Sheelah's Day

Sheelah's Day, also known as Sheelagh's Day, (Ir. Lá 'le Síle) is an Irish cultural holiday celebrated on 18 March which coincides with St. Patrick's Day. While the holiday is no longer widely celebrated in Ireland, there are still associated festivities celebrated throughout the Irish diaspora in Australia and Canada.

Sheelah's Day / Lá Fhéile Síle
shamrocks are associated with St. Patrick's Day and Sheelah's Day.
Official name	St. Sheelah's Day / Lá 'le Síle
Also called	Sheelagh's Day / Síle's Day
Observed by	Irish people people of Irish descent Folk Catholicism
Type	Ethnic, cultural
Significance	Feast day commemorating the alleged wife of St. Patrick
Celebrations	wearing shamrocks wearing green drinking Irish beer drinking Irish whiskey
Date	18 March
Next time	18 March 2025 (2025-03-18)
Frequency	Annual
Related to	St. Patrick's Day

History

Traditionally, Sheelah's Day (Lá 'le Síle) was celebrated the day after the Feast of St. Patrick and coincided with the Christian festivities.^[1] According to Irish folklore and mythology, Sheelah / Síle (Old Ir. Sighile) was either the wife or mother of St. Patrick, (Naomh Pádraig) and the holiday served to commemorate her life.^[2][3][4][5] [1]

Irish antiquarian journals and newspapers from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries mention a wife of St. Patrick. Freeman's Journal referenced Sheelah's Day in 1785, 1811, and 1841. Australian press from the nineteenth century recorded observances of Sheelah's Day, including the consumption of large amounts of alcohol.^[6] Sheelah's Day is no longer officially celebrated in Ireland, but continues to be celebrated in Newfoundland, Canada after Irish immigrants arrived in the late seventeenth century.^[2][7][8]

In Newfoundland the holiday may also be connected to the legend of the Irish princess Sheila NaGeira.^[9]

Some scholars suggest a connection between the holiday and the Sheela na gig, found in medieval architecture throughout Europe.^[2][10][11]

References

1. "St Patrick's Day facts and theories according to the experts". www.waterfordlive.ie. 15 March 2019.
2. Kelleher, Olivia (March 16, 2017). "St Patrick had a wife, and her name was Sheelah". The Irish Times. from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
3. Ralph Rigel (March 17, 2017). "St Patrick had a wife - and Irish used to also honour 'Sheelah's Day'". Independent.ie. from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
4. Lonergan, Aidan (March 16, 2017). "Identity of St Patrick's wife revealed after 1,500 years - and she was quite a woman". The Irish Post. from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
5. Dyer, Thomas Firminger Thiselton (1900). British Popular Customs, Present and Past: Illustrating the Social and Domestic Manners of the People: Arranged According to the Calendar of the Year. G. Bell. p. 139. from the original on 2009-09-26. Retrieved 2020-02-07 – via Internet Archive. sheelah's day.
6. MacNamee, Garreth (March 17, 2017). "Well holy God! It looks like St Patrick was married and we used to celebrate his wife every year". TheJournal.ie. from the original on March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
7. O’Neill, Brian (18 March 2017). "Sheelah's Day (St Patricks Wife) - Old Traditions of Ireland &..." Your Irish Culture. from the original on 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
8. "Celebrations urged for St Patrick's long-forgotten wife Sheelah". Belfasttelegraph. March 16, 2017 – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
9. Lehane, Shane (March 15, 2019). "Sheelah take a bow: This Irish icon was far more than just St Patrick's wife". The Irish Times. from the original on March 18, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
10. hÉireann, Stair na (18 March 2017). "In the old Celtic calendar, today is Sheelah's Day". from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
11. Nicholas Gilmore (March 16, 2018). "The Other St. Patrick's Day: The Surprising History of St. Patrick's Wife". www.saturdayeveningpost.com.