#1641 Rebellion

[oldcurrencyexchange]

Irish Coin Daily: Confederate Catholic Sixpence - Counter-marked on a Silver Sixpence of James I

Date: 1642-43 Kilkenny (countermarked once) Sixpence on a Sixpence of James I (Second Coinage, 3rd bust, mm Rose) Description: Kilkenny Rebel Money Sixpence; issued by the Catholic Confederacy of Kilkenny from 1642-43 and counter-marked on a silver Sixpence of James I (his Second Coinage, 3rd bust, mm Rose 1605-06) for Ireland, in 1558); one counter-mark struck on the monarch’s bust in the form…

[racefortheironthrone]

I appreciate the counter-revisionist spirit of the Puritans but it doesn't fully acknowledge the bad with the good, right? The Puritans were genocidal towards Native Americans (during Metacomet's War), supported slavery, and then there's the brutal campaign in Ireland under Cromwell that ended with many poor Irish reduced to indentured servitude.

So I think this is a very fair critique. If I'm going to take the position that we have to acknowledge that tumblr's faves the Vikings and Caribbean pirates were heavily implicated in slavery, I think it's incumbent on me to recognize the intense violence that was also part of the Puritan legacy. Because I think there's a direct line that can be drawn towards the violence of King Metacomet's War, the violence of Cromwell's campaign in Ireland, the violence of the English Civil War, and the violence of the wars of religion on the European continent, in part because in some cases you literally had veterans of one conflict fighting in another, and also because I think it points to the ways in which these conflicts fit a rather conventional pattern of 17th century warfare. This is not to say that the Puritans' actions were moral, but rather that they weren't unusual.

First, these wars tended to involve targeted attacks on civilian populations, the tendency for both sides to engage in escalating reprisal atrocities (this is not meant as a minimization tactic: if you look at the actual conduct of these wars, there are no good guys as pretty much everyone gives into the temptation to massacre civilians in revenge), and high casualty rates.

Second, they tended to involve seizure of land and the simultaneous pushing out of existing inhabitants and intended settlement of co-ethnics/co-religionists. These wars were intended to reshape borders and frontiers in ways that we today would consider ethnic cleansing.

Third, they were also rather complicated conflicts. Metacomet's War wasn't just a Puritan attack on the Wampanoags, but a complex affair of the Puritans and nine different First Nations tribes who fought both for and against the Puritans and one another - indeed, arguably two of the biggest victors of Metacomet's War were the Mohawk and the Wabanaki. In Ireland, you had the Catholic Confederation who had originally rebelled against Charles I and warred against the largely Scottish Ulster Protestants but who also allied with Charles against first the rebellious Scottish Covenanters and then the English Parliamentarians, you had Scottish Covenenanters who sent armies into Ireland to protect and revenge their kinsmen, you had a Royalist army under the command of an Irish lord who was tasked with putting down the Confederation and then recruiting the Confederation, and then you had Cromwell's New Model Army. (This is why, for example, most of the victims of the massacre of Drogheda were English Royalist soldiers rather than Irish Catholic civilians.)

Finally, a couple points about slavery. First, it is true that slavery was practiced in Puritan New England, but unlike in Virginia, New England was a society with slaves rather than a slave society. Hence why you had odd scenarios, whereby in New England slaves had the right to jury trials - a loophole that enlaved people would exploit starting in the mid-18th century to launch freedom suits by which they would petition the court for manumission.

Second, I would strongly advise that you be very, very careful about the topic of Irish indentured servitude, because the "Irish slaves myth" discourse devolves very quickly into white supremacist propaganda, and there is a nasty tendency for Irish republicans to be extremely cavalier with racist tropes. For example, Sean O'Callaghan, the author of To Hell Or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland not only conflated indentured servitude with chattel slavery, but invented a brand new historical libel when he claimed that Irish women sent to Barbados were systematically forcibly bred to African men. (Incidentally, for some misbegotten reason Wikipedia's page on the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland cites O'Callaghan as a source.) Despite the fact that this obviously trades in racist myths of black men as sexual predators, other authors repeated the claim and then it went viral online.

Not only is the conflation of temporary indentured servitude with chattel slavery something that a lot of white people use to minimize the history of anti-black racism similar to how narratives of immigrant struggles and upward mobility are used to minimize the impact of slavery and racism (essentially, we white ethnic group suffered and got over it, why can't you), but it also becomes this vector for online radicalization by white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and conspiracy theorists as memes circulate on social media forums - with the hope being that you gradually draw people from Facebook (and Tumblr?) to Infowars to Stormfront.

