Though, St Patrick’s Day is not a public holiday in Australia, it is a popular event in so many restaurants and pubs, particularly those with an Irish theme.
Many Australians remember the Irish settlement and culture on St Patrick’s Day. The Irish were among the first Europeans to settle in Australia. They comprised a portion of the convict settlement population in the late 1700s. More than 300,000 other Irish settlers (not convicts) migrated to Australia between 1840 and 1914. Many Irish immigrants came to Australia to escape famine in their homeland. About 30 percent of Australians are believed to have some Irish ancestry today.
One way of preserving Irish traditions and customs in Australia is celebrating St Patrick’s Day each year.
Who was St Patrick?
St Patrick was a real man who was born in around 385 AD.
He may have been named Maewyn Succat, and changed to Patrick when he later became a bishop. He may be thought of as Irish now, but he is believed to be born most likely in England, Wales or Scotland. In his teens, he was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland, where he was put to work as a herdsman.
After six years, he managed to escape and possibly fled back to his home. He became a Christian priest before returning to Ireland as a missionary in the mid fifth century.
He spent the next 30 years establishing schools, churches, and monasteries across the country.
Patrick was later appointed as successor to St Palladius, the first bishop of Ireland. He is said to have died on March 17 in the year 461.
