Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0 Shamrock, Creative Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Irish_clover.jpg Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and St. Patrick, Goleen, County Cork, Ireland, Andreas F. Borchert, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Goleen_Church_of_Our_Lady,_Star_of_the_Sea,_and_St._Patrick_North_Wall_Fourth_Window_Saint_Patrick_Detail_2009_09_10.jpg A cross pattée, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saint_Patrick%27s_crosses#/media/File:Cross-Pattee-Heraldry.svg Saint Patrick's Flag, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saint_Patrick%27s_crosses#/media/File:Saint_Patrick's_Saltire.svg Flag of the United Kingdom, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Jack#/media/File:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg Celtic Cross, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saint_Patrick%27s_crosses#/media/File:CelticCross.svg Badge of the Order of St Patrick, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_blue#/media/File:Badges_of_the_Order_of_St_Patrick.jpg The Irish Presidential Standard, Setanta Saki, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_blue#/media/File:Flag_of_the_President_of_Ireland.svg St Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle. Home of the Order of St Patrick, Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_blue#/media/File:St._Patrick%E2%80%99s_Hall_Dublin_Castle_2014.JPG Patrick banishing the snakes, Lyricmac, CC BY 2.5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick#/media/File:STP-ELP.jpg The garter snake, Steve Jurvetson from Menlo Park, USA, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake#/media/File:Coast_Garter_Snake.jpg Shepherd's crook, Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd%27s_crook#/media/File:Crook,_shepherd's_(AM_1958.105.1-2).jpg A shepherd's crook, Arthur Hacker, Public Domain, https://archive.org/stream/artatsalonchamps00londrich#page/n103/mode/2up/search/Boughto,
Category Archives: early Christian Ireland
St. Patrick: Converting Pagan Princesses at Ogulla Holy Well, County Roscommon
The spring-fed Ogulla Holy Well in County Roscommon near Tulsk is where legend has it that St. Patrick baptized pagan High King Laoghaire’s daughters, Eithenia the Fair and Fedelmia the Red. The Ogulla well is also called the Cliabach Well in some of Patrick’s hagiographies. The was in use by Irish pagans prior to the arrival of Christianity. The well is one of numerous examples of Catholicism converting sacred pagan sites into scared Christian sites as the Irish pagan population is converted. Today the site is considered one of the most sacred of the 25 holy wells associated with Patrick in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The faithful leave votive offerings at a statue of St. Patrick located next to the well. In the rag tree tradition strips of cloth are tied around tree limbs and sometimes on the high cross that sits atop the well. The statue of St. Patrick is deteriorating and has lost its hands. Photos online show the statue once had a metal shepherd’s crook, which as of late 2022, was missing. The story of the baptism of Eithenia and Fedelmia is one of more bizarre and creepy of the St. Patrick legends. Prior to the baptisms at Ogulla, Patrick had already had an intense encounter with their father, King Laeghaire at Tara. Patrick had ignited a fire at Hill of Slane in defiance of the king’s order not to light fires while a pagan feast fire was burning at Tara. Summoned to Tara to explain himself, Patrick had a kind of evangelical mystical showdown with the king’s pagan priests, according to biographies written centuries after Patrick’s death. Laeghaire, who had reportedly been trying to assassinate Patrick. However, he was impressed by the Christian missionary’s devotion to his belief and allowed him to continue preaching in Ireland. Which bring us to his encounter with the king’s daughter’s. The legend of Patrick’s baptism of Eithenia and Fedelmia is repeated in similar form in at least three separate accounts, all written hundreds of years after Patrick’s death near the end of the 5th century. The accounts appear in the Book of Armagh (mid 9th century), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Armagh the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick (late 9th century) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vita_tripartita_Sancti_Patricii, and in Fr. John Colgan’s Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acta_Sanctorum_Hiberniae published in 1645. It is Fr. Colgan’s account that has become the popular version of the story. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=7tdhAAAAcAAJ&rdid=book-7tdhAAAAcAAJ&rdot=1&pli=1 In Colgan’s elaborate account, Ethenia and Fidelmia were baptized at Ogulla Well in the year 432 or 433, depending the source. According to CatholicSaints.Info, Ethenia and Fidelmia “among the first converts to Christianity made by Saint Patrick.” https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-ethenia-and-fidelmia/ While on a pilgrimage, St. Patrick arrived at a fountain called Clibech (today Ogulla Well) near Cruachan, with a large number of clerics. The group decided to camp there for the night and the account says they sang the praises of god and prayed all night. In the morning, Ethenia and Fidelmia, the daughters of the King, show up at the fountain. In this telling, the astonished royal daughters thought Patrick and his band of clerics beings of another world. But they quickly began questioning the group, most likely recognizing Patrick from his showdown with their father at Tara. But Patrick manages to convert the two Druid princesses who take holy communion – and they die. Some account says Ethenia and Fidelmia wanted to be with Jesus so much the died of longing. Ethenia and Fidelmia are later named as Catholic saints. And no doubt their father was unhappy with Patriock and his band of roving clerics. Sources and links: Acta Triadis Thaumaturgae. In: Colgan, John. Acta Sanctorvm Veteris Et Maioris Scotiae, Sev Hiberniae Sanctorvm Insvlae, Volume 2. Publisher: Apud Cornelivm Coenestenivm, 1647. