La Fhéile Pádraig Shona Daoibh! or Happy St. Patrick's Day

Who is St. Patrick?

This may come as a shock, but St. Patrick wasn’t born in Ireland. He was born in Scotland around the year 387, in a colony of the Roman empire. Both of his parents were Roman citizens. At 14, he was kidnapped by a raiding party, taken to Ireland and forced to work as a shepherd. His masters were Druids, practitioners of the ancient Celtic religion. Christianity had already been introduced to Ireland, but it hadn’t really caught on yet.

Patrick’s captivity lasted until he was about 20, when he escaped and returned to his family. However, he felt a spiritual calling to return to Ireland as a missionary. He died there in about 461, after 40 years of preaching and performing miracles. He’s said to have used the shamrock to teach the idea of the Trinity (the idea of God as being the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all in one).

Pagan lore claims that “Saint Patrick” is a myth, a Christianized reference to another Trinity: the Morrigan, the Irish triple goddess composed of maiden Brigit, mother Babd and death-aspect Macha. (Macha is the bean-sidhe, the woman of the fairy-mound, better known as the banshee.) Patrick was the mythical young warrior who was annually wedded to Brigit, then sacrificed to the Morrigan, only to rise again the following year to have the whole cycle start over. Brigit was Christianized as St. Brigid of Kildare, a nun who founded Ireland’s first convent near the place where the priestesses of Brigid once tended a sacred fire.

(The Morrigan in an image by André Koehne)

St. Patrick’s Day in America

In Ireland, the saint’s day is observed as a religious holiday, with charity shows, parades and church services. In the U.S., community celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day originated in Boston, which boasts a large number of Irish-Americans. It’s New York City, though, that holds the oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade; the tradition began in 1762.

No one knows exactly who poured the first green beer, but Chicago has dyed its river green every year since 1962. They use enough biodegradable, vegetable-based dye to keep the green color visible for one day. Favorite activities on St. Patrick’s Day include cooking Irish foods like colcannon, listening to Irish music, and learning Gaeilge words.

The Irish Language

Gaeilge, Anglicized as “Gaelic,” refers to a group of closely related languages native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man (where the language is called Manx). Other Celtic languages, including Welsh and Cornish, are more distantly related. Some Gaeilge phrases:

La Fhéile Pádraig Shona Daoibh - Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Dia dhuir - God be with you (used as a greeting)
Eireann go braugh - Ireland forever
Go raibh mile maith agat! - Thank you very much!
Slainte! - Cheers! (literally, “Health!”)
Ta cupla focail Gaeilge agam - I know a couple of Irish words

An Irish drink, according to The Simpsons

Carve out a hole in a potato large enough to hold a shot glass. Place shot glass in potato. Pour Bushmill’s whiskey into shot glass. Float potato in pint glass of Guinness stout. Spit in drink and serve.

Some Irish People I Love

1. William Butler Yeats

Yes, his father was English, but his mother was Irish, and he was born in County Dublin.

"He Wishes for the Clothes of Heaven"

"Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."

2. Dolores O'Riordan. No relation (that I know of - we could be distant cousins). This Limerick-born rocker chick may have made her fame in '90s fronting The Cranberries, but to this day she's considered one of the 10 richest women in Ireland. You go, girl!

3. Bram Stoker

What vampire lover doesn't appreciate the first real master of the vampire novel? I've read Abraham Stoker's best-known novel, originally published in 1897, twice. He was born in Clontarf (a district of northern Dublin).

4. Gabriel Byrne

Ellen Barkin's baby daddy is one of the Irish dudes I'd most like to see lewd. All I have to say to impress you is "He played Keaton in The Usual Suspects," but he's done so much more than that. His two most Celtic-inspired films are Into the West and Excalibur. He studied archaeology before becoming an actor and speaks Spanish fluently. Byrne was born in Dublin.



5. Liam Neeson

Also appearing in Excalibur, Neeson is from Ballymena, Northern Ireland (like my Irish ancestors, who came from Derry). All I have to say to impress you is "He played the title role in Schindler's List." Well, he played Oskar Schindler, not the list, but you get the idea. He's done so many great things, from the voice of Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia films to that fight with Christian Bale in Batman Begins to his guest appearance as a Catholic priest on The Simpsons.

I always imagine Neeson and Byrne as having something of a friendly rivalry because Byrne, as Lord Byron, kissed Neeson's wife Natasha Richardson (as Mary Shelley) in Gothic.

