One of the most famous legends about St. Patrick involves the shamrock. The shamrock was a plant native to Ireland and used as a symbol in Celtic mythology. Pre-Christian Ireland had many triple deities, and St. Patrick used this when he explained the Trinity. According to the story, St. Patrick picked up a shamrock and explained that just as the shamrock had three leaves on one stem, the Trinity was three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) in one God. This has become one of the most famous explanations of the Trinity and has resulted in the shamrock becoming the symbol of St. Patrick and, as a result, Ireland.
Another famous legend involves St. Patrick and snakes. In this story, St. Patrick is partaking in a 40-day fast on top of a hill. While he is fasting, he is attacked by snakes. Incensed, St. Patrick uses his staff to drive the snakes into the sea, thus ridding Ireland of Snakes. Although a fun story, scientists now believe that snakes have not existed in Ireland since the end of the last Ice Age. Many scholars believe this story is meant as an allegory of St. Patrick driving the pagan beliefs out of Ireland and is a reference to Moses and Aaron in the Old Testament. In Exodus, Moses and Aaron can be seen engaging in a battle with the Egyptian Pharaoh’s priests in which they turn their staffs into snakes. Aaron’s snake (staff) destroys the others, demonstrating God’s power, just as St. Patrick’s staff defeats the Irish snakes (pagan beliefs).
One final legend also involves St. Patrick’s staff. As the legend goes, St. Patrick would stick his staff in the ground so it remained upright while he was preaching. In one town, the people were particularly slow to understand and accept St. Patrick’s teachings. In fact, he preached for so long that when he went to pull his staff out of the ground, it had grown roots and was becoming an ash tree. Because of this, the place is now called Aspatria which means “ash of Patrick.”
As with all legends, it is unclear whether they are true or even based on real events. However, this is not important. Even if they were completely fabricated by later Christians, these stories serve to demonstrate important truths about St. Patrick and the spread of Christianity through Ireland. Whether it is an explanation of a complicated theological point, a demonstration of God’s power to drive out false beliefs or a testimony to St. Patrick’s determination to evangelize and win the hearts of the Irish people, these stories show us why St. Patrick remains such a popular figure over 1500 years after his death.