While it ’ s true that Ireland is snake-free today , there is no evidence that they were driven out by St . Patrick . It ’ s likely that snakes never made it to Ireland to begin with . As for shamrocks , there is no historical evidence that St . Patrick used the shamrock as a symbol to demonstrate Christianity , as lore suggests .
While St . Patrick ’ s Day today is dripping in green , blue was the original color of the Order of St . Patrick . Early depictions of St . Patrick show him wearing blue , not green . Wearing green can be traced back to political revolutions in the 1600s or , interestingly , there are tales of Irish-Americans wearing green to “ make them invisible to leprechauns ” in the 1700s , but neither explanation has anything to do with St . Patrick .
So , what ’ s the real story ? St . Patrick is not Irish . He was born in Britain near the end of the fourth century , according to History . com . At the age of 16 , Patrick was taken prisoner by Irish raiders , and he spent 6 years in captivity in Ireland . While captive , he turned to his religion for solace , as reported by History . com , and became a devout Christian .