When the saints went marching out
The Florida town with a fascinating history
BOSTON is often cited as hosting the oldest St Patrick’s Day parade in the world, back in 1737.
But an earlier celebration took place in St Augustine, Florida, in 1601, organised by the Spanish Colony’s Irish priest, Fr Richard Arthur, exactly 423 years ago
But the Florida town is not named after our man, but after Augustine of Hippo — the place in North Africa, not the animal with huge gnashers. He was the one who said ‘Lord make me chaste, but not yet’ — an utterance that we have no way of knowing whether St Patrick went along with or not.
Less than an hour’s drive south from Jacksonville, Florida, this is the oldest American city founded by Europeans.
For fans of soul music it is an almost hallowed place. This is where the great singer, pianist and composer Ray Charles spent his schooldays — he attended the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind.
Charles was blind, but evidently not deaf, hearing melodies of the most magnificent kind in his mind, and then writing them down. He is cited as a primary influence on gospel singer Nat King Cole — born in the bordering state of Alabama, as it happens, on March 17, so he could easily have been Pat King Cole.
St Augustine is home to a mixture of beautiful architectural styles from Spanish Renaissance to southern colonial, with two beautifully preserved 17th-century castles. There are no surviving wooden buildings in St Augustine built prior to 1702 when the British burned the city to the ground.
The city is full of information boards, telling the story of the town and its hinterland. Florida was inhabited for at least 14,000 years by Native Americas — around St Augustine it was mainly from the Ais or Ays tribes. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, as a member of the Conquistadors of the Kingdom of Spain, claimed the area. Rows between the British, the Spanish and the French thereafter continued for the next few centuries.
Known as the Old City, St Augustine’s historic district is a cobblestoned maze of streets that dates right back to the Spanish conquest.
The Castillo de San Marcos, a 17th-century fortress overlooks the Matanzas River as it flows gently down to the Atlantic.
For a view from the sea of these great muscular protections, you can tour the city’s waterways aboard a scenic boat tour.
‘Matanzas’ is the Spanish word for ‘slaughters’, and the Matanzas Inlet was the location for the Spanish massacre of French forces in 1565. This event helped to secure Spanish control of Florida for 235 years. Today it’s as quiet and peaceful as could be, with boating, fishing, surfing and shelling. There is ample viewing opportunities to see avian A-listers such as the great blue heron, bald eagle and white ibis.
For refreshment, The Taberna del Caballo is an authentically-styled Spanish bar that recreates 18th-century St Augustine both in its atmosphere and in its tapas.
As part of St Augustine’s Colonial Quarter, the Taberna offers a glimpse into the life of the Spanish garrison here in the 1700s, with occasional visits from actors dressed up as various soldiers.
After a few double margaritas it’s great fun.
The majority of Irish people heading for Florida are heading for Disney World in Orlando, just under two hours’ drive away.
I’ve always subscribed to the words of the great BBC broadcaster Robert Robinson who said that knowing he didn’t ever have to go to Disneyland or Disney World was better than a holiday.
Nonetheless, many of you with children will make that journey, and I’m sure the theme parks, the water parks and the Disney characters will thrill them, and possibly you too.
But I would recommend that you factor in a couple of days in St Augustine — it’s a fascinating, quiet destination, and one that gives you a laser-strength illuminating light on the early colonial history of the US.
It’s not, as you might imagine, a terribly cosy tale. For that, you really do have to go to Disney.