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7tdhAAAAcAAJ Ogulla Holy Well http://www.megalithicireland.com/Ogulla%20Holy%20Well%20Tulsk.html Ogulla Holy Well: A Microcosm of Irish Spiritual History http://pentecostaltopagan.com/my-pagan-path/ogulla-holy-well-a-microcosm-of-irish-spiritual-history/ St. Patrick Converts the King’s Daughters https://traditioninaction.org/religious/h121_Patrick_4.htm St. Patrick founds Ogulla Church, https://www.irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/history-and-genealogy/timeline/st-patrick-founds-ogulla-church Music: Where the Thistle Grows - Bonnie Grace Governor Of The North - Jo Wandrini Find this video worthwhile? Please Buy Me A Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rdscallyN #ireland #irishhistory #irish #history #HolyWell #stpatrick #earlychristian #saintpatrick #Ogulla #Roscommon
A Very Quick, Oversimplified Overview of Ireland’s 3 Patron Saints
St. Patrick is Ireland's leading patron saint. Although he wasn't the first Christian missionary in Ireland, he is credited with bringing Christianity to the island. St. Patrick has a cool symbol: The shamrock. St. Patrick is known for driving snakes out of Ireland. There weren't any snakes in Ireland but Patrick drove them out anyway. St. Patrick is the official sponsor of an awesome drinking holiday. Not an endorsement for this or any other beverage. Today St. Patrick's Day, the anniversary of his passing, is celebrated worldwide. St. Brigid is Ireland's female patron saint. She's as big a deal as St. Patrick. St. Brigid also has a cool symbol: Brigid's cross. St. Brigid is the patron saint of a great many things. Among the things St. Brigid is patron saint of: babies, blacksmiths, blacksmithing, boatmen, cattle farmers, children whose parents are not married, children whose mothers are mistreated by the children's fathers, Clan Douglas, dairymaids, dairy workers, dairy production, fugitives, healing, Ireland, learning, Leinster, livestock, mariners, midwives, milkmaids, nuns, poets, poetry, the poor, poultry, poultry farmers, poultry raisers, printing presses, protection, sailors, scholars, travelers, and watermen. She is also one of several patron saints of beer. https://vinepair.com/articles/patron-saint-of-beer/ St. Brigid even turned water into b*er. (Sorry about the *. You can't say this word in a description of YouTube doesn't like it.) That's right. She's a patron saint of b*er. Sadly, Brigid does not have an awesome drinking holiday associated with her. St. Columba is Ireland's third patron saint. He was such a badass saint he could baptize an entire tribe of Picts with one hand. St. Columba came to Ireland from Scotland. Columba could predict when people would die, which made him popular. Despite the obvious handicap of being Scottish, Columba became one of the 12 apostles of Ireland. Columba left behind this church in Donegal. But he lacks both a cool symbol and an awesome drinking holiday. Thank you for watching! Image credits: Shamrock: According to legend, Saint Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish pagans. – Creative Commons via Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamrock#/media/File:Irish_clover.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Irish_clover.jpg Pint of Guinness – Public Domaine pictures https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/20000/velka/pint-of-proper-guiness-in-dublin.jpg St. Columba’s church - West wall of St Columba's church, Gartan, Donegal; Gartan is said to be the birthplace of Columba, Kay Atherton, Creative Commons via Wkipedia https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/St_Columba%27s_church%2C_Gartan%2C_Donegal.jpg St. Patrick postcard - : "St. Patrick's Day Souvenir" postmarked 1912 in the United States. On postcard: "OLD WEIR BRIDGE" Description: "1912 POSTCARD ST. PATRICK'S DAY SOUVENIR; POSTALLY USED and CANCELLED MARCH 1912" Pictured: The painting depicted is of the "Old Weir Bridge" located Dinis Cottage, in Killarney National Park, Ireland. Public Doman via Wikimedia Commons https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/PostcardStPatricksDaySouvinir1912.jpg Patrick depicted with shamrock in detail of stained glass window in St. Benin's Church, Kilbennan, County Galway, Ireland, Andreas F. Borchert, Creative Commons via Wikipedia St. Finnian imparting his blessing to the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. Clonard, County Meath, Ireland Detail of the seventh stained glass window in a series depicting the life of St. Finian in the Church of St. Finian at Clonard. The windows were created by Hogan in 1957. The inscription reads: Saint Finian imparts his blessing to twelve apostles of Ireland. This image has been cropped from this image. Andreas F. Borchert, Creative Commons via Wikipedia. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Columba_converting_the_Picts.jpg Saint Columba converting King Brude of the Picts to Christianity, Mural painting in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, photographed by uploader, Kim Traynor. Creative Commons via Wikimedia Commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiberno-Scottish_mission#/media/File:Columbanus_at_Bobbio.jpg Fresco of Saint Columbanus in Brugnato Cathedral, Fresco of Saint Columbanus on a column at Brugnato Cathedral in Italy, Davide Papalini, Creative Common via Wikipedia. https://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_130889/Lorenzo-Lotto/Blessings-of-St-Bridget-(detail)-1524 "Blessings of St Bridget (detail) 1524" oil on Canvas. Lorenzo Lotto. Public domain via Wikigallery.