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1641 – The Battle of Julianstown | Rory O’More defeated government troops marching to raise the siege of Drogheda.

The Battle of Julianstown was fought during the Irish Rebellion of 1641, at Julianstown near Drogheda, Co Louth in November 1641. The prelude to the planned Siege of Drogheda 1641 by northern counties insurgents led by Sir Phelim O’Neil and supporters from Cavan and Monaghan to lay siege to the strategic garrison, grain store and seaport. Insurgents, during their plan to unsettle English rule in…

[visorforavisor]

I’ve been reading from The Teares of Ireland by James Cranford, which is a 1642 English comic about the 1641 rebellion in Ireland. obviously it’s complete propaganda and I sincerely doubt the veracity of most stories told in it, but there’s some absolute gems in here. I mean, really.

At one Mʳ Atkins houſe 7 Papiſtas brake in & beate out his braines, then riped upe his wife with Childe after they had rauiſhed her & Nero like vewed natures bed of conception then tooke they the Childe & ſacrificed it in the fire.

this is gruesome… if you believe they did it.

English Proteſtantas, ſtriped naked & turned into the mountaines, in the froſt, & ſnowe, whe:reof many hundreds are periſhed to death. & many liyinge dead in ditches & Savages upbraided them ſayinge now are ye wilde Iriſch as well as wee.

likewise. they perished to death, guys [/s]! and the worst thing the Irish could think of to say was… that these English Protestants were also Irish now? really, Cranford?

Drivinge Men Women & Children by hundreds vpon Briges & caſting them into Rivers, who drowned not were killed with poles & ſhot with muſkets

at this point I’d like to remind you that it was only in 1609 — not very long previously — that these same Catholics had been forced out of their homes and off their land in Ulster so that English Anglicans and Scottish Presbyterians could be moved in, in an effort to Anglicise and de-Gaelicise the nation of Ireland.

Mʳ FFordes houſe rifled; and to make her confeſſe where her mony lay, they tooke hot tonges clappinge them to the Soules of her feete & to the Palmes of her handes ſo tormented her that with the paine thereof ſhee died.

okay, so this one is also utterly ridiculous. but I am making a point here.

when I was reading these pieces — as well as the testimony of Elizabeth Price, an English woman, in June 1643 about the same rebellion — what really struck me was the similarity to Israeli propaganda about Palestinians. from Elizabeth Price:

shee often heard the Common sort of Rebells say, that when they had distroyed all the English in Ireland they would goe with an Army into England and destroy the English there

sounds a lot like Israeli claims that Palestine doesn’t want Israelis to exist. she also talks about how brutal the Catholics are in regard to religion:

hearing in Irish words answered and said Cuir do anim in diouall, which in English is Give or bequeath thy soule to the Divell, And at other tymes would say to the protestants (vpon their knees, begging with teares, that they might pray before their deaths) Why should yow pray for your soule is with the Divell already, And therevpon and with those words in their mowthes would slaughter and put them to death

firstly, what she means is “cuir d’anam i ndiabhal”. secondly, this once again reminds me of the propaganda of Israel as concerns the Palestinian people.

my point here, really, is that it was extremely clear to me upon reading these 1640s texts that the horrific details of the Irish rebels were made up. please have the same doubt about claims regarding Palestinians, things you hear from Israel. especially things that sound like they don’t have any evidence.

[dutch-and-flemish-painters]

Jan de Herdt  - Portrait of Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski- ca. 1664

oil on canvas, height: 102 cm (40.1 in); width: 87 cm (34.2 in)

Prince Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski (20 January 1616 – 31 December 1667) was a Polish noble (szlachcic), magnate, politician and military commander, and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the initiator of the Lubomirski Rebellion of 1665–1666 against royal authority.

Lubomirski was the son of voivode and starost Stanisław Lubomirski and Princess Zofia Ostrogska. He was married to Konstancja Ligęza since 1641 and Barbara Tarło since 1654. He was starost of Kraków since 1647, Court Marshal of the Crown in the same year, Grand Marshal of the Crown since 1650, Field Crown Hetman since 1658, starost of Nowy Sącz and Spisz.

