Irish Folklore Myths and Legends - St Patrick Celtic Cross

Lets start at St Patricks Grave with this Ireland legend. Myth and folklore are part of the human experience. Irish myths and legends are amongst our favorite. Irish symbols from the Celtic cross, the Shamrock and Saint Patrick are known around the world. Throughout the world many a culture is shaped by beliefs and mythology. When we talk of legend one of the greatest is that of Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick has been elevated above Irish Catholic legend to world wide folklore.

St Patrick’s Day has evolved into the biggest celebration of everything Irish. The Shamrock Patrick ancient myth creation surrounds St Patrick. St Patrick hits, gifts and ornaments are plentiful. For many it is a sacred day. Irish Catholics remember him as the man who converted Ireland to Christianity.

Tours to his gravesite are frequent around St Patrick’s Day. It is not a straightforward odyssey though. There are different legends as to where he now lies. The Shamrock Patrick ancient myth creation leaves question about his birth, life and death. What do you expect from a man who is said to have banished all the snakes from Ireland. Irish culture traditionally is rich with oral legend and myth. Consider this when we consider the Shamrock Patrick ancient myth creation that is folklore.

The most favored burial site is in the grounds of Down Cathedral in the town of Down-Patrick which is 33 km south of Belfast. His reputed grave in the grounds of Down Cathedral is marked by a flat granite stone inscribed with ‘PATRIC’.

In Irish folk songs as; “In Down, three Saints one grave do fill, Patrick, Brigid and Columcille.”

The Folk song is about St Patrick sharing this grave with Saint Brigid and Saint Columcille (Columba) who are the other Irish patron Saints. Another legend is that the bodies were moved posthumously to the one grave, Saint Brigid is said to be buried in County Kildare and Saint Columcille is said to be buried in Iona. Like all good mysteries there is no definitive answer where the three’s remains rest. We will begin the Shamrock Patrick ancient myth creation with his birth. 

Patrick was largely forgotten after he died. It is believed he died on March 17, 461 AD. Slowly though, largely through verbal legend and folklore the Shamrock Patrick mythology grew around Patrick. It was not for centuries that he was to become known as the patron saint of Ireland and so honored. Whilst there is much fact in the legacy of Saint Patrick there is much myth and fancy.

St Patrick’s Birthplace

Saint Patrick birthplace is believed to be near Dumbarton, in Scotland around A.D 387. Which surprises many that he wasn’t Irish born. His parents were aristocratic Christians, Calpurnius and Conchessa. Calpurnis was a deacon and his Grandfather Potitus was a priest. He was born into the Christian faith but it was not until later that he became a strong believer in Christianity.

In keeping with the Shamrock Ancient Myth creation others have Patrick’s birthplace at Bannaventa, near the current Scotland and England border in 390.

Patrick Kidnapped 

It appears all was very humdrum in young Patrick’s life until he was 14 or 16 years old.  A pirate raiding party in South Wales kidnapped him. He was sold with others into slavery and shipped off to Ireland. 

Patrick was to spend six or seven years there. He spent most of his time imprisoned and as a sheepherder. The Irish of that time were pagans and druids. He would learn the local customs and language.

Patrick Escapes Ireland 

Legend has it that Patrick dreamed of God coming to him in his sleep. God directed him to escape from the encampment. This was to be the first of his revelations. Patrick escaped and walked almost 200 miles from County Mayo to the Irish coast. On the Irish coast he boarded a pirate ship and made it back to Britain and his family. 

Patrick, The Voice of the Irish

Whilst in Britain Patrick says he experienced a second revelation. An angel told him his purpose was to return to Ireland as a Christian missionary. One of two identified Patrick memoirs tells us of this. Patrick wrote The Confessio, his spiritual autobiography. Here he writes of the dream where Victoricus delivered a letter "The Voice of the Irish."

After the revelation Patrick left for France to begin his studies for the priesthood.  He joined a monastery and studied under St. Germanus, the bishop of Auxerre.  After 14 years or so St. Germanus ordained him a Bishop. From here he returned to Ireland to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and convert the Irish to Christianity.

Now an ordained Bishop Patrick returned to Slane in Ireland on March 25, 433. There was a small band of Christians but most Irish practiced Paganism. Patrick preached the Gospel throughout Ireland, gathering disciples and building churches. Life was not easy he had to fight off thugs and both the Irish royalty and British landowners. 

