12 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About St Patrick's Day
3. There Were No Snakes In Ireland For St Patrick To Supposedly Drive Out Of The Country
Not only does the legend of St Patrick claim he brought Christianity to Ireland during the 5th Century - which is not strictly true anyway - it also claims that he drove all of the snakes out of the country. The legend goes that St Patrick banished all the snakes on the Emerald Isle into the sea after they attacked him while he was undertaking a 40-day fast on top of a hill. However, all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland would have been far too chilly for cold-blooded snakes anyway - plus there has never been a snake fossil found in Ireland, so they almost certainly never lived there in the first place. It's certainly a cool, if pretty bizarre, story though.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
Not only does the legend of St Patrick claim he brought Christianity to Ireland during the 5th Century - which is not strictly true anyway - it also claims that he drove all of the snakes out of the country. The legend goes that St Patrick banished all the snakes on the Emerald Isle into the sea after they attacked him while he was undertaking a 40-day fast on top of a hill. However, all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland would have been far too chilly for cold-blooded snakes anyway - plus there has never been a snake fossil found in Ireland, so they almost certainly never lived there in the first place. It's certainly a cool, if pretty bizarre, story though.