MAL ROGERS looks at few of the people who, perhaps surprisingly, glory in the name of our Patron Saint
1. Eric Clapton
FULL NAME: Eric Patrick Clapton
OCCUPATION: Guitarist, songwriter, singer.
IRISH HERITAGE: He may not have any Irish roots, but Eric Clapton has been seen taking part in the odd Irish traditional seisiún — playing the bouzouki.
HEY BIG FENDER Eric Clapton (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Crossroads Guitar Festival)2. Jimmy Page
FULL NAME: James Patrick Page
OCCUPATION: Guitarist and songwriter
IRISH HERITAGE: Irish through his mother Elizabeth Gaffikin (Co. Down roots), Jimmy Page the Led Zeppelin guitarist, was co-writer of Stairway to Heaven. This was first played live in the Ulster Hall in Belfast in March 1971.
On March 5, 1971 — at the height of the Troubles, and with civil disturbance, violence and mayhem a daily occurrence in Belfast — Led Zeppelin appeared at the Ulster Hall
It would be hard to conjure up a more unlikely setting at a more unlikely time to unveil what most people regard as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.
For good measure Jimmy Page's son is called James Patrick Page II
THE AXEMAN COMETH Jimmy Page (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame )3. Elvis Costello
FULL NAME: Declan Patrick Aloysius McManus
OCCUPATION: Singer, songwriter
IRISH HERITAGE: It's anyone's guess why Dec's stage name is an amalgam of the King of Rock & Roll and a former Irish Taoiseach — but it's probably a unique combination in rock music.
Elvis stresses his name Costello like 'bordello' instead of the Irish way as in 'buffalo'.
Patrick, his real middle name, we assume, is pronounced the normal, Irish way.
There's plenty of Irish blood coursing through the McManus veins, as well as music. His father was Ross McManus, singer with the Joe Loss Orchestra.
4. Morrissey
FULL NAME: Steven Patrick Morrissey
OCCUPATION: Singer, songwriter, co-founder of The Smiths
IRISH HERITAGE: Morrissey was born to working-class Dublin immigrants in Davyhulme, Lancashire. His first single was Irish Blood, English Heart.
The apostle of kitchen sink melancholy is himself named after the Apostle of Ireland.
5. Danny La Rue
FULL NAME: Daniel Patrick Carroll in Cork
OCCUPATION: Entertainer, female impersonator
IRISH HERITAGE: The self-styled grand dame of the theatre was born in Cork in 1927 — at that time not an area where female impersonators were in great demand. So it was off to Britain for Dan the Man (acting as a Woman) at the earliest opportunity, where his saucy act made him a club and light entertainment legend.
He really was terrific in the sauciness stakes – if you needed a double entendre, he’d always give you one.
DAN THE MAN Danny La Rue (centre) (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)6. John McEnroe
FULL NAME: John Patrick McEnroe
OCCUPATION: Tennis player, sports commentator
IRISH HERITAGE: The US tennis champion was born in Germany to an Irish-American family. His Irish paternal grandfather was from Ballyjamesduff in County Cavan, his grandmother from County Westmeath. His brother (also a tennis player), with a flourish of originality, was christened Patrick John McEnroe.
7. Michael Crawford
FULL NAME: Michael Patrick Smith
OCCUPATION: Actor
IRISH HERITAGE: Michael's roots on his mother’s side (O’Keefe) lie in Derry, where his grandmother — something of a local celebrity — lived until the age of 99. Michael took his stage name from the side of a biscuit van.
Michael Crawford in 2011 (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)8. Eddie Jordan
FULL NAME: Edmund Patrick Jordan
OCCUPATION: Former motorsport team boss, entrepreneur
IRISH HERITAGE: Dublin-born to a Dublin family. His father was the twin brother of a senior nun, Mother Rectoress of the Irish Sisters of Charity.
Jordan is an extremely flexible name: it can be a first name male or female, a family name, a Middle East river, a Middle East country, and half a town in either Tipp or Antrim — Cloughjordan and Jordanstown.
It's a relatively common surname in Ireland, derived from Iordáin.
Thus we have both Eddie and Neil (film director, see below), and each graced with the middle name Patrick.
Eddie continues to commentate on Formula One racing, but has still never revealed the secret of the sport — how can something that is so inherently dangerous be so boring?