Resources:

“Celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.” The Holiday Spot. http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/celebration.htm

“Irish Phrases.” Ireland Information. http://www.ireland-information.com/irishphrases.htm

“St. Patrick.” Catholic Online. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89

“The Gaelic Language.” Gateway to Scotland. http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/gaelic.html

Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets.

Portions of this post originally appeared at theholidaydiva.blogspot.com, a blog that apparently no longer exists.

For St. Patrick's Day's Week, "Blue Monday" is "Green Monday"

Blue Monday is my weekly Pinterest feature. I'd normally feature selections from my "I've Got the Blues" board. However, in honor of St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, this Blue Monday will be a Green Monday.





This book cover is from Lydia Nyx. Lydia's Monday meme is Monday Funday, in which she'll share some fun links, and she encourages others to share their links as well. Hook up with Monday Funday - it's free promo!

March Rocks! (Welcome Blogelina Commenters!)

Welcome, repeat and new readers of Pagan Spirits alike! Today is the first day of the beautiful month of March, which always excites this Irish-American girl. This week, I'll be participating in the "Get 100 Blog Post Comments" event hosted by Blogelina.

The Pagan Spirits blogging schedule:

Are you a Pinterest pinhead? Stop by Pagan Spirits on Mondays for Blue Monday. I'll share some of the images from my "I've Got the Blues" board around a theme.

Are you an author? Would you like to share about a work in progress? Stop by Pagan Spirits on WIP Wednesday! I'd love to have some new WIP Wednesday guest authors, and you can read about what I'm writing.

St Patricks Day Images - Photobucket

Speaking of guest authors, on March 13th I'll be welcoming PM Terrell. She'll be talking about her book Vickie's Key and some real-life psychic warriors.

My guest on the 20th will be Diva Jefferson, with an excerpt from her historical romance novel, To Love an Irishman.

On March 24th, my guest author will be Julianne Snow, who writes zombie horror fiction.

Do you ever need a chance to dump your thoughts out onto the page? If so, you'll want to stop by Pagan Spirits on Sunday. I hook up with the blog hop hosted by AllThingsFadra for Stream of Consciousness Sunday. Fadra provides the prompt - all you have to do is free write for 5 minutes and link up.

This SOC Sunday post is about Whitney Houston's passing, and how tough it is to love somebody with a drug problem.

St Patricks Day Images - Photobucket

...and, in case you couldn't tell, I get excited about St. Patrick's Day!

But La Fhéile Pádraig is not the only celebration in March. We'll also be looking forward to the first day of spring. Thursday, March 8th is International Women's Day, and the entire month of March is Women's History Month!

Are there any Twilight fans in the house? (You probably guessed I was a Twilight fan by my Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 countdown widget.) Then you may be gearing up to celebrate St. Marcus Day on the 19th - don't forget to wear your red!

Have you ever wondered how much of St. Marcus Day was fact, and what was fiction? Read this post.

St Patricks Day Images - Photobucket

Thanks for visiting my blog! I hope you had a great time here - come back any time!

St Patricks Day Images - Photobucket

The Forgotten Saints of Ireland

Every March 17th, we in the United States celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It’s an excuse to wear green and to celebrate all things Irish, including green beer and whiskey. Did you know that St. Patrick wasn’t even born in Ireland? Technically, he was Scottish. If he hadn’t been kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery, he might never have set foot on the Emerald Isle that inspired him to compare the Holy Trinity to the three leaves of a shamrock.

The following is a list of the real Irish saints. They may not be as famous as Patrick, at least not in the U.S.A., but their stories are just as colorful. If we celebrated their feast days, we could be partying like Bono all year ‘round. This is your guide to finding excuses to pretend to be Irish…if you weren’t lucky enough to be born Irish.

Early February: St. Bridget (Brigid) of Kildare. Called “The Mary of the Gaels,” her chieftain father and slave mother had been baptized by St. Patrick in the 400s. Bridget founded a double abbey at Cill-Dara (Kildare), the first in Ireland. She’s credited with many miracles, including turning her bathwater into beer to appease the thirst of visiting bishops. Her feast day is February 1. Because the first of February coincides with the Celtic Pagan celebration of Imbolc, which looks forward to the fertility rites of spring, Bridget the saint is sometimes said to be a version of Brigid, the Celtic mother-goddess.

Mid-February: St. Gobnait. Also called Gobnet or Gobnata, this 6th century nun was born in County Clare, where she is said to have fled to join the nunnery to escape a family feud. She had a vision telling her to found a church at the place where she found nine white deer grazing. She became an abbess and disciple of St. Abban, who placed her in charge of a convent in County Cork. A well there bears her name, and she is remembered in local art as a skillful beekeeper. Feb. 11th is her feast day.

