The Story of St. Patrick and Other Irish Icons
St. Patrick
Born in Britain, Patrick at the age of 16 was kidnapped by Irish pirates and enslaved in
Ireland. For six miserable years he tended sheep on the cold hills of Ballymena. He finally
escaped aboard a ship to France, which then was known as Gaul. There he studied for the
priesthood and in 431 A.D. was named a bishop. The next year he was sent by the pope to teach
the gospel to the people of Hibernia – the same wild Irish tribesmen who had kidnapped him as
a boy. Patrick spent nearly 30 years trudging up and down the Emerald Isle, teaching Christianity. The Irishmen who knew him when he was alive must have loved him dearly, for they
have transmitted their affection for him to their descendants for 1,500 years.
Shamrocks
In Gaelic seamrog is the diminutive of seamar, a clover. So shamrock is "a
little clover." Because of its three leaves, it was used by St. Patrick to illustrate the Trinity, and
in this way it became the symbol of Ireland.
Potatoes
The potato is a native of Peru. The Spanish conquistadores discovered it in the Andes
Mountains and brought it back to Europe. The potato was introduced to America in 1719 by a
group of Irishmen – hence the Irish potato!
Excerpted from The Complete Teacher's Almanack.
