Ireland: When One Became Two

Ireland, like Korea and Vietnam, was one nation (colonized nations) that became two.  On March 14, we will discuss many things Irish, including its political and sectarian history and the true meaning of St. Patrick's Day.

Unlike Korea and Vietnam, Ireland had only one colonizer--after colonizing England, the Normans went into Ireland, which became a colony of Great Britain for 800 years.   The Romans brought in Christianity in the 5th century.  In the 1500's, English monarch Henry VIII initiated a plantation system in Ireland, encouraging settlers from England and Scotland to Ireland.  Settling in Northern Island, these Anglicans ushered in 500 years of sectarian and ethnic conflict with the Roman Catholic Irish.  

St. Patrick's Day is not about St. Patrick, who was not Irish, who did not bring Christianity to Ireland, and who did not drive the snakes out of Ireland.  It is about the land, and the pride the Irish have in their land and their unending quest for one independent, united Ireland.

We hope you enjoyed the show and St. Patrick's Day in Ireland.