Q: When I mentioned celebrating St. Patrick's Day to a friend of Irish descent, he said that it wasn't necessarily a happy day for Irish. He spoke of the Irish pagan religion swashed out by Catholicism, people not allowed to speak Irish, etc. Any history or information?
A: Your friend may be referring to the pre-Christian Celtic faith; Catholicism did indeed replace that. But Ireland isn't the only place where that happened. However, your friend is actually incorrect about the Catholic church preventing people from speaking Irish -- it was the ENGLISH who actually did that, for cultural and political reasons instead of religious ones. Especially today, the Catholic church in Ireland accepts and even embraces the Irish language.