University of Virginia Library

Blarney Of St. Patrick

By LAURI GOODMAN

Get out your green and
polish up your blarney for
tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day.

The legend of St. Patrick is
a rich part of Irish folklore
liberally embroidered with
exaggerations and even some
outright lies.

The real St. Patrick was a
British-born Bishop who
outdid the Druids at their own
magic to convert the heathen
Irish nation to Christianity in
the 5th century.

According to legend, St.
Patrick's great powers forced
Ireland's toads and snakes to
fling themselves into the sea,
and faithful followers travel to
the miracle's site each St.
Patrick's day to pray.

Many Irishmen claim that
St. Patrick lived to be 120 and
that there was no night for 12
days after he died, while man
and nature mourned his
passing.

The name of St. Patrick is
linked with Roman
Catholicism but the cathedral
he founded and his burial site
are Protestant. In spite of this,
Northern Ireland is not overly
enthusiastic about St. Patrick.
His feast day is not a public
holiday, though the
Government does take a
vacation. South Ireland,
however, is so enthusiastic
about St. Patrick that they
even close the pubs on March
17, forcing many good
Irishmen to go north for a shot
of whiskey to honor the great
saint.

St. Patrick's Day has
traditionally been a holiday
celebrated by true Irishmen all
over the world. But in recent
years, Ireland itself is split by
violence and hatred, and it is
doubtful that Protestants and
Catholics will put aside their
hand grenades to pick
shamrocks in honor of the man
who heard "the voice of the
Irish" and brought the nation
out of darkness. The
personality of St. Patrick is the
personality of the Irish;
passionate, violent, and
devoted. St. Patrick fought for
the Irish people's souls and the
fighting, unfortunately, goes
on into our century.