Saint Patrick
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodoxy Anglican Communion Lutheran Church
Major shrine	Glastonbury Abbey; Armagh
Feast	17 March (Saint Patrick's Day)
Patronage	Ireland, Nigeria, Montserrat, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Boston, Loíza, Murcia (Spain), engineers, paralegals, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne; invoked against snakes, sins, witchcraft[1]

Saint Patrick (Latin: Patricius; Primitive Irish: *Qatrikias;^[2][3] Old Irish: Cothraige or Coithrige;^[4] Middle Irish: Pátraic; Irish: Pádraig; Old Welsh: Patric; Middle Welsh: Padric; Welsh: Padrig; Old English: Patric; ca. 387 – 17 March, 493^[5] or ca. 460^[6]) was a Romano-British and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints.

Two authentic letters from him survive, from which come the only generally-accepted details of his life.^[7] When he was about 16, he was captured from Wales by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After entering the Church, he returned to Ireland as an ordained bishop in the north and west of the island, but little is known about the places where he worked. By the seventh century, he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.

Most available details of his life are from later hagiographies from the seventh century onwards, and these are now not accepted without detailed criticism. Uncritical acceptance of the Annals of Ulster would imply that he lived from 340 to 440, and ministered in what is modern-day Northern Ireland from AD 428 onwards. The dates of Patrick's life cannot be fixed with certainty but, on a widespread interpretation, he was active as a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the fifth century.^[8]

Saint Patrick's Day is observed on March 17, the date of his death.^[9] It is celebrated both inside and outside Ireland, as both a liturgical and non-liturgical holiday. In the dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation; outside Ireland, it can be a celebration of Ireland itself.

Background[link]

Most modern scholars of Saint Patrick follow a variant of T. F. O'Rahilly's "Two Patricks" theory.^[10] That is to say, many of the traditions later attached to Saint Patrick originally concerned Palladius, who Prosper of Aquitaine's Chronicle says was sent by Pope Celestine I as the first bishop to Irish Christians in 431.^[11] Palladius was not the only early cleric in Ireland at this time. The Irish-born Saint Ciaran Saighir the Elder lived in the later fourth century (352–402 AD) and was the first bishop of Ossory. Ciaran the Elder along with Saints Auxilius, Secundinus and Iserninus are also associated with early churches in Munster and Leinster. By this reading, Palladius was active in Ireland until the 460s.^[12]

Prosper associates Palladius' appointment with the visits of Germanus of Auxerre to Britain to suppress the Pelagian heresy and it has been suggested that Palladius and his colleagues were sent to Ireland to ensure that exiled Pelagians did not establish themselves among the Irish Christians. The appointment of Palladius and his fellow-bishops was not obviously a mission to convert the Irish, but more probably intended to minister to existing Christian communities in Ireland.^[13] The sites of churches associated with Palladius and his colleagues are close to royal centres of the period: Secundus is remembered by Dunshaughlin, County Meath, close to the Hill of Tara which is associated with the High King of Ireland; Killashee, County Kildare, close to Naas with links with the Kings of Leinster, is probably named for Auxilius. This activity was limited to the southern half of Ireland, and there is no evidence for them in Ulster or Connacht.^[14]

Although the evidence for contacts with Gaul is clear, the borrowings from Latin into the Old Irish language show that links with former Britain were many.^[15] Saint Iserninus, who appears to be of the generation of Palladius, is thought to have been a Briton, and is associated with the lands of the Uí Cheinnselaig in Leinster. The Palladian mission should not be contrasted with later "British" missions, but forms a part of them.^[16]

In his own words[link]

Slemish, County Antrim, where Saint Patrick is said to have worked as a shepherd while a slave.

Two Latin letters survive which are generally accepted to have been written by St. Patrick. These are the Declaration (Latin: Confessio) and the Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus (Latin: Epistola).^[17] The Declaration is the more important of the two. In it Patrick gives a short account of his life and his mission.

St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain at Banna Venta Berniae, a location otherwise unknown,^[18][19][20] though identified in one tradition as Glannoventa, modern Ravenglass in Cumbria.^[21] Calpornius, his father, was a deacon, his grandfather Potitus, a priest. When he was about sixteen, he was captured and carried off as a slave to Ireland.^[22] Patrick worked as a herdsman, remaining a captive for six years. He writes that his faith grew in captivity, and that he prayed daily.^[23] After six years he heard a voice telling him that he would soon go home, and then that his ship was ready. Fleeing his master, he travelled to a port, two hundred miles away he says,^[24] where he found a ship and, after various adventures, returned home to his family, now in his early twenties.^[25]

Patrick recounts that he had a vision a few years after returning home:

