"Patrick... understood that, though Christianity was not inextricably wedded to Roman custom, it could not survive wit…"

"Ireland is unique in religious history for being the only land into which Christianity was introduced without bloodshed."

"The Irish of the late fifth and early sixth centuries soon found a solution... the Green Martyrdom, opposing it to th…"

"Irish generosity extended not only to a variety of people but to a variety of ideas. ...they brought into their libra…"

"Whereas elsewhere in Europe, no educated man would be caught dead speaking a vernacular, the Irish thought that all l…"

"The pages of most books were of mottled parchment, that is, dried sheepskin, which was universally available—and nowh…"

"Lacking cities, Ireland didn't quite see the point of bishops, and gradually these were replaced in importance by abb…"

"The high abbesses... had the power to heal, ...almost certainly heard confessions, probably ordained clergy, and may …"

"The Irish... developed a form of confession that was exclusively private and that had no equivalent on the continent.…"

"Whether or not Freud was right when he muttered in exasperation that the Irish were the only people who could not be …"