St Patrick Wasn’t Irish And He’s Not A Saint

St. Patrick isn’t Irish, and officially he’s not saint.

Patrick was never formally canonized. He lived before current Catholic Church laws on naming saints.[1]

Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the 4th century as Roman rule was ending. His exact birthplace is uncertain.

The dates of Patrick’s life are also uncertain. It is generally accepted he died March 17. This date is Patrick’s feast day and is celebrated worldwide as St. Patrick’s Day.

There is general agreement among historians he was active as a missionary in Ireland in the fifth century.

Two works in Latin generally accepted as written by Patrick have survived. These are the autobiographical Declaration (Confessio) and the Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus (Epistola).[2]

These works provide the only generally accepted details of his life.[3]

According to the Confession of Saint Patrick, at the age of sixteen he was captured by a group of Irish pirates, from his family’s Villa at “Bannavem Taburniae”.[9]

Patrick escaped, returned to his family, and become a cleric. He returned to northern and western Ireland as a missionary, and later served as a bishop, but little is known about this time in his life.

By the 7th century, Patrick was revered as the patron saint of Ireland.

Two late 7th-century Patrick biographers documented the early exploits helping build his fame.[4][5]

In 431, Palladius was made the first bishop of Ireland, preceding Patrick.[7]

Palladius, from a prominent family in Gaul, was a deacon. Pope Celestine I made him a bishop and sent him to Ireland “to the Scotti believing in Christ”.[6]

Parts of both life stories may have been combined in Irish tradition.[10]

Palladius ministered in Ireland until the 460s.[8]

References and sources:

[1] Flechner, Roy (2019). Saint Patrick Retold: The Legend and History of Ireland’s Patron Saint. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, page 1. ISBN 978-0691184647. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Saint_Patrick_Retold/YdVsDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

[2]Both texts in original Latin, various translations and with images of all extant manuscript testimonies on the “Saint Patrick’s Confessio HyperStack website”. Royal Irish Academy Dictionary of Medieval Latin from Celtic Sources.

[3]Macthéni, Muirchú maccu; White, Newport John Davis (1920). St. Patrick, his writings and life. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 31–51, 54–60.

[4]These are the writings of Tírechán and the Vita sancti Patricii of Muirchú moccu Machtheni.[58]

[5]Byrne, pp. 78–79; Paor 1993, pp. 6–7, 88–89; Duffy 1997, pp. 16–17; Fletcher 1997, pp. 300–06; Yorke 2006, p. 112

“Christianity in Ireland before Patrick”. The Irish News. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2023.

[7]Cusack, Margaret Anne, “Mission of St. Palladius”, An Illustrated History of Ireland, Chapter VIII, 1868 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Entry for AD 431 Chronicle of Prosper of Aquitaine

[8]Byrne, pp. 78–79; Paor 1993, pp. 6–7, 88–89; Duffy 1997, pp. 16–17; Fletcher 1997, pp. 300–06; Yorke 2006, p. 112

[9]“Confession of St Patrick”. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. 7 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.

[10]O’Rahilly, T. F. (1942). The Two Patricks: A Lecture on the History of Christianity in Fifth-Century Ireland. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

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The Symbols of St. Patrick

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, 

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

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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

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