Today I am wearing a green shirt which says Irish Dad, with a little Gaelic Daidi underneath. Yes, we are Irish people who hail from Monaghan county in Ireland. I guess our family has a little of the hot temper, booze loving, very Catholic and folk song singing Irishmen in our story as well...

There are many who do not know who St. Patrick is or what he accomplished in the 5th century. In fact, my daughter's public school is doing rainbows, leprechauns and pots of gold...but without a clue about St. Patrick - whose day we celebrate. In order to introduce the patron saint of Ireland to you I would highly suggest the critically acclaimed work of Thomas Cahill. Cahill has written several works about the various streams of historical influence on western culture. His work How the Irish Saved Civilization tells Patrick's story as well as the converted Celts who carried on western literary learning while the continent went through a tumultous time after the sacking of the Roman Empire. Great book - if you are Irish and don't know your history...get this book. Cahill's works are all available in audio book format through iTunes and audible.com. I am going to grab his Mysteries of the Middle Ages here today.

Finally, Mark Driscoll's short essay on St. Patrick is a quick and introductory read with some sources linked at the bottom. Of course there is our beloved, though sometimes erroneous friend, wikipedia as well - enjoy the St. Patrick wiki.