9. Neil Jordan
FULL NAME: Neil Patrick Jordan
OCCUPATION: Writer, film director, producer
IRISH HERITAGE: Born and bred in Sligo
"Cinema is the truth 24 times a second," said Jean Luc Godard, and you can be sure Neil Jordan heartily agrees with him.
10. Bertie Ahern
FULL NAME: Patrick Bartholomew Ahern
OCCUPATION: Politician, former Taoiseach
IRISH HERITAGE: Born and bred in Dublin
Saints alive! Bertie manages to have two in his name. Most scholars blieve that the apostle Bartholomew is identified as Nathaniel. So he could have been Pat Nat Ahern, or even Bart the Taoiseach — which has a nice ring about it. He might still be President of Ireland, so we could have Pat Nat the President.
11. Julian Barnes
FULL NAME: Julian Patrick Barnes
OCCUPATION: Writer — Booker Prize winner
IRISH HERITAGE: None that we know of, although he also uses an Irish pen name, Dan Kavanagh.
Julian was married to his agent, another Pat — Pat Kavanagh — until her death in 2008.
12. Duke of Kent
FULL NAME: Prince Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick Windsor
OCCUPATION: Unemployed
IRISH HERITAGE: None that we know of, but his uncle, King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne, was also a Patrick: though you’d need a telescope to spot it the end of his name: Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick.
ROYAL GATHERING Out of the hundred or so names and titles this group can collectively boast, there's one Patrick (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)13. Curly Watts
FULL NAME: Kevin Patrick Williams aka Kevin Kennedy
OCCUPATION: Actor — played Curly Watts in Coronation Street
IRISH HERITAGE: Part of Manchester’s large Irish community. Before becoming a mainstay of Corrie from 1983 until 2003 he played with Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke of The Smiths — both of them also Manchester Irish. Since his departure from Corrie, Kevin has augmented his acting career with a spot of singing. In recent years ha has appeared in Mrs Brown’s Boys.
14. Carmen Electra
FULL NAME: Tara Leigh Patrick.
OCCUPATION: Model, actress, television personality, singer, dancer
IRISH HERITAGE: OK, this may be a bit of a cheat, as we're going family names here. But Carmen is of Irish, German and Dutch ancestry, and it’s the Irish influence that predominates in her real name.
Carmen Electra (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)14. Patrick Star
FULL NAME: Patrick Star
OCCUPATION: Actor, crustacean
IRISH HERITAGE: None to record.
The overweight, and somewhat dimwitted pink starfish who is the best friend of SpongeBob SquarePants, is named after the Apostle of Ireland.
15. Frankie Boyle
FULL NAME: Francis Martin Patrick Boyle
OCCUPATION: Comedian, writer, actor
IRISH HERITAGE: With three saints in his name, Frankie Boyle is well covered if he needs to ask for celestial help. Born to parents from Crolly, Co. Donegal, he is a Glaswegian.
16. Alan Rickman
FULL NAME: Alan Sydney Patrick Rickman
OCCUPATION: Actor
IRISH HERITAGE: Rickman was from mixed Celtic heritage, bit Irish and Welsh. One of his most memorable roles was as Éamon de Valera in Michael Collins.
17. Patrick Bell
FULL NAME: Patrick Bell
IRISH HERITAGE: None known
OCCUPATION: Man of the cloth
A Scottish Church of Scotland minister and inventor, Bell (1799–1869) is known for inventing the reaping machine, a precursor to the modern combine harvester and so the Wurzel’s greatest hit “I’ve Got a Brand New Combine Harvester”. The reaping machine, Minister Bell felt, left his parishioners more time for repenting,
18. Patrick Piemonte
FULL NAME: Patrick Piemonte
IRISH HERITAGE: None known
OCCUPATION: Inventor
An American IT guy, Piemonte is known for his contributions to the iPhone and iPad at Apple, holding over 180 patents. Whether he’s known as Pat Pending, we don’t know.
19. Nat King Cole
. . . . and one who nearly made it, the great American jazz & gospel singer and pianist Nat King Cole. He was born on March 17, 1919. He could so easily have been Pat King Cole
Nat King Cole with his girlfriend in his dressing room at the Apollo Theatre, in November 1946 in Harlem (Photo by ERIC SCHWAB / AFP)See More: Comedians, Rock Music, Saints
