So Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland? What was so bad about the snakes? “I love the sexy slither of a lady snake.” says Barry White. But, let me be serious.
Before Patrick brought Christianity to the Emerald Isle, there were old gods. Why did the Irish turn away from them? And why shouldn’t they turn back?
The Tuatha DaDanan ruled before the Carpenter came. Dagda, the Dozen King, he of the silver hand led a fierce clan or warrior poets. They gifted the people with fair weather, abundant crops, ample game, and fertile wombs. All they asked was the occasional human sacrifice.
Sure that seem harsh. But the sacrifice was treated as royalty for a year before they died. Besides, it’s not like Ireland is currently without strange restrictions and practices imposed by religion. Human sacrifice only seems wrong to us because of the way we were raised. Is the death of the one for the good of the many really illogical or wrong? Besides, going back to the Old Ways would result in less overall killing.
Orange versus Green. Protestant versus Catholic. There are no records of Morrigan worshippers versus Diancecht. Forget Christianity and the strife it has brought. Reunify under the Old Ways. One Ireland under the rule of the King Who Is Twelve. No more brother against brother. No more bombings. No more arguments. One peaceful island under the rule of a wise king.
So as you hoist a green beer, toast the health of Eire. You’ve wounded her. You’ve strayed from the True Path. But, she can be healed. You can return. Denounce the False Prophet and come back to the Old Ways. Slainte!
Pour another for me, mate! There are so many things that are incorrect about that post, I just don’t think I can tackle them all. And I’m quite fond of Celtic Reconstructionist neopaganism, and have a Brigid altar in my living room and a daughter dedicated to Her. But still, I know the myth is just myth.
Sorry, chowder, Guinness is a Christian Monk thing. No more Guinness under the Goddess - back to cider and mead for you!
Oh nonsense. Everybody knows that the ancient Irelandic people worshipped leprechauns.
If it weren’t for St. Patrick and his holy shillelagh of peace, the pagan tribes of Ireland would still be ritually slaughtering each other over the theft of pink hearts, orange stars, yellow moons, green clovers, and blue diamonds.
The current bad blood between Catholics and Protestants is frankly nothing compared to the untold centuries of savage hatred between the Pink Heart and Blue Diamond clans.
Is this the wrong place to say that St Patrick’s day is a Catholic holiday, not an Irish one? It just happens to be set in Ireland. I say this as a descendant of Orangemen–we celebrate July 12, which is also my birthday, oddly enough. I always wear a smidge of orange on 3/17–it makes me feel better (oddly enough again).
I’m all for getting rid of Catholicism in Ireland, but it has a rich and dramatic history there (thank god for those Celtic monks, illuminating manuscripts and keeping literacy alive while Europe sank into an abyss of nonsense). Does that make up for all the abuse, harshness, guilt ridden angst and pain it also caused? Doubt it.
Bottom line: I’m up for any religion that involves liquor. I’m a bit queasy on the human sacrifice part.
The solution is to give them back their joyous old gods. And to have a pub where the landlord’s beautiful daughter fucks everyone in the village. And a little rag-tag group of young musicians to provide impromptu songs with bawdy lyrics every time something interesting happens. And if anything goes wrong, just call up the police department on the mainland and tell them to send over a deeply religious policeman who happens to be a virgin, and then burn him in a giant wicker man.
Of course it is. All Irish people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, regardless of religious persuasion; and it is extremely disingenuous of you to suggest otherwise. Some of them may claim not to, but everyone recognizes this for the lie it is. It’s all part of the unbreakable covenant that St. Patrick established with the leprechaun patriarchs of Ireland.
The religious holiday was actually on the 15th this year due to some bollocks about the timing of Easter this year. Today is a secular public holiday in Ireland, making it an Irish holiday by definition
:rolleyes: :dubious:
the middle one is the closest to white I could get
Meh. As a DNA tested descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages, what’s so great about St. Patrick? He was just this guy who was carrying out a job that’d been foretold centuries before.
No, really. Goidel Glas is much more responsible for the whole snake thing. He got the word from Moses directly that his descendants would live in a land without snakes. Patrick was just carrying out the prophecy.
… history is fun. Yet confusing! And Irish myths even more so, because they cover a good few thousand years in detail. Most of 'em being somewhat made up.
As far as the Tuatha de Danaan? Patrick had nothing to do with them. Twas the Mileasans who fought them to a standstill. And they sued for peace, and offered half the land to the sons of the Spanish Soldier. And we took the top half. And they went Underhill.
