St. Paddy’s at Dain’s Place
Ah … the Irish. What can I say – they know how to party.
Dain Phelan and Zack Wheeler yesterday at Dain’s Place in Durham:
I don’t much care for catholic saints, but David Plotz’ story about Ireland’s patron saint is pretty interesting:
According to Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization, Paddy’s influence extended far beyond his adopted land. Cahill’s book, which could just as well be titled How St. Patrick Saved Civilization, contends that Patrick’s conversion of Ireland allowed Western learning to survive the Dark Ages. Ireland pacified and churchified as the rest of Europe crumbled. Patrick’s monasteries copied and preserved classical texts. Later, Irish monks returned this knowledge to Europe by establishing monasteries in England, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Italy.