He became Sejm Marshal of the ordinary Sejm between 1 February and 29 March 1643 in Warsaw.

Jan de Herdt, in Italy also called Il fiammingo (Antwerp, c. 1620 – between 1686 and 1690) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. After training in Antwerp, he spent his entire career abroad, first in Northern Italy and later in Vienna and other cities in central Europe. He was mainly a portrait artist but also painted genre scenes as well as religious, mythological and allegorical subjects. He was part of a network of Flemish and Dutch painters working for the court, aristocracy and ecclesiastical institutions of central Europe.

[theirishaesthete]

All that is Fantastically Eccentric in Architecture

‘It was in the hall of this Castle, then his principal residence, that James, first Duke and twelfth Earl of Ormond, received, as he sat at dinner, on 23d October 1641, intelligence of the great rebellion, in which he so eminently distinguished himself as Commander of the Royal Army. Since that period, none of the Ormond family have resided in Carrick-Castle, which is, however, maintained in good…

[scotianostra]

April 27th 1650 saw The Battle of Carbisdale. where The Great Montrose fought his last fight.

Montrose was surprised on level ground, near a pass called Invercharron (Invercharron Hill ), on Saturday, 27th April 1650. With his men they tried to reach a wooded, craggy hill in his rear but was overtaken and defeated by Lt-Col. Strachan. "The ground where the battle was fought … took its present name, Craigcaoineadhan, which may be translated the Rock of Lamentation. This site has now been added to the Inventory of Historic Battlefields but there is no memorial on the site.

A wee bit background; Between 1639 and 1653, Scotland was involved in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of wars starting with the Bishops Wars (between Scotland and England), the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the English Civil War (and its extension in Scotland), the Irish Confederate Wars, and finally the subjugation of Ireland and Scotland by the English Roundhead New Model Army.

In 1650 he, to all intents sacrificed Montrose , one of the best generals in the royalist cause, sending him on a doomed mission to Scotland. Charles risked little other than minor damage to his reputation, as he was talking with the Covenanter government of Scotland. The force under Montrose was around 500 Danish mercenaries and 40 or so loyal if now desperate royalist gentlemen soldiers.

Had Graham miraculously won through and got a foothold or even sparked an uprising and taken Scotland Charles gained enormously; otherwise the cavalier cause was down a few brave men and one great general.

Montrose sailed from Bergen to Orkney , where he gathered a further 750 to 1,000 mercenaries to his colours, landing his augmented force at John O’Groats via Orkney on April 12th.

The Marquis, after initial progress south had to edge back to the Kyle of Sutherland, where a small Scottish government force under Colonel Archibald Strachan tracked him down. Strachan lulled Montrose into inaction, tricking him into believing the chasing force was insignificant. Then Strachan attacked.

Archibald in fact had fewer than 250 cavalry, and only 36 musketeers; plus around 400 Highlanders on whom little reliance could be placed. Caught unawares though, Montrose’s troops were panicked, the Danes proving less than valorous. A rout followed the first charge, and just 100 of Montrose’s men survived the slaughter. The Marquess himself though badly wounded escaped.

After wandering in the hills with the hue and cry out against him, so hungry that he was reduced to eating his gloves, he took refuge at Ardvreck Castle with Neil MacLeod of Assynt, but there was a substantial reward to be earned for him and Macleod surrendered him to the authorities. Macleod got his money and his name has stunk in Scottish nostrils ever since.

He was paraded from northern Scotland to Edinburgh with his crimes advertised and his name degraded.  Graham  was outlawed, excommunicated, and attained for the crime of treason in 1644. Thus, the process of his legal death began years before he was finally captured and publically executed in Edinburgh in 1650, this basically meant he got no trial, he merely appeared before the court and the formal sentence of death was handed down on May 20th

His humiliation didn’t stop at his death, the punishment for treason extended beyond the extinction of life as the corpses of traitors were used to send out stark and richly symbolic messages. In Montrose’s case, his head was spiked on top of Edinburgh’s Old Tolbooth and his limbs were displayed in four of Scotland’s main towns.

I shall cover this in more depth on May 21st.

