Saints Above:

While I can scrape a quatroon's claim to Irish heritage, the story of St. Patrick has always reminded me of the old joke "Why are you walking backwards?" Keeps the elephants away. "But there are no elephants in New York." Works pretty good, doesn't it. Now the more theologically inclined would say that the "serpents" Patricius drove from the isle were the druids and bards of traditional Celtic religion. While no one can argue the institutional success of the church in the Emerald Isle, many people, Irish included, maintain the centuries-long effort to Christianize its people is still a touch short of complete. Patron saints are a burden many places have to bear. I've always been fond of St. Lawrence, myself. While being martyred on a kind of barbarian barbeque, his last words are reported to have been, "You can turn me over now--I'm quite well done on this side." Who can resist a good one-liner?