A day for a saint? 'Tis!

RALEIGH -- The Irish have a hold on Wayne Dauphinois. He proposed to his wife, Joni, in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. He knows that his son, Devin Murphy Dauphinois, has a first name that means "poet" in Gaelic and a middle name that means "sea warrior."

But who was St. Patrick, the namesake for Raleigh's eponymous parade, which marked its 27th year Saturday?

"He was the saint who ...," Dauphinois said, his voice trailing off. "Arggghh. I don't know."

That's why Karen Matthews and her friends marched in the parade for the eighth year in a row: They're trying to put the saint back in St. Patrick's Day.

"This isn't just an excuse to party," Matthews said. "In our culture, we idolize athletes and celebrities, when we should be looking up to people of good character, like the saints."

Matthews marched Saturday with several dozen members of One Bread, a Catholic evangelical organization. They cheerfully passed out holy cards with a picture of St. Patrick and a brief bio on the flip side. A Roman subject born as Patricius in England, St. Patrick spent 33 years as a missionary in Ireland in the 5th century and effectively converted the island's population to Christianity.

"We are trying to bring a different dimension to this," Matthews said, motioning to the crowds lining the streets on a glorious spring day.

Cottony clouds drifted across a crystalline blue sky as a forest of green T-shirts lined the streets, their wearers sporting a monochromatic array of fright wigs, dyed hair, dyed beards, Mardi Gras beads, shamrock eyeglasses, flags, tiaras and scores of silly hats - all green.

Many were equipped with plastic cups of beer - Guinness Stout was a favorite - as they watched the file of marching bands, politicians, Irish wolfhounds, Shriners cavorting in ridiculous vehicles, Irish dancers and the local chapter of Parrotheads, the Jimmy Buffett fan club with more than a passing acquaintance with beer and parties.

Reminding people of the saintly side of St. Patrick's Day is generally an uphill battle, according to James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of "My Life With the Saints."

"If you can rediscover the story of St. Patrick, you understand the feast day is much more than green beer or corned beef and cabbage," Martin said. "He lived an incredible life, a Roman citizen who brought a strange and wonderful message to a very poor, very oppressed people."

In a fashion similar to how Christ can get lost in the modern commercial Christmas, the spirituality has been leached from St. Patrick's Day, Martin said.

"I don't think anyone is harmed by it, but if we overlook his story and see him as a mythical figure that gives us an excuse to drink beer, we're missing out on the story of one of the great Christians of all time," Martin said.

An informal and entirely unscientific poll of a dozenparade-goers, with a margin of error of plus or minus 100 percent, brought a common response to the question about the meaning of St. Patrick's Day: celebration of friends, family and being Irish.

"I've gone to a St. Patrick's parade every year," said Colleen Chadwick, whose grandmother came to America on a boat at age 16. "This is about being Irish and our pride."

Chadwick, her husband and son will attend the parade in Savannah, Ga., on Wednesday, the actual St. Patrick's Day.

Asked about St. Patrick, Chadwick said the only thing she knew is the legend that he drove the snakes from Ireland.

"If my mother was here, she could tell you everything," she said.