Who is Saint Patrick to the Irish People, and what exactly is his importance in Irish History?

Saint Patrick’s Day in America vs the UK

Here in America, St. Patrick’s Day is generally treated as a joke. It’s an excuse for “Irish-Americans” to get drunk, act erratic, and destroy other’s property under the guise of prideful celebration. Back in Ireland, however, it is a notably solemn holiday where spirits are not encouraged nor indulged in.

I quite enjoy the history of the UK Isles, and know that on old maps Scotland was once in place of Ireland, although now it is vice-versa. Because of this, it’s honestly difficult sometimes to pin-point certain accuracies in legends, or take seriously other contemporary scholars who argue precise points of interest in histories while ignoring the glaring distinctions and discrepancies that follow.

The world in general is quite jumbled up. Although it is slowly being pieced back together, I believe we all need to start acknowledging that just because a location has a certain place name today, does not mean that its location has always been at the present.

To be fair – places throughout history all around the world have constantly had name and demographic changes, and then to top it all off – even its former inhabitants were written off as dead, missing, or reclassified into something else entirely.

Giants in the History of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Present-day UK has a fantastic history concerning giants that can almost rival America’s in its richness of legend with corresponding physical proof left behind to hint at its (long-forgotten and ignored) authenticity.

The only problem is, it’s extremely difficult to find the local histories of regions without stumbling upon a small blog that hasn’t been updated in 10 years, or reading brief anecdotes within the annals of a county’s history.

I often wonder how many of the men of old (the biblical “Men of Renown”) were actual giants – like the (said mythical) King Arthur, whose supposed grave is reportedly over 8 ft tall. Or areas of the land that were terraformed by said giant’s footsteps, hurling of boulders, and the like in legend that are written off as (historical) fallacy when viewing the evidence today.

Saint Patrick the Conqueror?

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here yet, but I am a collector of antiquarian books. I love collecting dictionaries filled with the true stories or anecdotal legends that inspired popular romances of the time, or even discovering the true origins of the film, TV, video games, and other media we as a society consume today.

In a fantastic book by an author I’m trying to collect more from, A Dictionary of Medieval Romance and Romance Writers by Lewis Spence, Spence details St. Patrick’s journeys a great deal:

One page I happened to simply flip to noted another fabled pair of giant footsteps left in the stone bedrock of Ireland that when conducting a quick Google search, rendered no viable results.  In the corner, I noticed a tale about St. Patrick seemingly bullying the “pagan” and “heathen” inhabitants of an island into submission before converting them to Christianity.

Now, it could simply be that the author of this book may not like St. Patrick very much (or as a Scotsman, simply disliked the Irish) but as I continually leafed through the book, all of the tales had a similar theme:

St. Patrick would arrive to an area, fight with its inhabitants, and either convert them to Christianity or be chased away by the ‘heathen’ masses.

The Colloquy of the Ancients

In one tale, the Colloquy of the Ancients (“Acallam na Senórach”), St. Patrick “baptized the heathen warriors” while he also “gives absolution to many more of their comrades” while the rest of his company wars with its people. It is interesting to note that the Fianna – an ancient warrior band that is the primary focus of Acallam na Senórach – was believed to be led by “Fionn mac Cumhaill” (Now “Finn McCool” or “MacCool”) for whom speculation surrounds regarding his legendary giant stature.

The Book of the Dun Cow

In another tale coming from the Book of the Dun Cow, Laery, Son of Neill, King of Ireland decided to convert to Christianity after having a vision of St. Patrick summoning cuchulain (“Cú Chulainn”) from the pits of hell to “prove his teachings”. Fearing the wrath of the resurrection of the Irish demigod and warrior from mythology, St. Patrick’s strange powers of influence are what made an actual king convert to a (arguably pagan) religion.

No matter how far I look into this book, the subject matter surrounding Saint Patrick is always the same: coercion, forced conversions to Christianity, and a sort of sorcery and Fae magic that enabled him to do so.

Saint Patrick’s Footsteps on Skerries

According to the Skerries Historical Society, St. Patrick’s footprint can still be seen today on a rock at Red Island, during his brief stay (and conquest) of an island later to bear his namesake.

The story goes that when Saint Patrick was expelled from “Wicklow” by the “pagan natives” (alluding to a failed forced conversion to Christianity) he landed on a small island near Skerries which now bears his name. (Note: I hate how in the retelling of legends, almost always there is a failure to mention the original name of a place before its conquest. Almost as if it must be stuck from written history since it had fallen.)

Accompanied by a goat on his journey, the local people of Skerries went and stole Saint Patrick’s goat while he was off converting the local people on the mainland to Christianity. Filled with rage, Saint Patrick took “two giant strides” passing Colt Island in one, and Red Island in the next to confront the goat-knappers. When asked about the goat, the villagers reportedly “could only bleat” until they decided to tell the truth – upon which “their voices returned”.

Which if you ask me, sounds like (fae) or even giant magic.

Anyway – the footprint we’re referring to today is still visible on Red Island, and the descendants of that island are nicknamed “Skerries Goats” for their transgression against Saint Patrick’s goat. There is no report on whether or not Saint Patrick’s footprint can be seen on Colt Island.

Local Legends Surrounding Saint Patrick’s Footprint

I found a blog post from what appears to be a local of the area near Skerries who grew up “making wishes” in Saint Patrick’s footprint on Red Island. He mentions that there is always water seated within the footprint, even at “the lowest tide”.

The blogger then recalls the speculation surrounding Saint Patrick’s upbringing and background, before mentioning the “giant leap” he made that forcefully left an impression on the rock at Red Island.

There is then mention of another legend that states the locals simply marked the spot where he set foot on the mainland of Ireland “to begin his mission”, before stating that “1582 years ago” Saint Patrick came to Ireland from “far away” to “preach the gospel” to people who reportedly held him in captivity as a slave in boyhood. Which…makes no sense to me, but the author of the blog post then makes an analogy from Roman history concerning Julius Caesar vowing to return and ‘crucify’ those that held him in captivity.

Which if reading between the lines of this equivalency and the Irish today viewing St Patrick’s Day as a solemn event…would this not be a man (or giant) who sought to conquer Ireland into Christianity out of vengeance and spite for wrongdoings Saint Patrick suffered whilst against its people?

The Bishop’s Window on Inis Phádraig

Continuing on… The blogger shows pictures of Inis Phádraig (Saint Patrick’s Island), where he reportedly leapt between the isles, and mentions the Bishop’s Window where people believe they can see a bishop’s silhouette in the ruined monastery on the island.

There is also mention of a legend that Saint Patrick cursed the women of Skerries to grow beards, but the author points out that he has never seen such during his “three quarters of a century” on the island.

But, what do you think?

Do you wonder about Saint Patrick’s questionable origins, and how he was able to subdue Ireland through Christianity?

Do you think the legends allude to Saint Patrick being a giant?

I’d love to know your thoughts and opinions! Leave them in the comment section below, and Subscribe to our Newsletter for more Irish History.  

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