I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: "The Voice of the Irish". As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea—and they cried out, as with one voice: "We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us." ^[26]

A. B. E. Hood suggests that the Victoricus of St. Patrick's vision may be identified with Saint Victricius, bishop of Rouen in the late fourth century, who was the only European churchman of the time to advocate or practice conversion of pagans, and who visited Britain in an official capacity in 396.^[27]

Much of the Declaration concerns charges made against St. Patrick by his fellow Christians at a trial. What these charges were, he does not say explicitly, but he writes that he returned the gifts which wealthy women gave him, did not accept payment for baptisms, nor for ordaining priests, and indeed paid for many gifts to kings and judges, and paid for the sons of chiefs to accompany him. It is concluded, therefore, that he was accused of some sort of financial impropriety, and perhaps of having obtained his bishopric in Ireland with personal gain in mind.^[28]

From this same evidence, something can be seen of St. Patrick's mission. He writes that he "baptised thousands of people".^[29] He ordained priests to lead the new Christian communities. He converted wealthy women, some of whom became nuns in the face of family opposition. He also dealt with the sons of kings, converting them too.^[30]

St. Patrick's position as a foreigner in Ireland was not an easy one. His refusal to accept gifts from kings placed him outside the normal ties of kinship, fosterage and affinity. Legally he was without protection, and he says that he was on one occasion beaten, robbed of all he had, and put in chains, perhaps awaiting execution.^[31]

Murchiú's life of Saint Patrick contains a supposed prophecy by the druids which gives an impression of how Patrick and other Christian missionaries were seen by those hostile to them:

Across the sea will come Adze-head,^[32] crazed in the head,
his cloak with hole for the head, his stick bent in the head.
He will chant impieties from a table in the front of his house;
all his people will answer: "so be it, so be it."^[33]

The second piece of evidence that comes from Patrick's life is the Letter to Coroticus or Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus, written after a first remonstrance was received with ridicule and insult. In this, St. Patrick writes^[34] an open letter announcing that he has excommunicated Coroticus because he had taken some of St. Patrick's converts into slavery while raiding in Ireland. The letter describes the followers of Coroticus as "fellow citizens of the devils" and "associates of the Scots [of Dalriada and later Argyll] and Apostate Picts".^[35] Based largely on an eighth century gloss, Coroticus is taken to be King Ceretic of Alt Clut.^[36] It has been suggested that it was the sending of this letter which provoked the trial which Patrick mentions in the Confession.^[37]

Death[link]

According to the latest reconstruction of the old Irish annals, Patrick died in AD 461 on March 17, a date accepted by some modern historians.^[38] Prior to the 1940s it was believed without doubt that he died in 420 and thus had lived in the first half of the fifth century.^[39] A lecture entitled "The Two Patricks", published in 1942 by T. F. O'Rahilly, caused enormous controversy by proposing that there had been two "Patricks", Palladius and Patrick, and that what we now know of St. Patrick was in fact in part a conscious effort to blend the two into one hagiographic personality. Decades of contention eventually ended with most historians^[who?] now asserting that Patrick was indeed most likely to have been active in the latter half of the fifth century.^[40]

While Patrick's own writings contain no dates, they do contain information which can be used to date them. Patrick's quotations from the Acts of the Apostles follow the Vulgate, strongly suggesting that his ecclesiastical conversion did not take place before the early fifth century. Patrick also refers to the Franks as being pagans. Their conversion is dated to the period 496–508.^[41]

There is plentiful evidence for a medieval tradition that Patrick had died in 493. An addition to the Annals of Ulster states that in the year 553 (approximately two hundred and fifty years before the addition was made):

I have found this in the Book of Cuanu: The relics of Patrick were placed sixty years after his death in a shrine by Colum Cille. Three splendid halidoms were found in the burial-place: his goblet, the Angel's Gospel, and the Bell of the Testament. This is how the angel distributed the halidoms: the goblet to Dún, the Bell of the Testament to Ard Macha, and the Angel's Gospel to Colum Cille himself. The reason it is called the Angel's Gospel is that Colum Cille received it from the hand of the angel.^[42]

The reputed burial place of St. Patrick in Downpatrick

The placing of this event in the year 553 indicate a tradition that Patrick's death was 493, or at least in the early years of that decade, and the Annals of Ulster report under 493:

Patrick, arch-apostle, or archbishop and apostle of the Irish, rested on the 16th of the Kalends of April in the 120th year of his age, in the 60th year after he had come to Ireland to baptise the Irish.

