How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe

Patrick found purpose in Ireland and created a cultural framework rooted in nonviolence for his Irish converts. Cahill claims that Roman culture held no influence over his Christianity, unlike Christian missions before his. Though Patrick ended the Irish slave trade and brought peace to society, “Irish psychological identity” survived conversion (148). Thus, Patrick allowed some pagan elements to continue in the form of May Day and Hallowe’en, for example, which supported Christianity’s successful expansion and integration into Irish culture. Conversion also brought educational development because Patrick recognized literacy’s important role within Christianity: "[...] though Christianity was not inextricably wedded to Roman custom, it could not survive without Roman literacy. And so the first Irish Christians also became the first Irish literates" (150-51).

Ireland’s conversion was peaceful, so the country has no early Christian martyrs, unlike other parts of Europe. Because literal martyrdom was unavailable to them, Irish Christians created the “Green Martyrdom.” Religious people sought isolation in Ireland’s mountains, forests, and small islands, mirroring the eremitical lives of the early Christian desert fathers in Egypt and Syria. This tradition birthed Irish monasticism and gave rise to Ireland’s first urban centers as settlements sprang up around monasteries.