St Patrick’s Day's memory board

Mary Carr The exact birth date of Patrick is uncertain, but historians suggest that he was born around 389AD in the Roman-British village of Bannavem Taburniae, Bannaventa, which modern analysts configured as Scotland in Great Britain.

Mary Carr Patrick was born from a wealthy family and his father, Calpurnius, was both a “decurion” (an army officer) and a deacon.

Mary Carr His original name was Maewyn Succat, he changed it to a Latin name, “Patricious” (or Patrick, meaning “a nobleman”) later on in his life when he became a Bishop in Ireland.

Mary Carr Around 402AD, Patrick was captured by Irish raiders in the midst of an attack on his family’s estate and was sold and enslaved in Gaelic Ireland. He was sixteen years old.

Mary Carr Patrick’s captivity was integral in his spiritual development. It was during this time when he turned to God.

Mary Carr Patrick worked as a shepherd while in captivity, but ran away approximately 408AD and boarded a ship and made his way to Britain, where he continued studying about Christianity.

Mary Carr Patrick later wrote a “Confessio” (or “confession”), addressing the charges against him by his fellow British clergies accusing him of some financial impropriety. He had a vision of a man named Victorious, who delivered him a letter that read, “The Voice of the Irish.” This made him decide to flee Britain and go back to Ireland approximately 433AD where he became a bishop and baptised pagans, ordained priests as well as founded churches and monasteries.

Mary Carr From then on, he continued his mission and converted pagans into Christians. As a result of his spiritual dedication and his mass popularity, Ireland was fully converted to Christianity within 200 years.

Mary Carr St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1191.

Mary Carr Over the following centuries, his name became legendary and many stories grew around him, including the way he would explain "The Holy Trinity" to an unbeliever using a shamrock, a three-leaved plant with a common stalk.

Mary Carr It was believed that Patrick died on 17 March 461AD in a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. Villagers changed their town name to Downpatrick, which if translated to Irish, Dún Pádraig, meant “Patrick’s Stronghold”.

Mary Carr The green harp flag of Ireland. This was a common flag used to represent Ireland during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Mary Carr The colour green and its association with Ireland has strong origins from the 11th Century pseudo-historical book Lebor Gabála Érenn (which means “The Book of the Taking of Ireland”) about the father of the Irish race, Goidel Glas (his surname Glas, was anglicised to mean “green” in the Irish language). The connection was further strengthened during the 1640s in Confederate Ireland when the Irish Catholic Confederation used the green harp flag as their symbol.

Mary Carr A visual representation of Goidel Glas.

Mary Carr Due to the parable of St. Patrick using shamrocks to describe "The Holy Trinity" and the strong association of the colour green to symbolise nationalism, the Irish began wearing green ribbons and shamrocks in memory of their patron saint in the 1680s.

Mary Carr The Charitable Irish Society of Boston, the oldest Irish organisation in North America, organised the first observance of St. Patrick’s Day in Colonial America on 17 March 1737.

Mary Carr The first recorded parade celebrating the Feast of St. Patrick was held on 17 March 1762 in New York City.

Mary Carr Over a million Irish crossed the Atlantic to settle in Colonial America when Ireland was hit with "The Great Potato Famine" in 1845.

Mary Carr Bringing their traditions with them, Irish immigrants continued honouring their patron saint every 17th March to show solidarity and strength, making The Feast of St. Patrick widespread across the colonised states.

Mary Carr It was not until 1903 when St. Patrick’s Day officially became an Irish public holiday when James O’ Mara, a member of the United Kingdom Parliament, introduced the Bank Holiday Act of 1903 closing all banks (and pubs) on 17th March when public drinking got out of hand.

Mary Carr The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Ireland was held in the city of Waterford in 1903.

Mary Carr An example of a St Patrick's Day postcard.

Mary Carr The Pègre crime lord Alphonse “Scarface” Lambert attempted to wipe out rival Jean Arnaud and his men during the eve of St. Patrick’s Day in 1926. The blood filled gang shooting was popularly known as The St. Patrick’s Day Massacre.

Mary Carr Representatives of the Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130, coloured the Chicago River with vegetable-based green dye to mark the holiday in 1962.

Mary Carr The colouring of the Chicago river had been an annual tradition since then.

Mary Carr The Government of Ireland established the St. Patrick’s Festival on November 1995 and the first event was held on 17th March 1996. Its aim was to showcase Irish culture in the form of concerts, outdoor theatre performances and an annual fireworks display.

Mary Carr Skyfest, an annual sky display during St. Patrick’s Festival started in 2006.

Mary Carr Tourism Ireland launched the “Global Greening Initiative” to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day all over the world in 2010.

Mary Carr Almost 50 countries across the globe heed the call.

Mary Carr The Sydney Opera House and The Sky Tower in Auckland were the first landmarks to participate in the celebration.

Mary Carr The world turned green for St Patrick's Day.

Mary Carr The Covid-19 global pandemic didn’t stop people from celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all over the world. With millions of people stuck at home, digital connection played an important role in honouring the dear saint. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q33Y4ZA32kA