This tradition is also seen in an annalistic reference to the death of a saint termed Patrick's disciple, Mochta, who is said to have died in 535.^[43]

St. Patrick is said to be buried at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, County Down, alongside St. Brigid and St. Columba, although this has never been proven. The Battle for the Body of St. Patrick demonstrates the importance of both him as a spiritual leader, and of his body as an object of veneration, in early Christian Ireland. Saint Patrick Visitor Centre is a modern exhibition complex located in Downpatrick and is a permanent interpretative exhibition centre featuring interactive displays on the life and story of Saint Patrick. It provides the only permanent exhibition centre in the world devoted to Saint Patrick.^[44]

Seventh-century writings[link]

An early document which is silent concerning Patrick is the letter of Columbanus to Pope Boniface IV of about 613. Columbanus writes that Ireland's Christianity "was first handed to us by you, the successors of the holy apostles", apparently referring to Palladius only, and ignoring Patrick.^[45] Writing on the Easter controversy in 632 or 633, Cummian—it is uncertain whether this is the Cummian associated with Clonfert or Cumméne of Iona—does refer to Patrick, calling him our papa, that is pope or primate.^[46]

Two works by late seventh-century hagiographers of Patrick have survived. These are the writings of Tírechán, and Vita sancti Patricii of Muirchu moccu Machtheni.^[47] Both writers relied upon an earlier work, now lost, the Book of Ultán.^[48] This Ultán, probably the same person as Ultan of Ardbraccan, was Tírechán's foster-father. His obituary is given in the Annals of Ulster under the year 657.^[49] These works thus date from a century and a half after Patrick's death.

Tírechán writes

"I found four names for Patrick written in the book of Ultán, bishop of the tribe of Conchobar: holy Magonus (that is, "famous"); Succetus (that is, the god of war); Patricius (that is, father of the citizens); Cothirtiacus (because he served four houses of druids)."^[50]

Muirchu records much the same information, adding that "[h]is mother was named Concessa."^[51] The name Cothirtiacus, however, is simply the Latinized form of Old Irish Cothraige, which is the Q-Celtic form of Latin Patricius.^[52]

The Patrick portrayed by Tírechán and Muirchu is a martial figure, who contests with druids, overthrows pagan idols, and curses kings and kingdoms.^[53] On occasion, their accounts contradict Patrick's own writings: Tírechán states that Patrick accepted gifts from female converts although Patrick himself flatly denies this. However, the emphasis Tírechán and Muirchu placed on female converts, and in particular royal and noble women who became nuns, is thought to be a genuine insight into Patrick's work of conversion. Patrick also worked with the unfree and the poor, encouraging them to vows of monastic chastity. Tírechán's account suggests that many early Patrician churches were combined with nunneries founded by Patrick's noble female converts.^[54]

The martial Patrick found in Tírechán and Muirchu, and in later accounts, echoes similar figures found during the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity. It may be doubted whether such accounts are an accurate representation of Patrick's time, although such violent events may well have occurred as Christians gained in strength and numbers.^[55]

Much of the detail supplied by Tírechán and Muirchu, in particular the churches established by Patrick, and the monasteries founded by his converts, may relate to the situation in the seventh century, when the churches which claimed ties to Patrick, and in particular Armagh, were expanding their influence throughout Ireland in competition with the church of Kildare. In the same period, Wilfred, Archbishop of York, claimed to speak, as metropolitan archbishop, "for all the northern part of Britain and of Ireland" at a council held in Rome in the time of Pope Agatho, thus claiming jurisdiction over the Irish church.^[56]

Other presumed early materials include the Irish annals, which contain records from the Chronicle of Ireland. These sources have conflated Palladius and Patrick.^[57] Another early document is the so-called First Synod of Saint Patrick. This is a seventh-century document, once, but no longer, taken as to contain a 5th century original text. It apparently collects the results of several early synods, and represents an era when pagans were still a major force in Ireland. The introduction attributes it to Patrick, Auxilius, and Iserninus, a claim which "cannot be taken at face value."^[58]

In legend[link]

St. Patrick banishes all snakes from Ireland[link]

Pious legend credits St. Patrick with banishing snakes from the island,^[59] chasing them into the sea after they attacked him during a 40-day fast he was undertaking on top of a hill.^[60] This hagiographic theme draws on the mythography of the staff of Moses, messenger of Yahweh to gentile Egyptians. In Exodus 7:8–7:13 , Moses and Aaron use their staffs in their struggle with Pharaoh's sorcerers, the staffs of each side morphing into snakes. Aaron's snake-staff prevails.^[61]

However, all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes, as on insular "Ireland, New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland and Antarctica...So far, no serpent has successfully migrated across the open ocean to a new terrestrial home" such as from Scotland at one point only eight miles from Ireland, where a few native species have lived, "the venomous adder, the grass snake, and the smooth snake", as National Geographic notes,^[62] and although sea snake species separately exist.^[60][63] "At no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland, so [there was] nothing for St. Patrick to banish", says naturalist Nigel Monaghan, keeper of natural history at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, who has searched extensively through Irish fossil collections and records.^[60] The List of reptiles of Ireland has only one land reptile species native to Ireland; the viviparous or common lizard.

