The Coming of Christianity
Christianity was introduced to Ireland around 440
The ubiquitous tonsure haircut of the Catholic monk, in which the hair is cut to leave a portion of the head bald, with a fringe around or in the back, is a custom that originated in druidry. It was later adopted by early monastic groups in Ireland. To the druids, baldness was a sign of wisdom, and the haircut symbolized the adoption of the path of wisdom.
Christianity in Ireland followed a different path of development than in most other European countries. Where European Christianity followed powerful bishops who had immense power over local governments, Christianity came to Ireland at a time when Roman military control over Europe was fading, making for a unique set of circumstances for the newborn Irish church.
Irish Christianity flowered in the form of independent monasteries, which operated in many respects outside the authority of the Roman Church. These monasteries absorbed not only pagan clerics, but pagan customs, superstitions, and even gods. Because of the autonomy enjoyed by these early churches, they were able to incorporate many elements of the local religion into their doctrines.
Because of their isolation from both church and government, the Celtic Church avoided many of the eruptions, conflicts, and doctrinal wars that plagued Rome, and the result was a church heavily concerned with the mystical, spiritual side. To the Celtic Church, God was not a distant concept, but a continual presence, manifest in the wholeness of nature. It was not uncommon for the Irish monk to seek the life of a forest hermit, finding God imminent in his natural surroundings.
The similarity between Irish pagan symbolism and Christian symbolism is striking. Along with a tripartite god, the newcomers brought with them a god who was sacrificed and reborn, and the practice of baptism by immersion in water for the purpose of attaining eternal life — both concepts already well understood by the druids and their devotees.
It has long been taught that St. Patrick, when explaining his religion to the pagan Irish, picked up a three-lobed shamrock and used it to expound on the nature of the trinity. The story is unlikely, but it probably has a grain of truth in it, as the compatibility of druid symbolism would have made many aspects of Christianity easier to assimilate.
Because of the relative ease with which the two faiths mingled, Celtic Christianity also absorbed elements of pagan belief. Celtic gods were slowly transformed into Celtic saints, and in turn, Celtic saints took on the characteristics of the Celtic gods — tales of Ireland's first Christians are as fanciful and filled with magic as the tales of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Early Irish images of Jesus on the cross show not the sorrowful Latin corpus christi but a resplendent, smiling god with wide-open eyes who looks not the least bit concerned about his crucifixion, and if not for the presence of the cross, might be mistaken for the visage of Lugh.