Mid-May: St. Dymphna. The patroness of insanity and nervous breakdowns, this seventh-century daughter of a Celtic chieftain fled home after her mother died, allegedly to escape her father, who had taken an incestuous interest in her. She fled to Antwerp, where St. Gerebernus became her confessor. Dymphna, Gerebernus and two companions founded a hermitage near Amsterdam, but her father hunted them down and killed Gerebernus and his companions. When Dymphna refused to return with him, he had her beheaded. The relics of the four martyrs were said to have caused miracles in the thirteenth century. Her feast day is May 15th.

Mid-May: St. Brendan the Navigator. Born in County Kerry around the year 485, Brendan was a monk. He then became abbot and founded many monasteries, including Clonfert. Known for his missionary voyages, legend has it he may have even reached North America. His feast day is May 16.

Early June: St. Columba. Also known as Colm or Colmcille, “Colm of the Churches,” he died in 597. Born in County Donegal, Columba founded monasteries including Kells (at which the famous Book of Kells was written and illustrated). His claim to infamy is a feud with St. Finian over St. Jerome’s psalter; Columba made the first copy in Ireland and didn’t want to give it up. It led to the battle of Cuildeimhe, in which three thousand men were killed. In shame, he left Ireland for Scotland. He did return for visits, though. On one of them, he is credited with exempting Irish women from military service. There is no record of how this went over with the local Celtic warrior women. His feast day is June 9th.

Early June: St. Kevin of Glendalough. Called Coemgen or Caoimhghin in Gaelic this 6th century hermit was of noble birth, though family machinations kept him from the position due to him. Instead he became a hermit. Later he gave up his hermitage and then founded a monastery. Kevin is said to have lived to be 120, and is a patron saint of Dublin. St. Kevin was famous for his love of nature. He is said to have fed his monastery with salmon brought to him by an otter. Once, while he was praying, a blackbird laid her egg in Kevin’s outstretched hand. He remained in that position until the egg hatched. June 3rd is his feast day.

Late September: St. Finbar. Known as Fion-Bharr, or “White Head,” this 7th century illegitimate member of the royal family of Connaught was a hermit. The pope made him a bishop in Rome, and he returned to Ireland to found the monastery in Cork. The sun did not set for two weeks after his death, according to folklore. Sept. 25th is his feast day.

Early November: St. Malachy. He was famous for his prophecies about the popes. His full name was Mael Maedoc ua Morgair, or Maolmhaodhog ua Morgair, and he was born in Armagh in 1095. He replaced the Celtic liturgy with the Roman liturgy. An archbishop, he founded Mellifont Abbey and healed the son of King David I of Scotland. He died in the arms of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in 1148. November 3rd is his feast day.

Mid-November: St. Lawrence O’Toole. Born in 1128, his Irish name was Lorcan Ua Tuathail. Augustinian archbishop of Dublin, he was born at Kildare to an alliance of two chieftains, then taken hostage by the king of Leinster. He became a monk, then bishop in 1162. He was famous for his charity toward the poor of his diocese. He was involved in the negotiations between King Henry II and Irish high king Rory O’Connor following England’s invasion of Ireland. He died in 1180, still deeply involved in international politics. November 14th is his feast day.

So the next time you feel the need for a pint of Guinness or a shot of Jameson, remember: the next Irish saint’s day may be only a few weeks away.

Resources Used:

Bunson, Matthew, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson. Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints (Revised). Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., 2003.

Farmer, David Hugh. The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978.

Originally published in the March 2010 Irish News.

For National Day of Prayer 2010

The Breast-Plate of St. Patrick, Paganized and feminized:

"I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea, Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

"I arise today
Through Brighid's strength to pilot me:
Brighid's might to uphold me,
Brighid's wisdom to guide me,
Brighid's eye to look before me,
Brighid's ear to hear me,
Brighid's word to speak for me,
Brighid's hand to guard me,
Brighid's way to lie before me,
Brighid's shield to protect me,
Brighid's host to save me
From snares of evil spirits,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude."

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:

"Lady, Mother, my maker, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Mistress, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console,
To be understood, as to understand,
To be loved, as to love,
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are reborn to eternal life."

Both of these are traditional prayers from my Catholic upbringing. slightly tweaked to reflect the divine feminine. Both reflect universal concerns to people of faith. For more diverse, multicultural and woman-centered prayers, I recommend 2 books by Mary Ford-Grabowsky: WomanPrayers and Sacred Voices.