The only biological candidate species for appearing like a native snake in Ireland is the slow worm, actually a legless lizard, a non-native species more recently found in The Burren region of County Clare as recorded since the early 1970s, as noted by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of Ireland, which suspects it was deliberately introduced in the 1960s. So far, the slow worm's territory in the wild has not spread beyond the Burren's limestone region which is rich in wildlife.^[62]

One suggestion, by fiction author Betty Rhodes, is that "snakes" referred to the serpent symbolism of the Druids^[64] during that time and place, as evinced on coins minted in Gaul. Chris Weigant connects "big tattoos of snakes" on Druids' arms as "Irish schoolchildren are taught" with the way in which, in the legend of St. Patrick banishing snakes; the "story goes to the core of Patrick's sainthood and his core mission in Ireland."^[65]

St. Patrick uses shamrock in an illustrative parable[link]

The Shamrock

Legend (dating to 1726, according to the OED) also credits St. Patrick with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a three-leafed plant, using it to illustrate the Christian teaching of three persons in one God.^[66] For this reason, shamrocks are a central symbol for St Patrick’s Day.

The shamrock had been seen as sacred in the pre-Christian days in Ireland. Due to its green color and overall shape, many viewed it as representing rebirth and eternal life. Three was a sacred number in the pagan religion and there were a number of "Triple Goddesses" in ancient Ireland, including Brigid, Ériu, and the Morrigan.

St. Patrick's dead ash wood walking stick grows into a living tree[link]

Some Irish legends involve the Oilliphéist, the Caoránach, and the Copóg Phádraig. During his evangelising journey back to Ireland from his parent's home at Birdoswald, he is understood to have carried with him an ash wood walking stick or staff. He thrust this stick into the ground wherever he was evangelising and at the place now known as Aspatria (ash of Patrick) the message of the dogma took so long to get through to the people there that the stick had taken root by the time he was ready to move on.

St. Patrick speaks with ancient Irish ancestors who were born long before his time[link]

The 12th century work Acallam na Senórach tells of Patrick being met by two ancient warriors, Caílte mac Rónáin and Oisín, during his evangelical travels. The two were once members of Fionn mac Cumhaill's warrior band the Fianna, and somehow survived to Patrick's time.

Saint Patrick's Bell[link]

The Shrine of St. Patrick's Bell

The National Museum of Ireland in Dublin possesses a bell first mentioned, according to the Annals of Ulster, in the Book of Cuanu in the year 552. The bell was part of a collection of "relics of Patrick" removed from his tomb sixty years after his death by Colum Cille to be used as relics. The bell is described as "The Bell of the Testament", one of three relics of "precious minna" (extremely valuable items), of which the other two are described as Patrick's goblet and "The Angels Gospel". Cille is described to have been under the direction of an "Angel" for whom he sent the goblet to Down, the bell to Armagh, and kept possession of the Angel's Gospel for himself. The name Angels Gospel is given to the book because it was supposed that Cille received it from the angel's hand. A stir was caused in 1044 when two kings, in some dispute over the bell, went on spates of prisoner taking and cattle theft. The annals make one more apparent reference to the bell when chronicling a death, of 1356, "Solomon Ua Mellain, The Keeper of The Bell of the Testament, protector, rested in Christ."

The bell was encased in a "bell shrine", a distinctive Irish type of reliquary made for it, as an inscription records, by King Domnall Ua Lochlainn sometime between 1091 and 1105. The shrine is an important example of the final, Viking-influenced, style of Irish Celtic art, with intricate Urnes style decoration in gold and silver. The Gaelic inscription on the shrine also records the name of the maker "U INMAINEN" (which translates to "Noonan"), "who with his sons enriched/decorated it"; metalwork was often inscribed for remembrance.

The bell itself is simple in design, hammered into shape with a small handle fixed to the top with rivets. Originally forged from iron, it has since been coated in bronze. The shrine is inscribed with three names, including King Domnall Ua Lochlainn's. The rear of the shrine, not intended to be seen, is decorated with crosses while the handle is decorated with, among other work, Celtic designs of birds. The bell is accredited with working a miracle in 1044 and having been coated in bronze to shield it from human eyes, for which it would be too holy. It measures 12.5 × 10 cm at the base, 12.8 × 4 cm at the shoulder, 16.5 cm from base to shoulder, 3.3 cm from shoulder to top of handle and weighs 1.7 kg.^[67]

Sainthood and modern remembrance[link]

The neo-gothic St Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, as seen from Rockefeller Center.

