SAINT PATRICK'S DAY by Gloria Alden

I know St. Patrick’s Day is past, but I wanted to blog about it even though I don’t celebrate it, I do like it. I’m only one eighth Scotch/ Irish, but still feel it’s a part of my heritage. Maybe it’s partly because I’m Catholic, and know the history of St. Patrick.

Saint Patrick was a 5^th century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. He was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century into a wealthy Romano-British Family. His father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian church. Much of what is known about Saint Patrick comes from the Declaration, which allegedly was written by Patrick. According to the Declaration at the age of sixteen he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland. It says that he spent six years there working as a shepherd and that during this time he “found God.” The Declaration says that God told Patrick to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting to take him home. After making his way home, Patrick went on to become a priest

According to tradition, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity. The Declaration says that he spent many years evangelizing in the northern half of Ireland and converted thousands. Patrick’s efforts against the druids were eventually turned into an allegory in which he drove snakes out of Ireland. (Ireland never had any snakes).

Tradition holds that he died on 17 March and was buried at Downpatrick. Over the following centuries, many legends grew up around Patrick, and he became Ireland’s foremost saint.

I did visit Ireland once, but didn’t see his grave site, but I did kiss the Blarney Stone, though.

Over the years many Irish immigrants came to our country. They mostly settled in large towns where they could create Irish communities of their own.

St. Patrick’s Day has many parades not only in Ireland, but in other countries like our own.

Prejudice against Irish Catholics in the U.S. reached a peak in the mid-1850s with the Know Nothing Movement, which tried to oust Catholics from public office. After a year or two of local success, the Know Nothing Party vanished. Some historians, however, maintain that actual job discrimination was minimal. I remember reading that there were lots of signs on businesses that read “No Irish need apply.”

However, many Irish work gangs were hired by contractors to build canals, railroads, city streets and sewers across the country. I know that they worked on the Erie Canal in Ohio and had a lot who settled in Portage County and in the Cleveland area.

Irish Catholics were popular targets for stereotyping in the 19^th century. According to historian George Potter, the media often stereotyped the Irish in America as being boss controlled, violent (both among themselves and with those of other ethnic groups) voting illegally, prone to alcoholism and dependent on street gangs that were often violent or criminal. (Sound familiar with today’s negativity towards Mexican immigrants?) Historian George Potter negated all those claims against the Irish immigrants. Maybe sometimes they got a little drunk and got into a brawl, but they were never involved in any criminal activity. They were hard workers and for the most part decent people.

Just a few of my many C.D.s

I may not celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but I love Celtic music and over the years went to a lot of concerts with Celtic singers at Happy Days Lodge in Cuyahoga Valley National Park and a few in Cleveland, and always bought one of their CD’s to listen to at home. And instead of watching TV in the evening, I read books and listen to music and many of the time a CD with Celtic music.

Much of this information came from Wikipedia and the pictures except for the pictures of some of my Celtic CDs were down loaded from a free site.

Do you celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day?

Do you like Irish music?