Five Facts to start off your St Patrick´s Celebrations.

1. St Patrick was Irish, wasn´t he?

Well, no! Patrick was from Britain but not the Britain of today but rather a Roman occupied one where he was Kidnapped by Irish Pirates and brought back to Ireland, working for six years as a shepherd.

2. He drove the snakes out of Ireland, didn´t he?

That´s if there were snakes there at all. Ireland, according to scientists became snake-less after the ice-age. However the snake is a very symbolic animal so the legend could refer to Patrick driving out Druidism or Paganism and replacing them with Christianity.

3. They have a strange dance, don´t they?

Yes! Irish dancing can be identified very easily, don´t move your hands and let your feet go absolutely crazy, imagine holding a baby in the air and him kicking his feet. Made famous by Michael Flatley during the interval of the Eurovision song Contest in 1994.

4. Hurling dates back 3000 years, doesn´t it?

Ireland has four very old and traditional sports that are played every year for the love and passion of the game! There are two main sports ; namely Gaelic Football and Hurling, these are closely followed by Camogie and Handball. So yes! These games are prehistoric in nature and can be traced back to nearly 3000 years ago!

5. There are parades all over the world, aren´t there?

Of course! Parades are celebrated all over the globe and interestingly enough the largest is in New York City, The Big Apple gets painted green, literally. The Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) presents the President of the United States of America with a bowl of freshly cut Shamrocks as a sign of their countries continued friendship.

Gerard Brady