March 17, popularly known as St. Patrick's Day, is believed to be his death date and is the date celebrated as his feast day.^[68] The day became a feast day in the universal church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding, as a member of the commission for the reform of the Breviary^[69] in the early part of the 17th century.

For most of Christianity's first thousand years, canonisations were done on the diocesan or regional level. Relatively soon after the death of people considered to be very holy people, the local Church affirmed that they could be liturgically celebrated as saints. As a result, St. Patrick has never been formally canonised by a Pope; nevertheless, various Christian churches declare that he is a Saint in Heaven (he is in the List of Saints). He is still widely venerated in Ireland and elsewhere today.^[70]

St. Patrick is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on March 17. St. Patrick is also venerated in the Orthodox Church, especially among English-speaking Orthodox Christians living in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and in North America.^[71] There are Orthodox icons dedicated to him.^[72]

Places associated with Saint Patrick[link]

Slemish, County Antrim

St Patrick's statue at Saul, County Down

St Patrick's Oratory at the top of Croaghpatrick, County Mayo

• Slemish, County Antrim and Killala Bay, County Mayo

When captured by raiders, there are two theories as to where Patrick was enslaved. One theory is that he herded sheep in the countryside around Slemish. Another theory is that Patrick herded sheep near Killala Bay, at a place called Fochill.

• Saul, County Down (from Irish: Sabhall Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's barn")^[73]

It is claimed that Patrick founded his first church in a barn at Saul, which was donated to him by a local chieftain called Dichu. It is also claimed that Patrick died at Saul or was brought there between his death and burial. Nearby, on the crest of Slieve Patrick, is a huge statue of Saint Patrick with bronze panels showing scenes from his life.

• Hill of Slane, County Meath

Muirchu moccu Machtheni, in his highly mythologized 7th century Life of Patrick, says that Patrick lit a Paschal fire on this hilltop in 433 CE in defiance of High King Laoire. The story says that the fire could not be doused by anyone but Patrick, and it was here that he explained the holy trinity using the shamrock.

• Croagh Patrick, County Mayo (from Irish: Cruach Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's stack")^[74]

It is claimed that Patrick climbed this mountain and fasted on its summit for the forty days of Lent. Croagh Patrick draws thousands of pilgrims who make the trek to the top on the last Sunday in July.

• Lough Derg, County Donegal (from Irish: Loch Dearg, meaning "red lake")^[75]

It is claimed that Patrick killed a large serpent on this lake and that its blood turned the water red (hence the name). Each August, pilgrims spend three days fasting and praying there on Station Island.

• Armagh, County Armagh

It is claimed that Patrick founded a church here and proclaimed it to be the most holy church in Ireland. Armagh is today the primary seat of both the Catholic and Protestant Churches in Ireland and both cathedrals in the town are named after Patrick.

• Downpatrick, County Down (from Irish: Dún Pádraig, meaning "Patrick's stronghold")^[76]

It is claimed that Patrick was brought here after his death and buried in the grounds of Down Cathedral.

Other places named after Saint Patrick include:

• Ardpatrick, County Limerick (from Irish: Ard Pádraig, meaning "high place of Patrick")^[77]
• Patrickswell or Toberpatrick, County Limerick (from Irish: Tobar Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's well")^[78]
• St Patrick's Chapel, Heysham
• St Patrick's Island, County Dublin
• St Patrick's Isle, off the Isle of Man
• Llanbadrig (church), Ynys Badrig (island), Porth Padrig (cove), Llyn Padrig (lake), and Rhosbadrig (heath) on the island of Anglesey in Wales
• Templepatrick, County Antrim (from Irish: Teampall Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's church")^[79]

In literature[link]

• Robert Southey wrote a ballad called Saint Patrick's Purgatory, based on popular legends surrounding the saint's name.

• Stephen R. Lawhead wrote the fictional Patrick: Son of Ireland based on the life of the celebrated Saint.^[80]

• Parke Godwin wrote the fiction novel The Last Rainbow based on the life of Saint Patrick and incorporating elements of fantasy established in his earlier novel Firelord.

• Dutch/Scottish singer Chris Anderson wrote a poem called "Saint Patrick's Lament", based on the Saint's remembrance festival Saint Patrick's Day.

• In Lloyd Alexander's novel Time Cat, the main characters encounter an enslaved Irish shepherd implied to be the future St. Patrick.

