The Facts:
Who was St. Patrick?

The man largely responsible for converting Ireland to Christianity over nearly 30 years, up to the year 461 AD or thereabouts - even if the work had been started by other missionaries before him.

Was he real?

Most definitely, even if the facts about his life have been freely mingled over the centuries with legend and make-believe. A written document, his Confession, is tangible evidence of his authenticity.

Where did he come from?

An important thing to remember about Patrick is that he was not Irish. In fact he was what nowadays at least would be called British, even if he was of Roman parentage.

How did he first arrive in Ireland?

As a 16 year-old and named Succat, he was captured in a raid by the Irish King, Niall of the Nine Hostages, and sold into slavery, working as a herdsman for six years on Slemish Mountain in County Antrim. Irish pirate chieftains were given to raiding the western coast of Britain in those days. Hence, it has traditionally been assumed that Patrick originally came from South Wales, probably along the Severn Valley, which could also mean that he came from Gloucestershire. Modern scholars, however, are more inclined to think of Strathclyde as being more likely.

Where is he buried?

A tombstone in the grounds of Down Cathedral in Downpatrick is supposed to mark his grave. But there are serious doubts. Patrick is almost certainly buried somewhere in County Down but it is thought that the Norman nobleman John De Courcy may not so easily have found the remains almost seven centuries after Patrick’s death. De Courcy claimed to have found them and brought them to the seat of his stronghold. The claim was politically convenient to say the least in 12th century Ireland as the Normans bade to consolidate their power.

The Legends
- Patrick, despite his saintliness, was not averse to bouts of temper, it seems. After a greedy man once denied him the use of a field to rest and graze his oxen, Patrick is said to have cursed the field, prophesying that nothing would grow on it from then on. Sure enough, that very day, the field was overrun by the sea and remained sandy and barren for evermore.

- A blind man once came to Patrick seeking a cure. As he approached, he stumbled several times and fell over and was duly laughed at by one of Patrick’s companions. The blind man was cured. The companion, however, was blinded.

- Before he died, an angel told Patrick that he should have two untamed oxen yoked to his funeral cart and that they should be left to decide where he should be buried. With great political foresight, the oxen chose Downpatrick.

- On the day that Patrick died, night never fell in Ulster nor did it for a further 12 days.

- St. Patrick is supposed to have driven the snakes from Ireland. Certainly, there are no snakes in Ireland. But neither are there any in New Zealand and there is no record of St. Patrick ever having visited there!

Moreover the Graeco-Roman writer Solinus recorded the fact that Ireland was snake-free a good two hundred years before St. Patrick was born!

The story that Patrick banished the snakes seems quite simply to have been invented in the 12th century by a Northumbrian monk named Jocelyn, whom the wife of the Norman John De Courcy brought to her husband’s court in Downpatrick.

What is shamrock?

The reality is that shamrock is a form of clover - Trifolium repens, Trifolium pratense or more likely Trifolium dubium, to give its botanical pedigree - and only looks different from what one might expect because it is picked so early in spring. It is not unique to Ireland. Trifolium dubium is found from Scandinavia to the Caucasus and even in America.

Why is St. Patrick's Day celebrated on March 17?

One reason appears to be because St. Patrick is supposed to have died (many say there is little doubt about it) on March 17, around about the year 461 AD. But since nobody actually knows in what year he died, it might seem unlikely that anybody truly knows the day on which he died either.

Another possibility is a little more complex. According to folk legend, March 17 was the day that St. Patrick took the “cold stone” out of the water - in other words the day on which winter could be said to be truly over and the sowing of crops could begin. Important dates in the agricultural season, in ancient times more often than not celebrated as pagan feasts, were routinely taken into the Christian calendar. The identification of March 17 with St. Patrick could plausibly be claimed to fit in with that pattern. St. Patrick’s Day did not become a public holiday in Ireland until 1903, when a bill was passed in the Westminster parliament, after it was instigated in the House of Lords by the Earl of Dunraven.

St. Patrick’s Day is also a public holiday on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, volcanic eruptions notwithstanding. The origins of the island's celebration of the day date back to the 17th century when Oliver Cromwell was instrumental in forcing quite a number of Irish immigrants to move there. Names like Murphy, Kirwan and O’Malley are still commonplace on the island.

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The Tourism Ireland office in Toronto is open to the public for travel information, Monday ¨C Friday between 09.00-17.00 at 2 Bloor Street West, Suite 3403, Toronto, ON, M4W 3E2. Please call 1 800 223 6470 or email info.ca@tourismireland.com for information on travel to the island of Ireland.