Page 13 - eMuse Vol.9 No.03_Classical

Did You Know? Grandma’s

Myth Busters
It seems there’s always some one out • 3 classes, Sayings
there lying in wait to shatter all our dreams • 3 colours, and,
and illusions . Call them myth busters or rug • 3 principal gods .
pullers (they like to pull the rug out from St Patrick would have to have rocks in his
under the feet of the believers), or what head (probably three of them) not to jump
ever . on the band wagon.
Myth Busters Failed Ned Kelly
As one who grew up under the shadow Australian folklore (or is it true) tells us Its Never
of the shamrock, even before I left school I Ned Kelly’s favourite song was “The Wear- Too Late To
had a head full of myths and legends about ing of the Green”. Banning the wearing
the land of many of my ancestors. Myth of the green is a preposterous suggestion Live Happily Ever
busters think they put me wise decades to freedom-loving Irish everywhere (and
ago. Not a chance! Even in my enlighten- those who think they are).
ment I still love the stories I grew up with. But it has a ring of truth. In the 19th After
Perhaps it’s called a comfort zone. century, the shamrock became a symbol of
St Pat’s Shamrock Irish nationalism and rebellion against the
Images of good old Saint Patrick (aka British Crown, and anyone caught wearing
Pádraig or Padrig) were at home, at school, it was executed.
in church. They were everywhere good The pendulum has swung back fully. To-
(or bad) Catholics gathered. Little wonder day a member of the British Royal Family
they are firmly etched in my brain as he presents shamrock to the Irish Guards regi-
stands there in his green robes holding a ment . Could that be considered shamrock
shamrock. This, of course, were we told, rehabilitation?
was how he explained part of the mysteries Only in Ireland
of the Blessed Trinity to all those heathen Can any one recall Bing Crosby crooning
Celts he was converting. about Shamrocks growing only in Ireland.
My sainted Grand Mother would wash “...it’s the only place you’ll find them no
my mouth out with soap for saying this. matter where you go ...” Hold onto that
Ancient Irish citizens had a fixation with the thought if it makes you feel good. Some
number three for centuries before St Pat. of us see that as brilliant marketing before You Get
The Celtic Three marketing became a buzzword.
Pagan Celtic Druids started the sham- The word “shamrock” or “seamrag” in
rock on its path into Irish history. For them Gaelic, means “little clover” which is so fit- Nothin' for
the Celtic goddess Ana or Anu the three ting because shamrocks and four-leaf clo-
leaves represented her status as the maid- vers belong to the white clover plant family. Nothing
en, mother and crone of Ireland. The saying the “luck of the Irish” refers
The triskele (see the cover illustration) to a four leaf clover. Odds of finding one in
is one of the oldest Irish symbols, and you the wild is one in 10,000.
can find many of them on the kerbstones of St Pat Furphies
Newgrange. Does it have a connection with Historians seem to be a disagreeable
the shamrock? I don’t know. Perhaps not. bunch. None can agree on exactly when St
Ireland does not have a monopoly on Patrick lived and died. So broadly speaking, we
them . According to researchers these carv- can only say he lived around the fifth century
ings were believed to be made during the (give or take a metre) . As close to agreement
Neolithic times or around 3200 BC. as one can get places his death at around 17th
Evidence of this around the world as March 492 AD (even that is disputed) .
you can see in ancient Athens, Greece and There does not appear to be any real ev-
in Norwegian churches dating to the 11th idence of his use of the shamrock to explain
century . the Trinity until his image appeared on half
Celts believed that everything important penny coins in 1675. If the event ever re-
in the world comes in threes. Like: ally happened at all, it was recorded only
• 3 stages of life — life, death and rebirth; in folklore.
• 3 domains — earth, sea, sky; The inspirational story of St Patrick driv-
• Past, present, furure; ing the snakes out of Ireland always makes
• mind, body and spirit; for a good yarn from the “Never let the
• underworld, middle world and the upp- facts get in the way of a good story”.
er world; The is no evidence of snakes ever liv-
• Love, Wisdom and Truth; ing in Ireland since long before the
• Nature, knowledge and truth. last Ice Age.
Celtic society was organised Wally
around the sacred three:
March 2020 eMuse 13