See also[link]

• Croagh Patrick
• St. Patrick's blue
• St. Patrick's Flag
• St. Patrick's Purgatory
• Ireland
• Druid

References[link]

Further reading[link]

*Byrne, Francis J. (1973), Irish Kings and High-Kings., London: Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-5882-8 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Saint Patrick

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Saint Patrick

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Saint Patrick

• Writings of Saint Patrick
• The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick, edited by James O'Leary, 1880, from Project Gutenberg.
• Page devoted to the life of St. Patrick at Catholic.org
• BBC: Religion & Ethics, Christianity: Saint Patrick (Incl. audio)
• Opera Omnia by Migne Patristica Latina with analytical indexes
• Oase Sankt Patrick
• CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork includes Patrick's Confessio and Epistola, as well as various lives of Saint Patrick.
• Saint Patrick's Confessio Hypertext Stack as published by the Royal Irish Academy Dictionary of Medieval Latin from Celtic Sources (DMLCS) freely providing digital scholarly editions of St Patrick's writings as well as translations and digital facsimiles of all extant manuscript copies.

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Frank Patterson (October 5, 1938 - June 10, 2000) was an internationally renowned Irish tenor following in the tradition of singers such as Count John McCormack and Josef Locke. He was known as "Ireland's Golden Tenor".

Early life[link]

Bronze life-size piece by Jerry McKenna titled "The Golden Tenor Statue". Unveiled in Mick Delahunty Square Clonmel, June 2002.

Patterson was born in Clonmel, County Tipperary on October 5, 1938.^[1] As a boy he performed with his local parish choir^[1] and was involved in maintaining the annual tradition of singing with the Wrenboys. Frank received special encouragement from local connoisseur Tommy O'Brien after a Highschool performance as Lazarello in Maritana. He sang in the local St. Mary's Choral Society and at a production of The Pirates of Penzance performed with both his parents. Frank's interests extended beyond music and as a boy he represented Marlfield GAA hurling club, played tennis at Hillview and golf at the Mountain Road course.^[2] He quit school at an early stage to work at 'Slater's', the printing business of his mother's family.^[3] Patterson moved to Dublin in 1961 to enrol at the National Academy of Theatre and Allied Arts where he studied acting while at the same time receiving vocal training from Dr. Hans Waldemar Rosen.^[1] In 1964 he entered the Feis Ceoil, a nationwide music competition in which he won several sections including Oratorio, Lieder and the German Gold Cup.^[3]

Career[link]

Patterson gave classical recitals around Ireland^[1] and won scholarships to study in London, Paris and in the Netherlands.^[4] While in Paris, he appeared in a radio broadcast which caught the attention of the Philips Record Company. This led to a contract^[1] and his first record, My Dear Native Land. He worked with conductors such as Sir Colin Davis and some of the most prestigious orchestras in Europe including the London Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre de Paris.^[5] He also toured with Janine Micheau in Pelléas et Mélisande^[3] and won a reputation as a singer of Handel, Mozart, and Bach oratorios and German, Italian and French song. Patterson had a long running programme on RTÉ, the Irish national broadcaster, titled For Your Pleasure.

In the early 1980s he moved to the United States, making his home in rural Westchester County, New York.^[1] A resurgence of interest in Irish culture encouraged him to turn towards a more traditional Irish repertoire.^[1] Adding hymns, ballads, and traditional as well as more popular tunes to his catalogue he became a popular singer in a country with a strong Irish connection and in March 1988 was featured host in a St. Patrick's Day celebration of music and dance at New York's famous Radio City Music Hall.^[6]

He gave an outdoor performance on the steps of the Capitol in Washington with the National Symphony Orchestra before an audience of 60,000.^[1] Patterson was equally at home in more intimate settings, such as a concert he gave for Boys’ Town.^[5] His singing in the role of the Evangelist in Bach's St. John Passion was given fine reviews.^[5] Further recordings followed, of Beethoven arrangements, Irish songs, Berlioz songs, Purcell songs and others, all on the Philips label.^[5]

Frank Patterson performed sell-out concerts from London's Royal Albert Hall to New York's Carnegie Hall,^[3] and with his family he presented two concerts at the White House, for Presidents Ronald Reagan in 1982 and Bill Clinton in 1995.^[5] He recorded over thirty albums in six languages, won silver, gold and platinum discs and was the first Irish singer to host his own show in Radio City Music Hall in New York.^[4]

Rising to greater prominence with the new popularity of Celtic music in the 1990s, Patterson saw many of his past recordings reissued for American audiences, and in 1998 he starred in the PBS special 'Ireland in Song'.^[3] His last album outsold Pavarotti.^[4]

In recognition of his musical achievements he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Salve Regina University, Newport in 1990 an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Manhattan College in 1996 and the Gold Medal of the Éire Society of Boston in 1998.

