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List of Saint Patrick's Crosses


A variety of crosses, both designs and physical objects, have been associated with Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Traditionally the cross pattée has been associated with him, but in more recent times the Saint Patrick's Saltire has also been linked to him. Some authors have stated however, that Patrick is not entitled to have a cross as a symbol since he was not a martyr, unlike Saints George and Andrew.

Saint Patrick's Saltire is a red saltire on a white field. It is used in the insignia of the Order of Saint Patrick, established in 1783, and after the Acts of Union 1800 it was combined with the Saint George's Cross of England and the Saint Andrew's Cross of Scotland to form the Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. A saltire was intermittently used as a symbol of Ireland from the seventeenth century, but without reference to Saint Patrick.

The Pepys Library's collection of broadside ballads includes one from c.1690 called "Teague and Sawney: or The Unfortunate Success of a Dear-Joys Devotion by St. Patrick's Cross. Being Transform'd into the Deel's Whirlegig." It describes an Irishman (Teague) and Scot (Sawney), both stereotypically blockheaded, encountering a windmill for the first time and arguing over whether it is Saint Andrew's Cross or Saint Patrick's Cross.


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