[gwendolynlerman]

Separatist and irredentist movements in the world

Wallmapu

Proposed state: Wallmapu

Region: Buenos Aires, Chubut, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, La Pampa, Mendoza, Neuquén, San Juan, and Santa Fe Provinces, Argentina; Araucanía, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins, Los Ríos, Los Lagos, Maule, Ñuble, Santiago Metropolitan, Valparíso Regions, Chile

Ethnic group: Mapuches

Goal: independence

Date: 1600s

Political parties: -

Militant organizations/advocacy groups: Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco, Consejo de Todas las Tierras, Resistencia Ancestral Mapuche

Current status: active

History

1502 - Europeans first arrive in Argentina

1520 - the first Europeans arrive in Chile

1540 - beginning of the colonization of Chile

1546-1641 - Arauco War

1810-1818 - Argentine War of Independence

1810-1826 - Chilean War of Independence

1813 - Indigenous Settlement Commission

1825 - Treaty of Tapihue

1861-1883 - occupation of Araucanía

1870-1880 - Indigenous Reservations Law

1962-1973 - Chilean land reform

1990 - creation of the Consejo de Todas las Tierras

1993 - Indigenous Peoples Act

1998 - foundation of Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco

2009 - formation of Resistencia Ancestral Mapuch

2010-2011 - hunger strikes

The colonization of Argentina and Chile began between 1535 and 1540, after which they became part of the Spanish Empire. In the long Arauco War, the Mapuche people fought against the Spaniards for their freedom and lands. They eventually won and reversed Spanish colonization of Araucanía.

After Chile achieved independence in 1844, the peace between the Mapuche and the new government evaporated, since the latter did not recognize the Mapuche as independent. Eventually, the government did so through the Indigenous Settlement Commission and the Treaty of Tapihue, but the Chilean population continued to acquire Mapuche lands.

The passing of the Indigenous Reservations Law led to mass rebellion by the Mapuche people in 1870 and 1880. Subsequently, the Chilean government started the “pacification” of Araucanía, which was essentially an occupation of the region. Salvador Allende’s government restored some Mapuche land, but the situation was reversed under Pinochet’s dictatorship.

When democracy was restored, the Chilean government passed the Indigenous Peoples Act to recognize Mapuche participation and land, cultural, and development rights, but most Mapuches feel disappointed. Since then, numerous incidents have happened in Araucanía, including hunger strikes and attacks against both sides.

Mapuche people

There are around 1,950,000 Mapuches, of which 90% live in Chile. They speak Mapuche, an Araucanian language, and Spanish.

Mapuche people mostly practice Christianity, but also retain some of their traditional beliefs. Their economy is based on agriculture, and they are organized under extended families.

Vocabulary

(Mapudugun - Spanish - English)

Arkentinia - Argentina - Argentina

Aukiñ Wallmapu Ngulam - Consejo de Todas las Tierras - All Lands Council

Chili - Chile - Chile

Mapuche kewan - conflicto mapuche - Mapuche conflict

Mapudungun - Mapuche language

wall mapu - territorio circundante - surrounding area

Wenufoye - canelo del cielo - sky’s canelo (Drimys winteri)

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 10.24 (before 1920)

