So you think that you know everything about St Patrick? It's all just the driving the snakes from Ireland, converting the pagans and using the shamrock to teach about the Holy Trinity? Well we bet you didn't know this.....
We should be really wearing blue
You weren't legally allowed to drink on St Patrick's Day
He wasn't Irish
Ok, we probably all should know this by now but you would be surprised by the number of people who insist that St Patrick was actually Irish. He wasn't. Patrick was born in what was then Roman Britain at the end of the 4th century AD and taken to Ireland by slavers when he was a teenager. The exact location of his birth is still debated with some believing he hailed from Wales and others convinced he came from Scotland.
He wasn't originally called Patrick
There were never any snakes in Ireland
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An illustration of a New York City St Patrick's Day Parade in the 1800s.
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March 17 is also a national holiday on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, a tiny island with around 4,000 inhabitants which became home to a large number of Irish emigrants in the 17th century. Montserrat is holding an entire week of celebrations, including a Patrick’s Day dinner, a calypso competition and a church service.