We celebrate Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint on March 17. Even as we consider all the tales, mysteries, unknowns, and superstitions perpetrated in his name - holy or otherwise.
Credited by myths with bringing Christianity to the Irish and driving the snakes out of Ireland - does us all a disservice.
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| good old St. Patrick |
According to legend St. Patrick (circa 387–460 or 492 AD) banished all snakes from Ireland, chasing them into the sea after they attacked him during a 40-day fast atop a hill.
Today we suspect that snakes never lived in Ireland, likely because Ireland is an island surrounded by a frigid ocean inhospitable to these creatures.
