The general name for an Irishman: being the abbreviation of Patrick, the name of the tutelar saint of that island.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
Paddington Fair Day * PainterNathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes