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The history of St. Patrick's Day
In its native Ireland, the infamous night of drinking known as St. Patrick's Day isn't quite the mad party it has become in other parts of the world. Learn more about the holiday forever linked to the Emerald Isle.
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St. Patrick's Day in Ireland is not the boisterous, sometimes rowdy festival we enjoy in North America. There are parades, and there's drinking, but it certainly isn't green. Most likely, it's a dark stout or Irish whiskey.
The Irish version is primarily a religious and bank holiday, celebrated by relaxing at home with family and friends after church mass. In that spirit, let's concentrate on Patrick, the man behind the myth.
The facts of his life are relatively few. In actuality, there are more places named after him than provable deeds. He was one of the most celebrated missionaries of all time and he is Ireland's patron saint, but no one seems to know where he was born or exactly where or when he died. Some say March 17, 461 AD, others believe 493 AD. His burial place is unknown. He set down many of his own views on his life and mission.
His original writings have long since disappeared, but copies were made by faithful monks who kept civilization alive by copying manuscripts, and were well-known literature in the Dark Ages.
By his own telling, he was born in Britain of well-to-do parents who farmed. He probably lived near the west coast because he was captured by Irish raiders at the age of sixteen and sold into slavery. He worked as a shepherd for six years until he escaped and returned to his homeland. However, visions and the "voice of the Irish" called him back to Ireland 16 years after his escape, and he spent more than 30 years traveling, preaching and establishing churches.
St. Patrick is not the first to have brought Christianity to Ireland. Other sources show evidence of missionaries being sent to Ireland as early as 431 AD. Within 200 years after St. Patrick's death, legends about his deeds had begun to proliferate until it is difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. We can be certain that the number of churches established was closer to 90 than the 365 some attribute to him.
What is known is that he exerted a powerful influence on Ireland, transforming her from a pagan country with many ancient religious practices and beliefs into a Christian community.
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Related articles:
- Our main St. Patrick's Day page
- Irish coffee
- Irish whiskey and Irish cocktails
- Irish toasts, blessings and sayings
- History of St. Patrick's Day
- There's a dark beer for everyone
- 17 awesome beer cocktails