Film[link]

Patterson appeared in several films, starting with The Dead (1987), an adaptation of a story by James Joyce, which was directed by John Huston and starred his daughter Anjelica Huston. Patterson played Bartell D'Arcy, the character who sings The Lass of Aughrim.^[7]

Patterson is heard twice in the Coen brothers film Millers Crossing (1990), in which he sings both Danny Boy and Goodnight Sweetheart.^[8] In 1996 he appeared as "Tenor in Restaurant" in Neil Jordan's Michael Collins, singing Macushla.^[9] A recording of him singing the Irish traditional Dan Tucker also appeared in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002).^[10]

Religion and social conscience[link]

Patterson was a devout Catholic, and in 1979 sang at the Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in Dublin's Phoenix Park before a congregation of almost a million people.^[5] In 1984 he was awarded the Knighthood of St. Gregory by the Pope.^[4] He was also a Knight of Malta and a Knight Commander of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. While many of his Irish songs were quite sentimental, he did not indulge in strongly nationalistic themes and the first funds raised for the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation in the early 1970s were takings from a concert he gave in the Rupert Guinness Hall. Later, he continued to donate to the Centre from performances by him at the National Concert Hall in Dublin.^[11]

Illness and death[link]

In 1999, Frank learned he had a brain tumour. He had several operations in the following year and his condition appeared to have stabilised.^[1] Cardinal O'Connor, in his personal funeral plan, had requested that Frank Patterson sing Ave Maria at his funeral. Patterson's last performance was at Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston,^[1] and the following morning he fell ill and cancelled his appearance at the Cardinal's funeral. That day he was admitted to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center where he lapsed into a coma and died at the age of 61.^[12]

At his death accolades and tributes came from, among others, President of Ireland Mary McAleese, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern and Opposition leader John Bruton who said he had "the purest voice of his generation."^[4] He was survived by his wife, the concert pianist Eily O'Grady, their son Eanan, a violinist with whom he frequently performed, and by his sister Imelda Malone and brothers Noel and Maurice.^[4]

Legacy[link]

In December 2005 Lisa Marie Presley attended a celebrity wedding in South Tipperary, and while there made a detour to place flowers on Patterson's grave as a tribute from the Presley family, impressed by Patterson's interpretations of songs later performed by Elvis.^[13]

In February 2002 an independent film-maker, Johnny Watts, met Eily Patterson on Staten Island, New York . This meeting resulted in 'The Tribute In Song', a series of three one-hour programmes featuring Patterson's music to commemorate those killed in Manhattan in 9/11 which also became a moving tribute to Frank Patterson himself.^[14] In September 2008, Watts personally presented to the Irish Consulate in New York City, a plaque that honored Frank Patterson's contribution to 'Tribute In Song'. It was intended that the plaque would be returned to Patterson's native Clonmel.^{[citation needed]}

A bronze life-size piece by sculptor Jerry McKenna from Texas, titled "The Golden Tenor Statue", was unveiled to his memory in Mick Delahunty Square, Clonmel, in June 2002.^[15]

References[link]

Sources[link]

Irish Times Obituary, June 17, 2000. It was said the whole world seemed still when he sang.

External links[link]

• Frank Patterson at the Internet Movie Database
• Documented recitals in Ireland by Patterson from Arts and Humanities Research Council (hosted by Cardiff University and the Royal College of Music).

John Mayer
Mayer at the Mile High Music Festival on July 20, 2008
Background information
Birth name	John Clayton Mayer
Born	(1977-10-16) October 16, 1977 (age 34) Bridgeport, Connecticut United States
Genres	Pop rock, blues rock, acoustic rock, blue-eyed soul
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, record producer, columnist, graphic designer, photographer, comedian, television host
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, omnichord, piano, vibraphone, harmonica, percussion, clarinet, violin
Years active	1998 (1998)–present
Labels	Arista, Aware, Columbia
Associated acts	John Mayer Trio, Fall Out Boy
Website	johnmayer.com
Notable instruments
Fender Stratocaster Martin Guitars Gibson Guitars

John Clayton Mayer ( /ˈmeɪ.ər/ MAY-ər;^[1] (born October 16, 1977) is an American pop and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer.^[2] Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his skills and gained a following, and he now lives in New York City.^[3][4] His first two studio albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things, did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body Is a Wonderland."^[5]

Mayer began his career performing mainly acoustic rock, but gradually began a transition towards the blues genre in 2005 by collaborating with renowned blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton, and by forming the John Mayer Trio. The blues influence can be heard throughout his 2005 live album Try! with the John Mayer Trio and his third studio album Continuum, released in September 2006. At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007 Mayer won Best Pop Vocal Album for Continuum and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Waiting on the World to Change". He released his fourth studio album, Battle Studies, in November 2009. His fifth album, Born and Raised, was released on May 22, 2012. He has sold over 10 million albums in the U.S. and 20 million albums worldwide.