AD 69 – In the Second Battle of Bedriacum, troops loyal to Vespasian defeat those of Emperor Vitellius. 1260 – Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France. 1260 – After defeating the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut and assassinating the previous Mamluk sultan, Qutuz, Baybars ascends to the Egyptian throne as the fourth sultan of the Mamluk Sultanate. 1360 – The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War. 1590 – John White, the governor of the second Roanoke Colony, returns to England after an unsuccessful search for the "lost" colonists. 1596 – The second Spanish armada sets sail to strike against England, but is smashed by storms off Cape Finisterre forcing a retreat to port. 1641 – Felim O'Neill of Kinard, the leader of the Irish Rebellion, issues his Proclamation of Dungannon, justifying the uprising and declaring continued loyalty to King Charles I of England. 1648 – The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. 1795 – Poland is completely consumed by Russia, Prussia and Austria. 1812 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow. 1813 – Treaty of Gulistan: The Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813 comes to a close with the signing of the Treaty of Gulistan, under which terms Qajar Iran agrees to cede the bulk of its Caucasian territories, which comprise much of modern Dagestan, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, to the Russian Empire. 1851 – William Lassell discovers the moons Umbriel and Ariel orbiting Uranus. 1857 – Sheffield F.C., the world's oldest association football club still in operation, is founded in England. 1860 – Convention of Peking: The Second Opium War formally comes to a close, with Qing China ceding Kowloon in perpetuity to the victorious British Empire. 1861 – The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed. 1871 – An estimated 17 to 22 Chinese immigrants are lynched in Los Angeles, California. 1876 – Shinpūren rebellion: Upset at the Westernisation of Meiji Japan and the abolition of the Tokugawa feudal hierarchy, the Keishintō, a group of extremist Shinto former samurai, launch a surprise attack against the Meiji government in Kumamoto Prefecture. 1886 – Normanton incident: As the British merchant vessel Normanton sinks off the coast of Japan, her European officers appear to commandeer the ship’s lifeboats for themselves, leaving her Asian crew and passengers to die and conjuring significant political outrage in Japan. 1889 – Henry Parkes delivers the Tenterfield Oration, effectively starting the federation process in Australia. 1894 – First Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Jiuliancheng: Under the command of General Yamagata Aritomo, the Imperial Japanese Army covertly crosses the Yalu River into Qing territory and launches an assault on the fortifications at Hushan. 1900 – U.S. Government announces plans to buy Danish West Indies for $7 million. 1901 – Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. 1902 – Guatemala's Santa María volcano begins to erupt, becoming the third-largest eruption of the 20th century. 1911 – Orville Wright remains in the air nine minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. 1912 – First Balkan War: The Battle of Kirk Kilisse concludes with a Bulgarian victory against the Ottoman Empire. 1912 – First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo concludes with the Serbian victory against the Ottoman Empire. 1917 – World War I: Italy suffers a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Caporetto on the Austro-Italian front. 1918 – World War I: Italian victory in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.

[irunevenus]

The Danger of Faith and Fanaticism: The Religious Wars in Ireland

The Religious Wars in Ireland, which extended mainly from the 17th century until the end of the 20th century, are a tragic example of how faith and fanaticism can lead to prolonged conflict, destruction, and social division. The religious context of Ireland, marked by tension between Catholics and Protestants, especially those following the Anglican tradition, not only shaped the politics of the island but also generated a climate of hostility that resulted in atrocities and human suffering.

Historical Context: The Religious Division

The religious division in Ireland can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries during the period of the Reformation and subsequent British colonization. England, under the Anglican monarchs, sought to impose Protestantism in Ireland, where the majority of the population was Catholic. The policies of colonization and the introduction of Protestant settlers, especially in areas like Ulster, exacerbated tensions.

The relationship between Catholics and Protestants was marked by deep distrust and animosity, often justified by distorted interpretations of faith. Religious propaganda frequently fueled fanaticism, leading to the idea that the other religion was not only a political rival but an existential threat. This dynamic was exploited by political leaders on both sides to mobilize support, resulting in a cycle of violence that persisted for centuries.

The Conflict: From Civil War to Sectarian Violence

The Religious Wars in Ireland include a series of conflicts, from the revolts of the 17th century, such as the Irish Catholic Rebellion of 1641, to the Northern Ireland Conflict, which began in the 1960s and lasted until the 1990s. During these wars, religious fanaticism often intertwined with issues of national identity, leading to a complex and devastating scenario.

During the English Civil War, for example, Irish Catholics rose against English rule and Protestant oppression. The result was brutal repression, with large-scale massacres, such as the Massacre of Drogheda in 1649, where thousands of Catholics were killed. Catholics frequently became targets of systematic violence, and the same happened to Protestants in various regions.

In the 20th century, the situation intensified in Northern Ireland, where sectarian sentiment culminated in the violence associated with the Troubles. The conflicts were often characterized by bombings, murders, and a wave of terror that involved both the civilian population and members of the security forces. Religious fanaticism fueled a narrative of "us versus them," exacerbating divisions and animosity between communities.

The Role of Faith and Fanaticism

Faith, which could serve as a means of unity and understanding, was distorted in many cases to justify violence and oppression. Religious fanaticism manifested in heated rhetoric that demonized the "other," transforming neighbors into enemies. This distortion of faith led to a reality where spirituality and religiosity became synonymous with hatred and distrust.

Religious leaders on both sides of the conflict often played contradictory roles. While some called for peace and reconciliation, others encouraged resistance and violence, using religion as a tool to mobilize the masses. The manipulation of faith for political and power purposes became a central feature of the war.

