4 St. Patrick’s Day marketing lessons

The book ‘How the Irish Saved Civilization’ argues that the teachings and manuscripts from the Catholic Church in Ireland provided the foundation of the Renaissance, but also provides several insights for modern-day marketers. 

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It’s an especially good read for St. Patrick’s Day or if you have an Irish surname. You might think this book, titled “How the Irish Saved Civilization,” would cite William Butler Yeats, the Pogues and Guinness as the saviors of all that is civilized.

It doesn’t.

Instead, the book’s author, Thomas Cahill, argues that St. Patrick and the Irish he converted to Catholicism in the fifth century are the ones who saved Western Civilization.

In the book, Cahill paints a picture of the Roman Empire crumbling on the European continent, literacy dissipating and the great libraries turning to dust.

At the same time, on the isolated island of Ireland, the Catholic Church—initially shepherded by St. Patrick—had grown into a large flock led by St. Columba and his monks.

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