The Most Illustrious Order…

Though The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick bears his name, he is only the patron saint of this later established knighthood of 1783. It was formed as a means to obtain support in Irish Parliament. ( Not to be confused with The Brothers of St. Patrick or the internet domain “orderofstpatrick.org” which has nothing at all to do with the knighthood or unbiased opinion.) This exclusive British order of chivalry was created by George III for membership of Irish Peers and foreign princes whom were both gentlemen and knighted. “Gentlemen” meaning members must have three generations of “noblesse” or noble blood (i.e. Heraldry) on both their father’s and mother’s side. The Order still exists, just not active as no new knights of St. Patrick have been created since 1936. The last surviving knight, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, died in 1974. The Queen remains the Sovereign of the Order, and one officer, the Ulster King of Arms survives. It was originally limited to a fifteen members plus the sovereign.  Six additional knights were later added. For a total of of 22 members. Initially it had thirteen officers: the Prelate, the Chancellor, the Registrar, the Usher, the Secretary, the Genealogist, the King of Arms, two heralds and four pursuivants. Mostly held by clergymen of the Church of Ireland, then established church. No women other than the Queen were allowed when it was active. The cross of St Patrick (a red saltire on a white background) was chosen as one of the symbols of the Order. A flag of this design was later incorporated into the Union Flag. Its association with St. Patrick or with Ireland prior to the foundation of the Order is unclear. There is no official website dedicated to the Order and or by the Order.

^{This is my condensed version of the Wikipedia article, and is no where near as detailed nor doing it any justice. Since the Order of St. Patrick  does not really concern or attribute to St. Patrick, I am not elaborating further research beyond that of Wikipedia as it is only here on account of having his name attached to the Order}