Profs and Pints Nashville presents: “The Life of Ireland’s Patrick,” an exploration of what’s known and believed about Ireland’s patron saint, with Kimberly Balding, instructor in English and scholar and teacher of Irish culture and literature at Belmont University.
For all of the celebration done in his honor every year, Ireland’s Saint Patrick remains an elusive and poorly understood figure.
Much of what we think we know about him comes from folklore, myth, and legend. We’re told that he used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity, that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, and even that he survived clashes with the Druids who possessed supernatural powers. But then doubts emerge when we learn, for example, that there were no snakes in Ireland during his time.
Kimberly Balding, a scholar of Ireland and Irish Gaelic who leads study-abroad groups on the Emerald Isle, argues that the real life of Patrick was amazing in itself. His letters tell of surviving incredible hardships, and few figures have ever had as much of an impact on a nation as he did.
Join her at Nashville’s Fait La Force taproom as she examines the life of Patrick as a man who walked and labored on an island regarded as the end of the earth. She’ll discuss his survival and successes, unpack the myth and folklore surrounding him, and otherwise bring him to life for you in ways that will lend your Saint Patrick’s Days more meaning down the road. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)