St Patrick's Day was celebrated on March 17 and many citizens found different and unique ways to celebrate the day of the Irish.
Did you lift a pint? Did you wear green to commemorate Irish culture or heroes? Those are the long held traditional ways to commemorate St. Patrick's Day.
Time has diluted its original intent but the origins of St. Patrick's Day might surprise some.
Originally, St. Patrick was a 16-year-old boy named Patricius who was captured by a band of pirates around 400 AD, sold into slavery, and bought by a Celtic tribal leader named Miliuk. Over the next few years, he served Miliuk well as a servant, gradually learning their customs and language, and then learning to love his captors.
During his time in the fields he discovered God and set on his life course, eventually finding his way to England to a seminary, and eventually back to his former captor's people as their bishop, evangelizing up to one third of the Celtic tribes before his passing at the age of 70.
St. Patrick was the first Irish hero, Brian Boru was another.
Boru was born in 941 AD and was the king of Ireland whose contribution to Irish history was victory in the Clontarf Battle of 1014 between the indigenous Irish and foreign Viking invaders at Clontarf. He was martyred on Good Friday while praying in his tent by a fleeing heathen Viking who murdered him before fleeing the battle.
Locally, musician Tom Lindl performed with his band, T.O.A.S.T., at the Zoo to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland to great acclaim and has another performance booked for March 20 at Fionn Maccool's in Red Deer.
T.O.A.S.T. largely performs cover tunes of classic rock, folk rock, country, and some pop music. Their repertoire stems from Lindl's early influences.
“I'm mostly a self-taught musician, having gotten my first guitar when I was 11 years old from my parents for Christmas,” said Lindl. “It didn't take long for me to get hooked on performing after my first band when I was 15.”
Lindl spoke of his musical journey from early bands like Sound Advice, Sarah Belham, Sam Drucker's General Store, and his days as a street performer in Red Deer. He started teaching music in Innisfail in 2005, and opened his retail store in 2011.
“Live performing holds a special place in my heart,” added Lindl. “I have stepped back into performing more often and gigs are coming my way. Music will always be part of my life.”
