The Celtic Cross

Just as St. Patrick made the shamrock into a Christian symbol he did the same with the Celtic cross.  He took an ancient symbol of the sun and combined it with a Christian cross to form the Celtic cross.  Across Ireland, Scotland and England, one can find Celtic crosses in many cemeteries.  The Celtic cross had a practical component too; the circle strengthened the cross beams preventing breakage or destruction.

Early Celtic crosses, circa 600 AD were simply carved out of rock.  By the 8th, 9th and 10th Centuries, high crosses became common to honour famous people or places.  The Cross of the Scriptures, or King Flan's Cross, is inscribed with images of the Bible:  the Last Supper, the Crucifixion and the Guarding of the Tomb.  By the 1850's, it became common to use Celtic crosses as tombstones, a tradition continued in North America and Australia where Irish or Scottish immigrants have settled.

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http://irishfireside.com/2015/02/03/history-symbolism-celtic-cross/

Ireland's Shamrock Business: It All Started with a Workshop

"So a few of us got together and formed a company to license the technology that came from University College Dublin -- and the rest is history." (James O'Leary)

Twenty years ago, a group of Irish farmers attended a workshop on how to grow shamrocks in gel and the modern shamrock business was born.  For decades, the shamrock, a three-leafed plant  used by St. Patrick to demonstrate the Trinity, had grown in muddy glens. When they were pulled out of the soil, their roots were lost, thereby limiting their life.  However, the workshop taught the farmers how to grow shamrocks in a hydroponic gel, thereby leaving the root intact and lengthening the life of the plant.

The shamrocks sell for about 10 Euros per plant or 45 Euros for a skillet full.  Irish Plant International produces over 130,000 shamrock plants annually. While 4/5 of Ireland's shamrock plants stay on the Emerald Isle, the other 1/5 is shipped all over the world for St. Patrick's Day including places as far flung as Texas, Chile and Argentina.  Shamrock lapels are worn for weddings and other special occasions.  In a nod to his Irish roots, former president Barack Obama was given a vase of Shamrocks on St. Patrick's Day this year.

For more information about the St. Patrick and the shamrock, visit http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2017/03/st-patrick-kidnapped-by-pirates.html.

http://www.thejournal.ie/business-of-growing-shamrocks-2-3292271-Mar2017/

Are There Really No Snakes in Ireland?

http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/the-real-reason-why-there-arent-any-snakes-in-ireland-sorry-st-patrick

Legend has it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland in the 5th Century.  While it is true that Ireland has no snakes it is for geographical, not human, reasons.  When the snake evolved about 100 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period, Ireland was completed submerged under water. During the Cenozoic Era, about 65 million years ago, the world started to dry out and vast grasslands dominated the Northern Hemisphere.

Predecessors to the cobras and pythons first appeared 50 million years ago while modern day cobras and pythons appeared 25 million years ago.  Today, snakes are found everywhere but Ireland, New Zealand, Greenland, Iceland and Antarctica.  Serpents haven't figured out how to migrate across the ocean to a new home.  While land bridges formed over past millennia, snakes would have frozen during the Ice Age.

How did the myth of St. Patrick and the snakes evolve?  In Christian cultures, snakes have always symbolized paganism starting with the serpent that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden.  Therefore, St. Patrick, who helped convert many pagans to Christianity in Ireland, would be a likely candidate to banish the snakes.

Source:  http://www.rte.ie/tv/scope/SCOPE4_show03_snakes.html

http://www.popsci.com/why-doesnt-ireland-have-snakes