St. Patrick's Day is upon us, and with it the celebrations and occasional controversies associated with the eponymous patron saint of Ireland—the distinctly non-Irish missionary credited with converting the Emerald Isle to Christianity in the fifth century. The Irish around the world will mark the anniversary of Patrick's death this weekend with parades, concerts, poetry readings and lectures, only some of which will bear any relation to the saint's life and work. Thanks to the size and cultural power of the Irish diaspora, these annual rituals have transformed Patrick into a saintly superstar of global significance.
Patrick's fame has its origins in piety and faith. The celebrations in his honor, however, are not spent in prayer and reflection but in boisterous celebration of Irish history, culture and identity. This surely would have puzzled him, because, as Roy Flechner reminds us in “Saint Patrick Retold,” there wasn't anything Irish about Patrick. He was born in what today is Britain, although, like the woman slopping about in the mud before King Arthur in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” he likely would have asked, “Who are the Britons?”
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