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4. One of the more popular reasons that people believe the Natives and the Irish of "St. Patrick upon the Sea" co-existed so well was because the Irish noticed many tendencies of their ancestors in the Natives. This may be the case, but it is more likely that the Irish were interested in survival in this hostile land and needed all the help they could get. By the time there where enough Irish on Manhattan to be a threat to the Natives, the alliance and its customs of intermarriage between the two groups had become tradition and the two cultures intermingled greatly. Cases of Irish settlements in the New World attacking or being attacked by Natives is exceedingly rare. The tradition set by the settlers of "St. Patrick" lived on all up and down the coast for the next several hundred years.

One should also point out that St. Donal, the abbot who lead the people across the sea, wasted no time in attempting to convert the Natives to Celtic Christianity. His efforts were generally successful, ensuring the survival of the Irish settlements in subsequent conflicts with Norse Submissive settlements.

Return to The Gael Grows.