ST. PATRICK'S DAY

St. Patrick

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on his feast day, the 17th of March, by millions worldwide every year.  He is in fact the most celebrated saint worldwide.

He is of course the patron saint of Ireland but he is also the patron saint of Nigeria, French fishermen and Engineers.

There are St. Patrick's Day parades held worldwide and the first St. Patrick's Day celebration took place in a bar called the Crown & Thistle in New York City in 1756 although the event was being celebrated in a smaller way in Boston, USA since around 1737.  

The day has been celebrated in Montreal, Canada since 1824.  There are also parades held in Paris, Rome, Munich, Moscow, Beijing, Honk Kong, Singapore, and Copenhagen to name a few.  In America parades have been held in the following cities since early days:

~ Philadelphia since 1780
~ Savanah, Georgia since 1813
~ Carbondale, Pennsylvania since 1833
~ Chicago, Illinois since 1843
~ New Haven, Conneticut since 1845
~ San Franscisco since 1852


In 1948 Harry Truman became the first American president to attend a St. Patrick's Day parade (in New York city).

And now lots more about St. Patrick and St. Patrick's Day ...

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Little Croc of Shamrocks

SHAMROCKS

Every year on St. Patrick's Day many people wear their shamrocks, a little bunch of shamrocks held onto the clothes by a pin.  The shamrock is strongly connected with St. Patrick and with Ireland even though the harp is the official emblem of Ireland (see below).

It is said that St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost) when converting the pagans of Ireland to Christianity.  

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Bacon, Cabbage & Shamrock Sauce

FOOD FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Many people enjoy what they think of as "Irish food" on St. Patrick's Day but unfortunately many get it wrong.

If you want to see some traditional Irish recipes and a bit of background on them, click on any of these links:

- Bacon and Cabbage (and 'Shamrock Sauce'!)
- Irish Stew
- Irish Soda Bread

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Irish Flag Jellies

IRISH FLAG DESSERT & IRISH FLAG DRINK

We took a while to get the white for the white jelly right and you can read how we made our Irish Flag Jellies HERE.

A short drink for St. Patrick's Day could be the Irish Flag.  It is very moreish and easy to drink but very strong ~ so take care!

You will need a sherry size glass, a shot of Baileys Irish Cream, a shot of Creme de Menthe, and a shot of Cointreau.  Carefully run the Creme de Menthe into the bottom of the glass using a teaspoon so it doesn't splash or touch the side of the glass.  Next do the same with a clean teaspoon and the Baileys Irish Cream.  Finish off with a clean teaspoon and the Cointreau.  You should end up with the colours separate and the colours of the Irish flag.

And when you get in the mood for singing, here are the lyrics to some Irish songs for the great day HERE.

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GUINNESS AND THE IRISH HARP

Guinness is of course the drink of choice on St. Patrick's Day. 

We all associate a Guinness with the harp logo and indeed it has been their logo since 1862 when Arthur Guinness introduced it as Guinness' trademark.  In 1876 he registered the harp as a trademark and this is where we come to Ireland's emblem, the harp.

The harp was chosen to be the emblem of Ireland by the first Free State Government of Ireland in 1922.  However it has been used on Coats of Arms of Irish Chieftains (Kings) since as early as the 13th century.


When the first Free State government chose the harp as the official state emblem in 1922 they had to have their harp facing a different direction than the Guinness harp as that was trademarked.  See the photographs below which show the trademarked Guinness harp and the emblem of Ireland harp as used on our coinage.  The third photograph below shows the Guinness harp in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.

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Hail Glorious St. Patrick

HAIL GLORIOUS ST. PATRICK

The hymn Hail Glorious St. Patrick will remind many Catholic people of their early school days because at this time of year, along with having to wear green to school, this would have been the first time we learned the words to this hymn.    

At the end of the hymn lyrics you can click on a link which will take you to a clip of the Irish tenor Frank Patterson's (1938-2000) version of the hymn.  




 
Hail, glorious St. Patrick, dear saint of our isle,
On us thy poor children bestow a sweet smile;

And now thou art high in thy mansions above,

On Erin's green valleys look down in thy love.

On Erin's green valleys, on Erin's green valleys,

On Erin's green valleys look down in thy love.

Thy people, now exiles on many a shore,

Shall love and revere thee till time be no more;

And the fire thou hast kindled shall ever burn bright,

Its warmth undiminished, undying its light.

Its warmth undiminished, Its warmth undiminished,
Its warmth undiminished, undying its light.

Ever bless and defend the sweet land of our birth,

Where the shamrock still blooms as when thou wert on earth,

And our hearts shall yet burn, where so ever we roam,

For God and St. Patrick, and our native home.

For God and St. Patrick, For God and St. Patrick, 
For God and St. Patrick, and our native home.


Listen HERE.

In other versions the last two lines of the verse are not repeated and would read thus:

Hail, glorious St. Patrick, dear saint of our isle, 
On us thy poor children bestow a sweet smile; 
And now thou art high in the mansions above, 
On Erin's green valleys look down in thy love. 

On Erin's green valleys, on Erin's green valleys, 
On Erin's green valleys look down in thy love. 

Hail, glorious St. Patrick, thy words were once strong 
Against Satan's wiles and a heretic throng; 
Not less is thy might where in Heaven thou art; 
Oh, come to our aid, in our battle take part! 

In a war against sin, in the fight for the faith,
Dear Saint, may thy children resist to the death;
May their strength be in meekness, in penance, and prayer,
Their banner the Cross, which they glory to bear.

Thy people, now exiles on many a shore,
Shall love and revere thee till time be no more;
And the fire thou hast kindled shall ever burn bright,
Its warmth undiminished, undying its light.

Ever bless and defend the sweet land of our birth,
Where the shamrock still blooms as when thou were on earth,
And our hearts shall yet burn, wherever we roam,
For God and St. Patrick, and our native home.

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ST. PATRICK'S BREASTPLATE 

There are two schools of thought on the origin of ‘St. Patrick’s Breastplate’.  Some say that St. Patrick wrote it in about 433 AD before he successfully converted Ireland to Christianity and others believe it was not written by St. Patrick but by an anonymous author showing St. Patrick’s faith.  

As a teenager in Ireland my maternal grandmother used to recite this when she was in the car with me driving.  I used to think she used it to protect us both (and others on the road) from my driving!

The verse below is the short version and probably the most used part of the prayer but you can view the much longer version HERE. 

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

The full, much longer, version can be found HERE.

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Fahan, County Donegal of St. Patrick's Day Card

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CARDS

Millions of cards are sent on St. Patrick's Day every year but some of the most beautiful date back to the late 19th and early 20th century.  You can view our collection of these HERE. 

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And finally, an old Irish St. Patrick's Day toast:

Here’s to a long life and a merry one.
A quick death and an easy one
A pretty girl and an honest one
A cold beer – and another one!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY ONE AND ALL!