How the Irish Saved Civilization

The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe

By: Thomas Cahill

Narrated by: Donal Donnelly

A book in the best tradition of popular history - the untold story of Ireland's role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe.

Every year millions of Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but they may not be aware of how great an influence St. Patrick was on the subsequent history of civilization. Not only did he bring Christianity to Ireland, he instilled a sense of literacy and learning that would create the conditions that allowed Ireland to become "the isle of saints and scholars" - and thus preserve Western culture while Europe was being overrun by barbarians.

In this entertaining and compelling narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization - copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost - they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task. As Cahill delightfully illustrates, so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent, it was from Ireland that they were germinated.

In the tradition of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, How the Irish Saved Civilization reconstructs an era that few know about but which is central to understanding our past and our cultural heritage. But it conveys its knowledge with a winking wit that aptly captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilization.

©1995 Thomas Cahill (P)1999 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, a Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Cahill's lovely prose breathes life into a 1,600-year-old history." (The Los Angeles Times)

"Charming and poetic...an entirely engaging, delectable voyage into the distant past, a small treasure." (The New York Times)

"Cahill's lively prose breathes life into a 1,600-year-old history." (The Boston Globe)

A good historical allegory, but tainted by extreme Christian Bias

This book has the potential to be excellent. It provides a unique and extremely valuable new perspective on the Irish and will change the way you look at the history of western society.

The problem is that all this information comes packaged in unbelievable Christian bias and rhetoric. Such gems as, "The Europeans were just scattered animists ready for a change," to the insinuation that Europe was a land of darkness and evil gods until Christianity brought love, light, and acceptance to the world. Anyone living in reality knows that is not the case. Religion forced by sword and the threat of death to entire civilizations hardly aligns with all this "love and light".

Still, I'm giving the book 3 stars for the history I was able to receive by sifting through the nonsense. If it were just the information told unbiasedly, I would've give the book 5 stars.

WHY READ IT

I had to read this book for school (UNCP). I think they should sale this at the bookstore.

Would be 5 stars except for the reader

The reader is awful. Listening to the man try to pronounce Latin, or anything that requires an accent, is torturous. His pace is excrutiatingly slow. The content was fascinating but the guy who read it was horrible and took a lot of enjoyment out of this audiobook for me.

History made interesting

From my early school days this part of our history I always found drab and boring. The time of the Tuatha De Danan, St Patrick and the Celts were more about rocks and stones than people, but this book makes a difference. It is filled with fascinating characters, gives an intriguing background to stories such as the Táin Bó Chulainn etc. Donal Donnelly reads it well but sometimes lapses into stage Irish when quoting. Overall a rich and rewarding listen. Highly recommended.

Painfull Listen

I couldn't get through more than a few chapters. I know its a classic but i found so slow moving and trying to be poetic whereas i prefer a more informative style.

One proud Irishman here

Revisiting this book after 20 years was an incredible journey for this Irishman. I can't stress its importance enough.

Our civilization is undergoing massive changes in the 21st century. Cahill's book provides a blueprint for how we may continue to transmit our civilization's fundamental values to future generations. Change is inevitable - loss is not.

Cahill presents an a history which has been forcibly suppressed by the British for 5 centuries of a tolerant, democratic, and lusty religion in the portraits of Saint Patrick, Saint Brigid, Saint Columba, and others of the early Irish Church. We should look back to these figures as spiritual leaders in the 21st century.

Thanks, Aunt Sara. 😇

Great listen on Irish world impact

Great and easy to follow history timeline that educates and sells the idea of how the Irish saved western civilization. I wish there were more Irish/Celtic history books on audible.

A great reading of a great book

I have enjoyed reading this book in print, but hearing Mr. Donnelly read it was a revelation.

A story for our times!

It is good to look back at this history as we, once again, witness the demise of western civilization.

Not titled

Very well read. You have to get used to the parts where he alters his voice to emphasize characters speaking, but then again, after a few hours even that turns out to be kind of humerous at times and quite enjoyable.

This is not a Fodor's guide to Ireland or even a day by day history of Ireland, it's an account of how the Irish monks saved history in written form (among other things.) While the world was burning all the books it could the Irish monastic leaders were collecting all the works of their neighboring world and translating (even transcribing) them for study and posterity. A society that was once nearly illiterate SAVED scores of written works! (Are you not with me here?) The stories of the Romans, Greeks and barbarians are necessary to understand just how (and why) the Irish managed to save the written texts and thus the history of a great deal of what is now Europe. Forget the negative reviews, for they are from people that wanted a history of Ireland and ordered the wrong book.