Ireland Forever

Today is March 17, known mostly around the world as St. Patrick's Day. I, however, have a problem with celebrating it as such. I find it a little unsettling that a man, who at one point in time was a slave in Ireland, should be celebrated as some great hero of the land who "chased the snakes to the sea" of Ireland, thereby purifying the land once again for the Church. Here is what I think. Patrick was a little pissed off at the Irish. I mean, they had enslaved him for 6 years! So he escapes and makes it back to Britain where he enters the church to start his studies. He knows that in order to have any sort of influence he will have to make his mark within the church itself. Now, some may ask why he didn't become a politician etc as in our day and age, that would be how one gained influence and power. However, in the time of Patrick, the Catholic church was where the power was at if you were not Royalty. Add that to the fact that his father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest and it is easy to see why Patrick chose this path. So he makes a name for himself in the Catholic dynasty and become the bishop who is sent to Ireland to convert the savages from their Pagan ways to the ways of the church.  Does nobody else see the beginnings of a plot of vengeance on the Irish people and their Deities and ways beginning to unfold here? Unfortunately, history tells us that he was somewhat successful in this endeavor. The Druids "disappeared" from the land and many died rather than conform. But what else does history tell us if today we are still chanting the names of the Ancient ones, still practicing the rituals and following the teachings of the Druids? It tells us that all the success Patrick and the church thought they had to change the ways of the Irish forever, was not nearly as fruitful as Patrick and those of his ilk, had thought it was. WE are still here. The indigenous culture, beliefs and teachings of Ireland still survives in our blood. I know without a doubt that my ancestors before (and even those after) the time of Patrick, are exceptionally proud that I, like many others, continue to remember them and the Dieties that guided them. In remembering them, our roots, our dead, our histories and our beliefs, we have shown that there is no man, no religious occupation or exile from our homelands and no amount of time that can remove the calling of our ancestors back to our true paths.  And so on this day, March 17, while Christians are celebrating the life and death of their St.Patrick of Ireland, my Irish blood will celebrate the true culture of my people, my land and my Dieties.

Irinn go Bràch!