St. Patrick and the Hill of Slane
In 433 AD St. Patrick lit a fire on Hill of Slane, in an act of defiance of the pagan High King Lóegaire (Laoire), according to the monk Muirchú’s highly mythological 7th century hagiography of St. Patrick, Vita sancti Patricii. Lóegaire had forbidden any other fires while a festival fire was burning at his headquarters on the Hill Tara, which can be clearly seen from the Hill of Slane, about 16 kilometers (about 10 miles) away, according to Muirchú’s account. Other accounts of the life of St. Patrick describe various versions of what happened after the saint lit his defiant fire. The accounts agree that Lóegaire apparently allowed St. Patrick, who he had reportedly been trying to assassinate, to continue spreading the word of Christianity in Ireland. In another legendary act, St. Patrick would later in his life baptize two of Laoghaire’s daughters, Eithne the Fair and Fedelm the Red at Rathcroghan’s Ogulla Holy Well in County Roscommon. Today the Hill of Slane is dominated by a group of picturesque ruins and historical sites, most dating to the middle ages. The ruins of a friary church, with a still in use graveyard, and college can be seen on the top of the hill. The now ruined friary church was built on the site of an earlier church, was restored in 1512. The ruins include a 19-meter (62 ft) high early gothic tower. The friary was abandoned in 1723. A holy well, now filled in with rocks due to safety concerns, is located just inside the graveyard’s wall. At this well, Patrick is said to have baptized St. Erc, a pagan priest, who he appointed a bishop. The foundation of the original monastery on the Hill of Slane is attributed to St. Erc and it remained active for at least six hundred years. The baptism and life of St. Erc are on firmer historical footing than many of St. Patrick’s mythical exploits such as driving the snakes out of Ireland. Next to the friary church is a structure known as the college. These ruins are from different phases of construction and various purposes, according to the Voice From Dawn website. From Voice of Dawn: “The earliest building, likely a tower house, is now known as the “rectory,” and was used for the administration of the parish. In the late 15th century a chantry college was built on the site, endowed for priests to celebrate masses for the souls of the Fleming family. The structure housed four priests, four lay-brothers and four choirboys in some comfort, with fireplaces and a double garderobe (toilet). The buildings were situated around an open rectangular cloister. The college was rebuilt in the 16th century with a further Fleming family bequest, There was once a bawn (defensive enclosure) around the tower house, whose only remnant today is its massive gatehouse.” https://voicesfromthedawn.com/hill-of-slane/ Over the centuries the site endured numerous attacks and tribulations including dissolution of the monastery by Henry VIII in 1631 and attacks by Oliver Cromwell’s troops in 1651. Sources and links: Discovery Boyne Valley https://www.discoverboynevalley.ie/boyne-valley-drive/heritage-sites/hill-slane Voices From Dawn https://voicesfromthedawn.com/hill-of-slane/ Slane and District History Society https://slanehistoryandarchaeologysociety823029674.wordpress.com/ Meath County Council – Hill of Slane https://www.meath.ie/discover/heritage/heritage-sites/hill-of-slane Read more on our website: https://irelandinsideandout.com/ Please support the channel: Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rdscallyN Music: Highland Hymn - Bonnie Grace Celtic Blessing - Bonnie Grace Tudor - Bonnie Grace #ireland #irishhistory #irish #history #HillOfSlane #stpatrick #earlychristian #saintpatrick #saintpatricksday #meath