By Isabella Nestor (’26)

As we move forward in time, the specificities of the old Roman world are often forgotten. Detrimental events, such as its creation, shift to Christianity and its fall are often pushed to the back burner in favor of more modern studies.  More recent investigations look into the role of the Irish and how, through Irish scribes, they were instrumental in protecting information from the fallen Rome. However, the social standing of the Irish in the Roman world was extremely low, often dealing with prejudice and shunning within Roman civilization. To the world, the lifestyle and culture of the Irish was “barbaric” and they were a “nomadic” people, whereas the Romans were seen as thriving and aspirational.  This investigation relates to the book How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill in order to answer the question of why the Irish were prejudiced. The clear prejudice against the Irish was a result of the presentation they were given through their “outlandish” culture, immigration issues in the border of Rome, and their lack of integration in Roman culture.

Compared to the highly redeemed Roman empire, the tribes of the Irish had been a prospect of visibly tarnishing civilization. Corruption began to spread through the Roman empire; Its corruption beginning from the edges of Roman civilization finally reaching the domain of the Emperor. As this corruption settled in, Irish culture and lifestyle began to affect the lives of normal civilians, children and adults alike. This was because of the infamous slave-trade business that was adopted thoroughly by the Irish tribes and even by Roman citizens, who adopted the name of “shepherds”. This name originated from the fact that people would often want their children to go to the mountains for a short while for health reasons, only to realize they would never see their children again. Those children were now stuck in the mountains as slaves. Similarly, the Irish tribes were even more experienced with the slave-trade business. On many accounts, the Irish would come with masses during dark hours and snatch children away, often hundreds and sometimes thousands, and would ride the waves back to Ireland without anyone ever noticing. So, in record, the Irish were the best at kidnapping, which gave them the possibly believable titles they had, the role of “barbarians”. 

The Irish were also separated by multiple visual and physical differences from the Romans. Their long-lasting history gave them “brutish” appearances with massively untamed hair oiled up in braids and wearing comically placed robes and garments across large and stinky, sweaty bodies. They were dirty, uneducated, and often didn’t even have the option to be educated. Their lack of education most likely came from the lack of integration of Irish people within the Roman Empire. After taking most of what is modern-day Europe, the Roman empire left out Ireland like a sore thumb. While reasons may be that Ireland was geographically isolated, giving the Irish territorial advantage, or that the “barbarians” had a full-sized army, the Romans realized it would take too many resources for the Roman Empire to conquer Ireland. The Irish tribes were also dispersed greatly as their civility came in the great power of separate kings that were aware or unaware of each other’s presence. Even if it were possible for the  Roman Empire to conquer Ireland, they had already decided that the “barbarity” of Ireland was far beyond fixing and was stagnant to constant Celtic warfare. It was only over time that these raids would prove quite the challenge for the continuing Roman Civilization. 

Though most of the medieval Irish were glued to their tribes, whether due to slavery or dignity, oftentimes, the slivers of “barbarians” would want to come through and educate themselves. The border of the Roman empire is possibly best explained akin to the border between the U.S. and Mexico because of its frivolity in accepting proper people. The prospect was seen as a migration that happened year in and year out and not at all an armed attack against the Romans. In this instance, it was true that some “barbarians” were seeking a better life than they were given in Irish tribes. Often people came brutally beaten, wounded, raped, or just looking for safety physically or economically. The biggest motivation for the Irish was agriculture and the ability for them to sustain a life and a family in the Roman Empire, something that was not possible in the hunting culture of Celtic Ireland. “Barbarians”, however, came in great big waves or light trickles but never completely stopped. It was a continuous regression over the years, and with the increasing population of them in Roman life as well as their image in the political field, Romans became slightly concerned for their well-being, causing corruption when there needn’t be any at all. 

Despite the visible and non-physical prejudice that Romans held against the Irish, the fact remains that Irish culture was kept the same and was never properly integrated into Roman society. This was perhaps a miraculous blessing to the fate of all civilization because the brute strength of the Irish, their standoffishness, and stability in culture left them remaining after the Roman Empire fell and throughout the entire medieval era. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Irish were the last resort to reclaim the information and education of what was left of the Roman Empire. The remaining Irish who were educated built up what was left of the Roman Empire and created the future in a way where civilization could continue even after the fall of the so-called “peaceful” Roman Empire. After all the devastation of civilization, the educated Irish “barbarians” raised the torch for future generations, centuries, and civilizations.