Each March 17th, pubs stock up on beer, Chicago’s river runs green, and children who don’t have green clothing end up with construction paper shamrocks pinned to their shirts. And even if you can’t pronounce shillelagh, you’ll still try to add an Irish brogue to your speech.
Even though we celebrate the infamous snake driver by adopting a green hue for everything, did you know that this day is also a special day for engineers? It seems that St. Patrick of lore is also the patron saint of engineers.
Who was Saint Patrick?
While there isn’t a lot of detail that we can verify about his early life, the stories that have been told and retold (and probably nicely embellished) do contain some elements that seem plausible and trackable. The man who was to later become the St. Patrick of song and drinking games was born in what is present-day Scotland in the late fourth century AD. The Christian church at the time was widely accepted in Britain, and his father was a deacon in the church.
Patrick took up the mission as an adult to spread Christianity throughout the lands of Britain. One aspect of his ministry was the building of churches, including the very first churches in Ireland. In doing so, St. Patrick revolutionized the way Irish buildings were constructed. Before he started, builders used a dry-masonry system of stacking flat stones on top of each other and overlapping them to seal up the walls of the building. Being more familiar with the architecture of the Roman Empire, St. Patrick introduced the concept of arches to Irish builders and acquainted them with the use of lime mortar. The resulting technological enhancements brought about the very traditional stone churches that have endured in Irish countrysides for centuries. As a result, he was later deemed the patron saint of engineers by the Catholic Church.
Celebrating St. Patrick, the engineer
When we see images of St. Patrick, it is traditionally with snakes about his feet as he drives them out of the country with his cane (the shillelagh) as punishment for inconveniently attacking him during a period of fasting. His role as an engineer is less often recounted on St. Patrick’s Day, though some engineering schools have embraced him and adopted celebrations in his honor. At Missouri University of Science and Technology, the “Knights of St. Patrick” (members of the engineering school) lead a week-long series of traditional events around the time of St. Patrick’s Day.
So take time as you drink your green beer and pinch your poorly-dressed friend to give a wink and a nod to honor St. Patrick as an engineer, as well.
