St. Patrick's Day

What is the connection to the patron saint of Ireland and a farm in the southeast United States named after one of the last free Anglo-Saxons in England?  

Many are familiar with the legend of St. Patrick – he is accredited with bringing Christianity to Ireland and ridding the country of snakes.  We know that St. Patrick was actually born, Maewyn Succat, in 415 AD in what was then the Roman province of Britannia.  His father was a Christian Deacon.  At 16 years of age he was captured by Irish pagan raiders attacking his father’s estate and he spent six miserable years in Ireland.  Most likely becoming deeply religious during his captivity, he was guided by a voice to leave Ireland (funny enough I had the same experience when I was working in Belfast).  Escaping to France he went on to become a priest and took the name Patricius (or Patrick) from the Latin for father-figure.  A second revelation told him to return to Ireland as a missionary.  Being familiar with the Irish language and culture he chose to incorporate traditional Irish beliefs and customs into his teachings.  He used bonfires to celebrate Easter and superimposed the Sun, an important Irish symbol, onto the cross creating what is known today as the Celtic cross.  He also used the three-leafed shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity.  St. Patrick died around 460 AD on March 17^th.

Legacy

The Irish enthusiastically adopted Christianity with a passion and monasteries were built across the country.  It was from these monasteries that Irish monks such as St. Gallen, St. Columkille and St. Columbanus later left Ireland to re-introduce Christianity to Europe during the so called Dark Ages.   As the movement for separation of Ireland from Britain grew during the 18^th century, it is perhaps this wave of Irish nationalism that popularized symbols of their ancient identity with St. Patrick being an obvious icon.  As the Irish emigrated around the world, particularly after the Great Famine of 1847, they clung to this powerful symbol of their national identity.

Irish in America

In 2008, 11.9% of the total population of the United States reported having some Irish ancestry.  Another 1.2% reported to be specifically Scotts-Irish (those emanating from the Irish province of Ulster and descendants of the English and Scottish tenant farmers settled in Ireland by the British government).  With the exception of German-Americans, there are more self-reported Americans of Irish ancestry than any other group.  Eight Irish-Americans signed the Declaration of Independence.  Of the 189 men who defended the Alamo, 12 were born in Ireland with a large number of those American born having surnames suggesting Irish heritage.  Remarkably  22 Presidents of the United States (that’s half of them!) have documented Irish ancestry, including Jackson, Polk, Grant, Roosevelt, Wilson, Truman, Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, the Bushes, Clinton, and Obama (maybe it should be O'Bama?). 

Hereward Farm Connection

The early Scotts-Irish immigrants settled mainly in what was referred to as the “colonial backwater” of the Appalachian Mountain region and became responsible for the unique culture that developed.  Appalachia went on to influence mainstream American culture with things like folk music, country music and stock car racing (NASCAR).  Hereward Farm is located at the geographic terminus of the Appalachian Mountains outside of a town called McCalla.  The name McCalla is associated with both the Scotts and the Irish.  On this St. Patrick’s Day it is fascinating to reflect how Scotts-Irish immigrants and their descendants likely farmed this very land that I was digging in today.  Many of the varieties of seeds and breeds of livestock common back then are some of the same heirloom varieties and breeds we are working to establish at Hereward Farm.  The basic premise - if it grew here before the advent of modern unsustainable farming methods it can grow here again! Our American Guinea Hogs, for instance, are the type of hogs used to be found on homesteads across Appalachia, and unlike their commercial breed counterparts, are still able to forage for their own food.   

OK, reflecting on the Irish and Scotts-Irish influence on America and Appalachia may not be the traditional way of spending St. Patrick’s Day.  However, after a long day working outside in unseasonably warm temperatures, the typical night out - wearing a “Kiss me I’m Irish” T-shirt, drinking a rake of green beer, choking down some corned beef and cabbage with soda bread, and wrapping things up by slurring the words to, Oh Danny Boy - does not have its usual appeal this year.