DailyKenn.com — Don't like snakes? Move to Ireland.
There is no evidence of snakes having existed on the emerald isle. What's more, there is no evidence of snakes in Ireland's fossil record.
So, what's this about St. Patrick driving them out?
Pātricius, as he referred to himself, likely lived in the 4th and 5th centuries, common era. He is miscredited as the first Christian missionary to Ireland, having been held there as a slave and returning later to evangelize.
At some point someone noticed that Ireland was snake free. Unaware of the role melting glaciers played in preventing snakes from populating the area, inquisitive minds wondered why the land was without the slithering serpents so common most everywhere else.
True to human form, an explanation with a supernatural bent was posited: Pātricius had driven them away. That story is credited to Jocelyn of Furness in the 12th century.
Nigel Monaghan, keeper of natural history at the National Museum of Ireland told National Geographic in 2008 that there were never any snakes in Ireland. “At no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland, so [there was] nothing for St. Patrick to banish,” Monaghan said. [source]
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