This Saint Patrick's Day in Boston is a wild and wonderful day - especially in the Irish Pubs. A small group of Welsh celebrators on the other hand will gathering at the Cambridge Common, where they have been meeting every Wednesday for decades now. For these people from Wales, or associated with Welsh culture March 17th is a Welsh holiday, because they are convinced that Saint Patrick was a Welshman.
Saint Patrick tells his own story in the Confessio. According to Aled Llion Jones who was born in Caerdydd (Cardiff)), south Wales and is now completing his doctorate at Harvard the Confessio is considered by scholars to have been written by Patrick himself. It tells the story of Patrick being kidnapped by Irish raiders in the late 4th to early 5th century, and at the age of 16 (c. 403) he escaped and returned home. Coming from the west coast of "Britain" would have made Patrick Romano-British, and his native tongue would have been a Brethonic language, which says Aled Llion Jones "is a predecessor to Welsh."
Later Patrick would return to Ireland as a missionary. He heard a call from God asking him to return to the land of his captors to preach the Gospel to them.
Kevin Adams, a Welshman who is the Pastor of East Baptist Church in Lynn celebrates Saint Patrick's Day as a Welsh holiday. For Pastor Adams March 17th is like March 1st (Saint David's Day - the patron Saint of Wales) it is his Welsh holy day, and he loves to go to the pub have corned beef and cabbage with a pint, and tell people that Saint Patrick was a Welshman.
The exact location of Patrick's birth is unknown today, but in his Confessio he names his home as Bannavem Taberniae in Britannia. This is thought by scholars to be on the west coast of Britain, though a few would place it in Scotland or even France, but to the Welshmen gathering at the Cambridge Common Saint Patrick was a Welshman, and they even have the song to prove it.
Being of Welsh descent, speaking a little Welsh myself, and having just returned from three weeks in Wales and England (mostly Wales) I am a little invested in this myself. That is me singing in the video, and with a little lyrical help from Evan Hansen I am the writer of the song "Saint Patrick was a Welshman." Unfortunately the rugby match last week did not turn out so well for the Welsh. Our Irish Cousins whooped us good.
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