The patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, was from England. An Anglo-American friend delights in pointing that out to me. We Irish aren’t accustomed to good things coming our way from England. I might have mentioned that once, or twice, to my friend.

Yes, if we’re all made in God’s image and likeness, what we Irish inherited, apart from the love of harps, was God’s sense of humor. O’God is quite the joker.

Though Patrick wasn’t born Irish, he is the archetypal Irishman. His life journey foreshadowed the eventual fate of the Irish people. As a boy, Patrick was shanghaied away from his culture, his language, his family.

Similarly, under the tyrannical rule of England’s first Queen Elizabeth, living the Irish culture, speaking the Irish language, holding true to Irish ancestors were all acts considered treasonous and capital offenses. Elizabeth thought that the Irish were incredibly unreasonable for refusing to be English. Through the many centuries that it took to win Irish independence, thousands of patriots died as free Irish rather than live as imitation English.

Four hundred years after the birth of Christ, the cultural domination of the Roman empire was at least as devastating as its military and that cultural imperialism had spread to modern day England. Patrick’s education may have had much more to do with Roman generals and Roman wars than anything to do with his own people, their history and their culture. He would have received Pink Floyd’s classical education of pax Romana rather than something germane to his own Celtic culture.

After his kidnapping by Irish raiders, Patrick was a slave for seven years with the humble assignment of tending sheep. One of his few professional perks was solitude, which meant there was no one to interrupt the Almighty. Patrick would have been far too polite to interrupt. So, just like George Fox, Patrick found “that of God” within himself. It was then absolutely out of the question to remain a slave to a mortal master. There is no record of any Harriet O’Tubman or an Irish Underground Railroad, but through the grace of God, Patrick managed to escape captivity and get back to England.

There he joined a monastery, was ordained a priest and received the calling to become a missionary. Here the plot thickens. In England at that time there existed prejudice. Hard to believe, but true.

The attitude of society was that it wasn’t possible to accept Christianity without first being of the mainstream mega-Roman culture. In England, Irish was a synonym for “savage.” Common opinion was that a person would first have to be civilized (classically educated) before they might become Christian. Jesus Christ, a known authority on Christianity, had never set up the Roman culture as prerequisite to becoming Christian. His own definition of Christian was, “By your love for one another they will know you.” That contra-indicates prejudice and bigotry, wouldn’t you say? That’s what God had to say, and Patrick believed it.

Ever since the cultural genocide of Queen Elizabeth, we Irish have shown our Irish by the wearing of the green (a defiant act for which patriots were executed). And we have shown our Irish by standing against other injustices.

General “Fightin'” Tom Sweeny led New York’s all Irish regiment of the fighting 69th during the American Civil War in the cause of emancipating slaves.

More recently, Martin McGinnis and Gerry Adams have led the fight for civil rights for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland, those counties which have not yet been returned to Irish rule.

Bono’s charity work is raising world awareness of injustices. The Los Angeles Times thinks he should head the World Bank and he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Mary Robinson, past president of the Irish Republic, has served as United Nations high commissioner for human rights.

The Irish have always realized that the dignity and rights of man were not an Irish struggle, but the principal struggle of humanity. In that war we have an immediate battle here in Maine.

Gov. John O’Baldacci is sponsoring the non-discrimination bill to turn the page on sexual discrimination. Tip your cap to those brothers and sisters with the courage to live the life God gave them. They are the front lines in the battle of the moment for the rights and dignity of humanity.

Patrick’s legacy to the Irish and the rest of us is the wisdom to let the Irish be Irish, Wabanaki be Wabanaki, gays be gay. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

God bless Patrick, Mother Jones, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and every child of God who will stand up for that of God in every man and woman.

I love Mother (Harris) Jones’ battle cry, “Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living.” If you’re Irish, you’ll wear the green and you’ll tell your representatives in Augusta to defend the rights of all of us by standing for the rights of any of us.

“Yes, thank God, while hearts are beating, each man bears a burning wound, and we will follow in their footsteps at the rising of the moon.”

Padraic go bragh.

Tomas O’Bolguidhir, or Tom Bulger as most know him, lives in Wilton.

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