Conclusion: The Legacy of Fanaticism

The Religious Wars in Ireland serve as a grim reminder of what happens when faith is distorted by fanaticism. The bloodshed, social divisions, and resulting traumas from these wars still resonate in contemporary Irish society. The danger of religious fanaticism lies not only in the actions of one group but in the ability to create an environment where empathy and understanding become impossible.

To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, it is crucial to promote an interpretation of faith that favors dialogue, tolerance, and reconciliation. The legacy of the Religious Wars in Ireland teaches us that true spirituality should be a force for unity, not division, and that respect for differences is fundamental to building peaceful and cohesive societies.

[oldcurrencyexchange]

Irish Coin Daily: Confederate Catholic Shilling - Counter-marked on a base Shilling of Elizabeth I

Date: 1642-43 Kilkenny (Rebel) Money (counter-marked twice) to denote a Shilling on a base Shilling of Elizabeth I Description: Kilkenny Rebel Money Shilling; issued by the Catholic Confederacy of Kilkenny from 1642-43 and counter-marked on a base Shilling of Elizabeth I (her first issue of base coinage for Ireland, in 1558); the counter-mark is struck on either side of the monarch’s bust in the…

[jamesgraybooksellerworld]

 “The first great historian in the English language"

569J Clarendon, Edward Hyde, Earl of, 1609-1674. (two works) The history of the rebellion and civil wars in England, begun in the year 1641. With the precedent Passages, and Actions, that contributed thereunto, and the happy End, and Conclusion thereof by the King’s blessed restoration, and return upon the 29th of May, in the Year 1660. Written by the Right Honourable Edward Earl of Clarendon,…

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1641 – The Battle of Julianstown | Rory O’More defeated government troops marching to raise the siege of Drogheda.

#OTD in 1641 – The Battle of Julianstown | Rory O’More defeated government troops marching to raise the siege of Drogheda.

The Battle of Julianstown was fought during the Irish Rebellion of 1641, at Julianstown near Drogheda, Co Louth in November 1641. The prelude to the planned Siege of Drogheda 1641 by northern counties insurgents led by Sir Phelim O’Neil and supporters from Cavan and Monaghan to lay siege to the strategic garrison, grain store and seaport. Insurgents, during their plan to unsettle English rule in…

[valkyries-things]

LADY ELIZABETH DOWDALL // NOBLEWOMAN

“She was a member of the Irish gentry, famed for having defended Kilfinny Castle, County Limerick, against the insurgents during the Irish Rebellion of 1641.”

[xtruss]

Why We Wear Green on St. Patrick’s Day

Dressing in Green on St. Patrick's Can Trace Its Roots to Leprechaun Legends, as Well as a Sign of Irish Defiance.

— By Patrick J. Kiger | March 11, 2024

Photograph By Kirill Liv/Getty Images

Each year on St. Patrick’s Day, tens of thousands of Americans add green to their outfits, even if they can’t trace their ancestry back to the Emerald Isle. But most of those who wear green probably don’t realize that the color has only a tenuous connection to St. Patrick, and actually originated as a symbol of rebellious Irish nationalism.

Avoiding a Leprechaun's Pinch?

One legend suggests that wearing green on St. Patric’s Day makes the wearer invisible to leprechauns. The tiny red-bearded fairies of Irish folklore supposedly roam around pinching those who’ve chosen clothing of another hue.

But fear of leprechauns as a reason to wear green may be American rather than Irish in origin, explains Elizabeth Stack, a native of Ireland who is now executive director of the American Irish Historical Society in New York.

“No one in Ireland is worried that they will be pinched if they don't wear green,” Stack explains. Moreover, she notes, the mischievous mythical creatures don’t actually have anything to do with the feast day of Ireland’s patron saint, who is credited with spreading Christianity on the island in the Fifth Century, in part by blending its rituals with customs of the ancient Celtic pagan religion. (March 17 is the day that St. Patrick is believed to have died, somewhere around A.D. 460)

For that matter, green isn’t a color that has much of a connection to St. Patrick, either. “The earliest depictions of St. Patrick show him clothed in blue garments,” Stack says.

English Designated Blue for St. Patrick

But during the centuries that Ireland was ruled by the English, the color blue fell into disfavor among the Irish. Henry VIII, who declared himself king of Ireland in 1541, gave Ireland a coat of arms that depicted a golden harp, a traditional symbol of the nation, on a blue background. In the late 1700s, the association between blue and St. Patrick was further tainted for the Irish when the English king George III created a new order of chivalry, the Order of St. Patrick. “Its official color was a sky blue, known as St. Patrick’s blue,” Stack says.