Legend has it that Patrick’s message grew great credence after he subdued the Dichu (the chieftain) of one of the leading tribes. The Dichu had tried to kill Patrick. Patrick pinned his arm whereby he admired Patrick who befriended him and the Dichu converted to Christianity. From here there are more legends of nobility, royalty and entire Kingdoms converting to Christianity. Patrick, using knowledge from his early years in slavery incorporated traditional Irish ritual into his teachings of the Christian Word.  He did not attempt to eradicate native Irish beliefs. This was to be a pattern of Christian missionaries mindful of Jesus’ teachings of tolerance and inclusion.

Some of Patrick’s better-known disciples were Auxilius, Beningnus, Iserninus and Fiaac. The Christian Church later canonized all these disciples.

Examples of the inclusion of traditional Irish practices included using bonfires at Easter celebration.  Many pagan rituals at times involved fire.  The sun was also a powerful symbol for the Irish. From here came the Celtic Cross. The Celtic cross has a Christian cross and the sun combined. Thus respect of culture and belief was combined and explains why the Shamrock Patrick Ancient Myth Creation has crown to be so quintessentially Irish.

One of the popular parts of the Shamrock Patrick ancient myth creation is that St. Patrick banished all snakes from Ireland. While yes it’s true that no snakes exist in island today. There is a perfectly logical reason for this; there never were snakes on island. The most recent ice age kept the island too cold for snakes until it ended 10,000 years ago. Ireland, being an island is surrounded by chilly treacherous seas, which have served to keep snakes from swimming there from elsewhere.

Nigel Monaghan from the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin says “at no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland, so [there was] nothing for St. Patrick to banish" Part of his duties as keeper of natural history is overseeing and analyzing the museums fossils and records of Irish animals.

The Snakes and the Druids

What the snakes refer to is the representation of evil in ancient literature. The legend of Patrick driving out the snakes from Ireland is symbolic. He drove out the evil ways of the pagan religions. One of the symbols of the druids was the serpent.

The Shamrock and the Holy Trinity

The shamrock myth is that Patrick used three-leafed shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity. The Holy trinity represents the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This myth was most likely spread by monk’s centuries after St. Patrick has died. Today when you see a shamrock you generally think of Ireland and good luck.

Down Cathedral

Saint Patrick’s biographer Muirchu (hundreds of years after St. Patrick's death) described Saint Patrick’s death on 17 March, 461 as follows.

“Untamed oxen were chosen and they steadily drew the cart containing the holy body placed on their necks and, guide by the will of God, they went out to Dun Lethglaisse (Down) where Patrick lies buried.”

It is generally thought that he is buried somewhere near the ‘PATRIC’ stone in the grounds of Down Cathedral in the town of Down-Patrick. The stone is a slab of granite from the nearby Mourne Mountains. Down-Patrick is 33 km south of Belfast in Northern Ireland. The Memorial Stone traditionally marks his grave and was placed there in 1900 by the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club.

Saint Tassach Church

There is another tradition that Patrick didn’t die at Saul, Down- Patrick but down the road. This legend has him dying at Raholp. Raholp is about half a mile from Saul and home to the oldest Church in Ireland, St. Tassach's Church. Tradition is that Raholp is where St. Patrick first arrived to convert the Irish, on Strangford Lough. He was said to have walked up what is now known as "Myra Road" which led to St. Tassach’s Church. St. Tassach’s ruins can be found on St. Patrick's Road.

Saint Patrick is said to on the Church’s grounds. Saint Tassach (Tassac in Old Irish Gaelic) was Patrick’s very first Christian convert. Tradition has Saint Tassach performing the Last Rites on Patrick.

The exact location is a mystery to protect his remains and to give a little sanctity to his remains. One thing I do know the area in Ireland is beautiful and a must see for many visitors to Belfast and the surrounding county. Here is a little of just one legend, that of Saint Patrick. The myth of Shamrock Patrick has brought much happiness every year around the world. Like most legends there is a blur between fact and fiction. That is part of folklore and the magic of it, that little bit of unknown. Spare a thought for St Patrick and his legend on St. Patrick’s Day as you toast your ancestors and friends alike.