His Myths.

There are many myths surrounding St. Patrick. People believe them to be true even when there is no historic evidence supporting them whatsoever. They then continue to teach these things as facts to their following generations through televisions, books, music, and of course the internet.  Be it at home, at school, or in church.  This page is intended to do the exact opposite and set the records straight.  While the stories and legends might be cute and serve a purpose of entertainment and the bestowing of morality, they tend to dumb down the public and therefore cause harm.  They serve as an inaccurate account of history, science, and pop culture.  While it is fine to revere St. Patrick as a good and noble man, accrediting him with fiction or the works of others is no way to honor the man.

The Shamrock

The shamrock, after the official “Clàrsach” (Harp) seal, is an honorary and unofficial symbol of Ireland.  The legends of Patrick using them to symbolize the Holy Trinity in an effort to explain to Laoghaire, the High King of Tara or any others have no historical validation in any documented form.  This tale probably was started by monks and other missionaries.  Sure they meant no harm and were just trying to get their points across to children and the public in general.  With that being said there is also no proof that he never did this.  However, since there is no official record of it, then it should not be taught as fact.  Patrick was famous for interweaving Celtic beliefs and customs into Christianity.  For instance he incorporated their sun symbol into the Cross forming the Celtic Cross so that they may identify with it more.  It is not unlikely that he would had used their sacred symbol of the shamrock which grew abundantly across their island.  Regardless, the combination of the Holy Trinity with the shamrock works and is a suitable symbol of Ireland.

The Banishment of All Snakes From Ireland.

It is said that St. Patrick stood on a rock  as he held  a staff much in a fashion which was reminiscent to Moses, and had proceeded to banish all the snakes from Ireland after he was attacked by them during a holy fast.  Ever since that fateful day, not a snake has been found on the Emerald Isle.

Ireland never had any snakes to begin with prior to modern zoos.  Well at least in the post-glacial sense.  Any before then would had been scraped off the surface.  That would account for the lack of any fossil records.

Ireland the island mass, as it currently is known, became such when it was isolated from Scotland due to the ocean’s rise.  One of many from a rise and fall that has a give and take relationship throughout earth’s history during the past 100 million years since the evolution of snakes.  Switching from a land bridge to water an uncertain number of times where the North Channel is now located.

Now consider that around 1.8 million years ago, during the Pleistocene era, a series of ice caps completely covered Northern Europe as well as the Eastern half of North America.  With every time that the glaciers moved south, all of Ireland would had been buried under a deep sheet of unforgiving ice.  No snake of any kind or any cold blooded creature could have ever survived this scenario without access to an underground burrow that is insulated from cold.  Sadly for the serpents there was no such opportunity as the ground was frozen solid, no safe haven of any kind.   If any snakes had managed to migrate to Ireland they would had been frozen stiff and removed with the next glacier pushing them and the rest of the frozen top sheet off the island into the vast ocean.

The last glacier over Ireland did not disappear until roughly 18,000 years ago.  However, Ireland had remained frozen for yet another 3,000 years past that due to the Gulf stream being blocked.  By the time Ireland reached its current state the 12 miles or so of frigid water of the North Channel separated it from Europe.  Once again, no cold blooded life form can survive that swim. So unless snakes grow wings, fall out of a birds beak, get carried there by boat or plane under the care of a human, basically anything short of an act of God then no snake can ever reach Ireland on its own. Nature blocked it off.  At least unless global warming evens the score.

Now metaphorically speaking, as many sources state “paganism” could had been the snake culprit.  As Patrick, Palladius, and a few others eventually succeeded in converting the natives to Christianity.  Thus ridding Ireland of old Celtic and Druid beliefs and practices which involved human sacrifice and polytheism.  Unfortunately though, much of the Irish-Celtic people’s history has been forever lost with that conversion.  Not that the ending human sacrifice and whatnot is a bad thing, but it is a shame that other cultural information and customs that were a part of Irish heritage are gone forever. Stories, songs and dances, art and the oral traditions.  This is why modern Wiccans and Pagans wear a green serpent as an emblem on t-shirts and such for St. Patrick’s Day in the form of a silent protest.

More Myths.

1. Patrick was not the first Christian missionary to step foot in Ireland.  This honor belongs to Palladius who was sent by Pope Celestine I. Saints: Delcan, Ailbhe, Ciaran, and Ibar were also there before Patrick.
2. Patrick was never tempted by the devil.   Or at least there are no records as such.  According to the legend,  God rewarded him with a wish.  Patrick  is said to have asked that his people (the Irish), be spared of the Final Judgment and to allow him to judge Ireland instead.  Rumor has it that Ireland will be swallowed by the sea seven years before the Final Judgment.   Aside from the wish, this was probably based on Jesus Christ’s temptation via Sermon on the Mount and some how gotten attributed to him by mistake.  Therefore, God did not grant him a single wish as a reward for resisting the devil.
3. Supposedly,  right after he used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, he was challenged to make it snow by the Druid Priest to denounce him and his religion in front of  Laoghaire.  He refused, saying something to the extent that “That is God’s work” meaning that he could not command God and that it was God’s will if it snowed.  The legend states that it began to snow at that very moment and would not cease until Patrick blessed himself.  History lacks any records confirming this account as well.

One legend has it that Patrick, when he escaped from his youthful slavery in Ireland went straight to France. Deciding to visit his uncle in Tours, he had to cross the River Loire. He had no obvious means of doing so, but he found that his cape made an admirable raft. On reaching the other side, he hung his cape out to dry upon a hawthorn bush. Despite it being the middle of winter, the bush immediately burst into bloom. Fact: To this day, the hawthorn blooms in winter in the Loire Valley.*

Patrick, despite his saintliness, was not averse to bouts of temper, it seems. After a greedy man once denied him the use of a field to rest and grazes his oxen, Patrick is said to have cursed the field, prophesying that nothing would grow on it from then on. Sure enough, that very day, the field was overrun by the sea and remained sandy and barren for evermore.*

On the day that Patrick died, night never fell in Ulster nor did it for a further twelve days.*

A blind man once came to Patrick seeking a cure. As he approached, he stumbled several times and fell over and was duly laughed at by one of Patrick’s companions. The blind man was cured. The companion, however, was blinded.*

^{*Taken from SaintPatricksCountry.com Other Resources: Ancestry.com, Wikipedia, National Geographic}