“Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!”

If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples;
even though some of them still look down on me.
Saint Patrick

(the shamrock, Glendalough National Park, Co Wicklow, Ireland / Julie Cook / 2015)

“I know for certain, that before I was humbled I was like a stone lying in deep mire, and he that is mighty came and in his mercy raised me up and, indeed, lifted me high up and placed me on top of the wall. And from there I ought to shout out in gratitude to the Lord for his great favours in this world and for ever, that the mind of man cannot measure.”
― St. Patrick, The Confession of Saint Patrick

(detail of a tomb in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland / Julie Cook / 2015)

Legend tells us that it was blessed St Patrick who first established the shamrock as one of Ireland’s most endearing symbols.

Patrick spent 40 years of his life wandering the mystical Pretanic Island, preaching and teaching to the Druids and the Celts. The Celts were actually a fierce warrior nation comprised of the bloodlines of Vikings, Danes, Druids, Picts and members of the northern regions of ancient Albion (northern Great Britain). And as an island people, these superstitious tribes were deeply connected, attuned to, as well as dependent upon the land.

Ireland was a rich and fertile island due in part to being on the receiving end of the warming and wet energies of the Atlantic gulf stream.
Patrick knew that the best way to get the attention of the Celts was to utilize those things that were common and entrenched in everyday life.
A prolific example being the humble clover.
The clover was a perfect teaching tool as it so beautifully manifests the image of the Holy Trinity.

To this day the shamrock is synonymous with Ireland’s Christiatn spirituality and heritage.

(a small stain glass medallion from St Patrick’s Cathedral Bookstore, Dublin, Ireland)