By then, the ever-rebellious Irish had chosen a different hue to symbolize their country. They seized upon green, the color of the shamrock, which in legend St. Patrick used when he explained Christian beliefs to the Irish.

The custom of wearing green “may have come from the tradition of wearing a piece of shamrock on the day in Ireland,” Stack explains. “The significance of the three-leafed shamrock comes from St. Patrick himself. He used the shamrock to describe the three forms of God—the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit—to convert early Irish people to Christianity.”

Green as Sign of Irish Defiance

In the Great Irish Rebellion of 1641, Irish military leader Owen Roe O’Neill’s sailing vessels flew a flag that depicted an Irish harp on a field of green instead of blue, according to Jerrold Casway’s 1984 biography of O’Neill. Even after that uprising was crushed, Thomas Dineley, an Englishman who traveled through Ireland in 1681, “reported people wearing crosses of green ribbon in their hats on Saint Patrick's Day,” Stack says.

In the late 1700s, the Society of United Irishmen, an underground nationalist group that sought to emulate the American Revolution and overthrow English rule, used the color green as a symbol of their cause. To avoid being spotted by the English, a nationalist revolutionary might wear a subtle hint of green, such as a green feather in his cap, according to Robert Kee’s book The Green Flag: A History of Irish Nationalism.

Though the poorly-armed rebels were crushed by the British, the idea of wearing shamrocks attached to hats and the color green as nationalist symbols persisted, despite English attempts to suppress them. As described in Paul F. State’s book A Brief History of Ireland, “The Wearin’ o’ The Green,” a street ballad written by an anonymous songwriter around 1798, conveyed that rebellious meaning:

When law can stop the blades of grass from growing as they grow;

And when the leaves in summertime their verdure dare not show;

Then I will change the colour that I wear in my caubeen (hat),

But until that day, please God, I’ll stick to wearin’ o’ the green

As Irish immigrants arrived in the United States and other countries in the 1800s, they took the custom of wearing green with them, and it became a prominent feature of the boisterous St. Patrick’s Day parades staged in many cities. In the U.S., Canada, and Australia, where Irish newcomers were often regarded with suspicion, “St. Patrick's Day often performed the function of declaring, almost belligerently, the presence of the Irish among their host community,” Mike Cronin and Daryl Adair write in their history of holiday, The Wearing of the Green.

By the 1930s, the custom of wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day had become so widespread that even President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was of Dutch ancestry, joined in. An article published on March 17, 1933 described how FDR teased Sen. F. Ryan Duffy of Wisconsin “when he appeared on St. Patrick’s Day wearing a blue tie and no sign of green.” Roosevelt himself wore a green carnation.

The custom has become so established in the U.S. that, according to the National Retail Federation, 82 percent of those who celebrate St. Patrick’s Day mark the holiday by proudly wearing green.

— Leprechaun. Noun. Lep·​re·​chaun ˈlep-rə-ˌkän. -ˌkȯn.: A Mischievous elf of Irish Folklore that Some Believe will Reveal Where Treasure is Hidden If Caught.

[lahilden]

Clontarf Castle Hotel

Clontarf Castle Hotel is located in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland. A castle has sat on this site since 1172. The castle was held by the Knights Templar. After 1308, it passed to the Knights Hospitaller, but after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the last prior, John Rawson, was made Viscount Clontarf in 1541 in exchange for surrendering the estate to the crown. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth granted the estate to Sir Geoffrey Fenton. The property passed through marriage to the King family, but George King took part in the Irish Rebellion of 1641, and the estate was confiscated. The estate was sold to John Blackwell, who sold his interest to John Vernon. The castle remained in the Vernon family for 300 years. The current castle was built in 1837 as the previous castle was considered unsafe. It was sold to the Oultons in 1933, who sold the property to pay for death taxes and other expenditures. Clontarf Castle continued to change hands. Additional modern wings were added, and it opened as a four-star hotel in 1997. The castle boasts grand turrets, restaurants, a gift shop, and 111 bedrooms that range from deluxe to luxury suites. Much of the estate’s land has been sold. The property has a large yard and an ornamental gatehouse.