Hail glorious Saint Patrick, dear saint of our isle; On Erin’s green valleys look down in thy love.
This is the opening line of the best-known hymn to honour Saint Patrick. As we move close to the feast day, we who live on this isle of Ireland prepare to celebrate our national saint and falling as it does in the early stages of Lent are inspired in our penitential practices by the fact of Patrick’s long fasting on the high ground of Croagh Patrick. It might be telling for us to consider Saint Patrick looking down on Ireland today and wondering what he might make of it.
He would see a dramatically changed country from his days of isolation as a slave-shepherd on Sliabh Mish in county Antrim. He would surely rejoice in the freedoms we enjoy as a people. These are freedoms we do not even need to mention when we compare our own country with the deprivations of freedom in other countries.
He would look down on the Faith of the Irish today and note the dramatic changes that have occurred in the practice of the Faith he first brought to Ireland in 432. Again, there is no need to spell out these changes as they are so familiar and obvious to us when we look at religious practice in our country today.
The void that Christianity in recent times filled is rapidly being filled with alternative belief systems including a return to paganism and even witchcraft in instances. Aggressive forms of this emerge every Halloween and just last year our Eurovision entry courtesy of Bambi Thug labelled her music as ‘ouja-pop’, imbued with magic spells.
On a more global scale there is increasing evidence of the popularity of the occult, the increase of intolerance, right wing views, authoritarianism. Online, there is a virtual subculture called WitchTok that has gained huge traction, up to 30 billion views centred around magic rituals. Is this leading to a collapse of Christianity and leaving behind a dangerous vacuum being filled with various pagan practices?
Pope Francis, in a recent reflection comments: “Our secularised world is teeming with magicians, occultism, spiritism, astrologers and satanic sects. If we kick the devil out the door, he tries to through the window. If we overcome him with faith, he seeks to return through superstition.” May all forms of darkness, evil and deceit be dispelled by the true light of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.
Would Saint Patrick wince with despair as he looks down on his beloved adopted country, on Erin’s green valleys? No, and the reason is in the words of the hymn: “On Erin’s green valley’s look down in thy love.” I imagine it is the word love that will colour his outlook. His looking down will involve not despair, but a sense of understanding, compassion and hope born out of that loving gaze.
It is centuries since Patrick first came to these shores and he encountered major problems back then: slavery, idolatry, violence, illness, oppression, and inequality. Centuries later, these age-old problems still exist in various forms throughout the world and Ireland has its share of them.
“Erin’s dear isle” has made progress, enjoyed advances, overcome problems, and continues to look for improvement in areas of injustice at home and abroad. On Saint Patrick’s feast day, we should not be shy of patriotism or just pride in our country. I think the Irish word for patriotism is very fitting for us today and the word is “Tír-ghrá” which translates simply and beautifully as love of country.
A word or two more about the hymn Hail Glorious Saint Patrick that may both enlighten and surprise us: it was composed by an Irish Mercy nun around 1853. She was Sr. Mary Agnes Sweeney of the Convent of Mercy Charleville, County Cork. Her talents were many from musical and literary composition to a great interest in matters educational. Born in the year 1823 in Cobh County Cork, she entered Charleville convent in 1842. In the year 1866 she was one of a group of five sisters from Charleville who took an arduous voyage to Australia (3 months duration). They founded a mercy Convent in Bathurst near Sydney. She and her sisters demonstrated the missionary zeal of Patrick of old remaining in her adopted country for the remainder of her life and she died and was buried there on 2nd June 1902 aged seventy-nine. One can only imagine that she and countless other missionaries who left and never returned to Ireland are this day looking down on Erin’s green valleys in their love. They have left a special legacy of love and dedication.
Hail glorious Saint Patrick!
✠ Fintan Monahan is Bishop of Killaloe
Clare Champion Article Friday 14th of March 2025