5 St. Patrick’s Day Prayers And Blessings For 2023

Many people want to incorporate some St. Patrick’s Day Prayers into ‘the big day’ on March 17th.

If you’re one of them, fair play to you (certain Irish toasts can work, too!).

Although St. Patrick’s Day is more unfortunately more associated with rowdy celebrations, the day ultimately marks the passing of Ireland’s Patron Saint.

Below, you’ll find some of the more popular Irish prayers for St. Patrick’s Day, including the very apt ‘St. Patrick’s Prayer’.

1. St. Patrick’s Breastplate

The most notable of the many St. Patrick’s Day Prayers is known as ‘St. Patrick’s Breastplate’.

It’s said that St. Patrick sang this prayer when the High King of Ireland, Loegaire, was preparing to ambush him.

This is one of the longer Irish prayers for St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s arguably the most appropriate.

The prayer

I arise today,
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today,
Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today,
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels, In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs, In preachings of the apostles, In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins, In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven; Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire, Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind, Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth, Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me; God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me, God’s hosts to save me

From snares of the devil, From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill, Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude. I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets, Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics, Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.

Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning, Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance. Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness, Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

2. A prayer about St. Patrick

One of the lesser-known facts about St. Patrick is that he did not banish the snakes from Ireland (there wasn’t any here to begin with!).

It’s believed that the snakes represented the devil’s presence in Ireland (the devil was depicted as a serpent in the Bible on numerous occasions).

As St. Patrick travelled around Ireland spreading the word of God, he helped to banish Pagan beliefs. This prayer starts with acknowledging St. Patrick’s role in bringing Christianity to Ireland before giving thanks.

God our Father,
You sent Saint Patrick
to preach Your glory to the people of Ireland.

By the help of his prayers,
may all Christians proclaim Your love to all men.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

3. A prayer to St. Patrick

The next of our St. Patrick’s Day prayers is different to the previous two in that it speaks directly to Ireland’s Patron Saint.

This prayer acknowledges St. Patrick’s admission of his sins before showing gratitude for his work in spreading the word of God in Ireland.

Dear St. Patrick,
in your humility you called yourself a sinner,
but you became a most successful missionary

and prompted countless pagans
to follow the Saviour.

Many of their descendents in turn
spread the Good News in numerous foreign lands.

Through your powerful intercession with God,
obtain the missionaries we need

to continue the work you began.
Amen.

4. A prayer giving gratitude for St. Patrick

This is one of the shorter St. Patrick’s Day blessings in this guide and it centres around giving thanks to God for St. Patrick and the work he did.

It’s a good option if you’re looking for short and sweet St. Patrick’s Day prayers that give nod to St. Patrick’s work.

O God, Who didst vouchsafe to send Thy Confessor and Bishop,
Blessed Patrick, to preach Thy glory to the nations, grant, through his merits and intercession,
that what Thou dost command us to do, we may, by Thy mercy, be enabled to perform.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
God, world without end. Amen.

5. A St. Patrick’s Day blessing

Many people looking to bring some form of St. Patrick’s Day tradition into their family life each March 17th opt for a mealtime prayer.

Another of the shorter St. Patrick’s Day prayers, this is a good pre-dinner blessing that gives thanks to God for St. Patrick’s presence in Ireland.

O almighty God, who in thy providence didst choose thy servant Patrick to be the apostle of the Irish people,
that he might bring those who were wandering in darkness and error to the true light and knowledge of thee;

Grant us so to walk in that light, that we may come at last to the light of everlasting life;
through the merits of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.

FAQs about Irish prayers for St. Patrick’s Day

We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from ‘What’s a good short blessing?’ to ‘Which is the oldest?’.

In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below. Here are some related reads you should find interesting:

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• 17 Tasty St. Patrick’s Day Cocktails To Whip Up At Home
• How To Say Happy St. Patrick’s Day In Irish
• 17 Surprising Fact’s About St. Patrick’ Day
• 33 Interesting Facts About Ireland