The Sun 42 WVNDHAM STREET, AUCKLAND MONDAY, MARCH 17, 1930 “THE DEAR, LITTLE SHAMROCK ”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 923, 17 March 1930, Page 8

The Sun 42 WVNDHAM STREET, AUCKLAND MONDAY, MARCH 17, 1930 “ THE DEAR, LITTLE SHAMROCK ”

HAILLION.S ot hats and best coats for a great occasion will be if! decorated today with the shamrock, the trifolium repens of botanists. There may be much argument as to the real symbolism of the three-leaf clover, but those who want the' green truth of its meaning will have to go far back into antiquity for .it, and even there and then they might find themselves in a bog o mystery. ilie trefoil in Arabic is called shamrakh and for centuries past has been held sacred in Iran as emblematical of the i ersian Triads. Moreover, as a coincidental fact worth notice, Pliny in his day noted that serpents are never seen upon Lieioii, which prevails against the stings of snakes and scorpions. s ,°; whatever the shamrock symbolises, it is well not to scoff at it tins day'. hoi Irishmen all over the- world today—and there are countries with more Irish folk than Ireland has—will pay' tribute to the Apostle of Erin, St. Patrick, a slave who became a saint. And there will be a sincerity and fervor in their praise which no other people ever excel, for “the Irish people, thank God,, 1 o hesitate when the heart calls one way and the head another.” . , And who was St. Patrick anyway?” one may imagine this generation of canned music and mechanical mystery asking. The answer is not as easy as the question, but the greatness of the saint in life and legend has been such as to encourage almost as many countries to claim the honour of having been his birthplace, as those which made a similar claim in respect of Iforner. .•'Gotland, England, Wales and France, in that order, have each i urnished claims, all more or less pretentious and none of them final as to confirmatory proof. It is known that St. Patrick was of a patrician family with a Roman ancestry, and was born about the year 372. The year of his death also remains a matter of conjecture, but it has been recorded that he died at Saul, in the county of Down, on March 17, 493, in the one hundred and twenty - first year of his age. Therefore, most of St. Patrick’s history' must be described as legendary, but, as has been said, his life and spiritual service were distinctive enough to cause nations other than Ireland to want him as their own. It is certain, however, that Ireland’s apostle was, when a lad, sold by pirates into slavery in Ireland, and there compelled to labour as a swineherd on the mountains of Antrim. There, like Jacob, he slaved for seven years, during which time he learnt the language of Erin. Following on his escape from captivity he, after many adventures, reached Europe and was successively ordained deacon, priest and bishop. Later, he returned to Ireland with papal authority, and preached the Gospel to its then heathen inhabitants. There can be no doubt now that he preached well, else today there would be no celebration of his sainthood. The Irish do not praise those who have done them or their country no good. As for the working of miracles no one today need become hot or cold about the saint’s record of achievement; it is enough to accept the beauty of lore and legend, and be satisfied that there was high merit in bis deeds. But in the banishment of snakes from Ireland there is one legend that is worth retelling. While ridding Ireland of such reptiles St. Patrick chained a monster serpent to a rock in Lough Diveen, telling him to remain there till Monday. Every Monday morning ever since, the serpent calls out in Erse, “ ’Tis a long Monday, Patrick.” It has been long, indeed. In the process of years many different kinds of vipers have been banished from Ireland or at least scotched in it. The snake of politics, for example, has been deprived of its fangs. New Ireland knows a rare peace, and is all tlie s better for the lack of conflict. The Irish Free State prospers. Tt even has been able to reduce taxation and promote the laudable enterprise of developing Irish manufactures. Men there, of course, still have their dreams, but life goes on more smoothly and to a tranquil purpose. And if Irishmen everywhere can make the shamrock symbolise the unity of Great Britain, the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland the British nation throughout the Empire will rejoice with Irishmen on St. Patrick's Day.