By Bradd Chambers
It’s been two days since St. Patrick’s Day, which means that the hangovers have (hopefully) gone by now. With Liverpool having the highest proportion of Irish and Northern Irish students, residents and ancestry than any other English city, you can guess that the celebrations were in full swing from the minute the alarm clock was turned off.
With many people taking the day off work and university, pubs had a lot on their plates rather than their traditional ‘pub lunch.’ With people drinking in the day, the streets were filled with green, white and orange.
Flashing tiaras, tricolour flags and green tops littered Liverpool city centre. Drinks were flowing freely and old Irish folk songs were blasting from every direction. Words started to stutter before dinner time and many had Guinness, “the liquid lunch.” Singing and chanting were heard from every Irish bar, including city centre’s O’Neill’s, Shenanigans and McHales Irish/American Bar.
But why do people celebrate ‘Paddy’s Day?’
We all know the legend about Saint Patrick banishing all the snakes from Ireland.
But what did he really do?
It’s believed that St Patrick was born in Roman Britain. He was apparently kidnapped at the age of 16 by Irish raiders and was taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland. He allegedly spent six years working as a shepherd when God came to him, telling him to flee to the mainland, where he became a priest.
Following his priest-hood, he returned to Ireland to convert people to Christianity. According to tradition, he converted thousands in the northern half of Ireland.
Legend says he died on March 17, buried in Downpatrick and became the saint of Ireland.
So why do we wear green?
St Patrick is believed to have used shamrocks to convert the Irish. The use of it in modern celebrations is tradition.
The colour green, however, has been associated with Ireland since the 17th century.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick’s Day gre
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My St Patrick’s Day was spent in class, but it wasn’t all bad – I was let out early because I’m Northern Irish. I then spent the day drinking in my flat with all my flat mates and friends who were all dressed in green and had their faces painted. It was my first time celebrating it over here and I loved it! How did you celebrate your day?
Let us all know in the comments below. Also send us in your pictures through braddchambers@outlook.com and we’ll put them up on our site!
Happy Paddy’s Day 2014!
Sent in by Luke McCausland
The Liverpool Line 