Early life[link]

John Clayton Mayer was born on October 16, 1977 in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Margaret, an English teacher, and Richard, a high school principal.^[6] He grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, the second of three children.^[7] His father is Jewish, and Mayer has said that he "relat[es] to Judaism".^[8] He attended Fairfield High School in Fairfield^[9] although he was enrolled in the Center for Global Studies at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk for his junior year (then known as the Center for Japanese Studies Abroad, it is a magnet program for students wanting to learn Japanese).^[10]

After watching Michael J. Fox's guitar performance as Marty McFly in Back to the Future, Mayer became fascinated with the instrument, and when he turned 13, his father rented one for him.^[11][12] A neighbor gave Mayer a Stevie Ray Vaughan cassette, which cultivated Mayer's love of blues music.^[13]a[›] Mayer started taking lessons from a local guitar-shop owner, Al Ferrante, and soon became consumed with playing the instrument.^[3][14] His singular focus concerned his parents, and they took him twice to see a psychiatrist—but Mayer was determined to be fine.^[3][14] Mayer says that the contentious nature of his parents' marriage led him to "disappear and create my own world I could believe in".^[3] After two years of practice, he started playing at blues bars and other venues in the area, while he was still in high school.^[10][12] In addition to performing solo, he was a member of a band called Villanova Junction (named for a Jimi Hendrix song) with Tim Procaccini, Joe Beleznay, and Rich Wolf.^[3][15] Mayer considered skipping college to pursue his music, but the disapproval of his parents dissuaded him from doing so.^[3]

When Mayer was seventeen, he was stricken with cardiac dysrhythmia and was hospitalized for a weekend. Reflecting on the incident, Mayer said, "That was the moment the songwriter in me was born," and he penned his first lyrics the night he got home from the hospital.^[4] Shortly thereafter, he began suffering from panic attacks, and lived with the fear of having to enter a mental institution.^[3] He continues to manage such episodes with Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug.^[4][16] After graduation, he worked for fifteen months at a gas station until he saved enough money to buy a 1996 Stevie Ray Vaughan signature Stratocaster.^[17]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Mayer enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, aged 19.^[7] However, at the urging of his college friend an Atlanta, Georgia native, Clay Cook, he left school after two semesters and moved with Cook to Atlanta.^[18] In Atlanta they formed a two-man band called LoFi Masters and began performing in local coffee houses and club venues such as Eddie's Attic.^[12] According to Cook, they began to experience musical differences due to Mayer’s desire to move more towards pop music.^[19] As a result, the two parted ways, and Mayer embarked on a solo career.^[18]

With the help of local producer and engineer Glenn Matullo, Mayer recorded the independent EP Inside Wants Out. Cook co-wrote many of the songs from the EP including Mayer's first commercial single release, "No Such Thing".^[19] The EP includes eight songs with Mayer on lead vocals and guitars. However, Cook's only contribution was backing vocals on the song "Comfortable". For the opening track, "Back To You", a full band was enlisted, including the EP’s co-producer David "DeLa" LaBruyere on bass guitars.^[20] Mayer and LaBruyere then began to perform throughout Georgia and nearby states.

Major label success[link]

	"City Love" excerpt noicon From the album Room for Squares.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Mayer’s reputation began to build, and a March 2000 appearance at South by Southwest brought him to the attention of "launch" label, Aware Records.^[14][21][22] After including him in the Aware Festival concerts and having his songs included on Aware compilations, in early 2001, Aware released Mayer's internet-only album titled, Room for Squares. During this time, Aware inked a deal with Columbia Records that gave Columbia first pick in signing Aware artists, and so in September of the same year, Columbia remixed and re-released Room for Squares.^[23] As part of the major label "debut", the album's artwork was updated, and the track "3x5" was added. The re-release also included reworked studio versions of the first four songs from his indie album, Inside Wants Out.^[24]

By the end of 2002, Room for Squares had spawned several radio hits, including "No Such Thing," "Your Body Is a Wonderland", and ultimately, "Why Georgia". In 2003, Mayer won a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body Is a Wonderland." In his acceptance speech he remarked, "This is very, very fast, and I promise to catch up."^[25] He also figuratively referred to himself as being sixteen, a remark that many mistook to mean that he was only sixteen years old at the time.^[26]