Who was St Patrick

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A.�Thanks to Deiter for the question. Patrick was born in Banwen, Wales and�kidnapped and sold in Ireland as a slave. He became fluent in the Irish language before escaping to Gaul where he studied in the monastery under St Germain, bishop of Auxerre, for 12 years. Eventually he was ordained as a deacon, then priest and finally as a bishop. Pope Celestine then sent him back to Ireland to preach the gospel. He was apparently a great traveller, especially in Celtic countries: innumerable places in Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are named after him.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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Q.�And he drove snakes out of Ireland

A.�Yes. Different tales tell of Patrick standing upon a hill, using a wooden staff to drive the serpents into the sea, banishing them from the shores. A legend says one old serpent wouldn't go, so Patrick produced a box and asked the snake to enter. The snake insisted the box was too small and the discussion became heated. Finally the snake tried the box to prove he it was too small. Then Patrick slammed the lid and threw the box into the sea.

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Q.� But it must be true there are no snakes in Ireland.

A.� That's because Ireland was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. It's more likely that the tale is symbolic�- showing how Patrick drove out evil (as in the serpent of the Garden of Eden) and removed Paganism.

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Q.�He converted them

A.�He converted the Druid warrior chiefs and princes, baptising them and thousands of their subjects in the holy wells that still bear that name.

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Q.� And how did the great man end his days

A.� According to tradition St Patrick died on 17 March, 461, and was buried in the same grave as St Bridget and St Columba, at Downpatrick, County Down. Another legend says St Patrick ended his days at Glastonbury and was buried there. The Chapel of St Patrick still exists as part of Glastonbury Abbey. An Irish pilgrimage was made to his tomb during the reign of the Saxon King Ine in 688, when a group of pilgrims headed by St Indractus were murdered.

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Q.�And there must have been holy relics

A.�You guessed it. The jawbone of St Patrick was preserved in a silver shrine at Downpatrick and often requested in times of childbirth, epileptic fits and as a preservative against the evil eye.

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Q.� But what has this all got to do with the shamrock

A.� The shamrock, at one time called the 'seamroy', symbolises the cross and trinity. Before the Christian era it was a sacred plant of the Druids. Preaching in the open air on the doctrine of the trinity, Patrick is said to have illustrated the existence of the Three in One by plucking a shamrock from the grass growing and showing it to his congregation.

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Q.� And the celebrations

A.� The Irish don't pass over a chance to celebrate. The St. Patrick's Day custom went to America in 1737 when it was publicly marked in Boston.�

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By Steve Cunningham

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