Do you know about Saint Patrick's romance? Why not? Why are the women missing from most stories about Pagan Ireland's most important encounter with Christianity?
Hint: The women's story is essential to understanding Patrick's power over the Irish.
Why didn't the chieftains of Ireland simply kill Patrick when he arrived on their shores? After all, Patrick was a slave who escaped. Then he returned. He would inspire other slaves with the idea that escape was possible. It would have been easiest to just kill him or work him to death in the mines.
Instead, they listened to him. Why? What was so compelling about Patrick that the chieftains changed their entire culture around him? What gift did he bring them that was more valuable than their wealth and status?
Hint: It wasn't the Gospels or miracles. The Irish already had a religion they loved and magic they cherished. Patrick brought them something more practical, useful to powerful men and warriors.
Shamrock opens up the story of a Patrick that women might love and men can admire. More than a stained-glass saint, this Patrick has passion, humor, courage, and savvy that allows him to win the heart of Ireland.