The Irish For: As we celebrate St Patrick's removal of snakes, what other animals have come and gone from Ireland?

Darach Ó Séaghdha Writer A STORY WITH a feel-good headline did the rounds online recently when it was revealed that the pine marten was partially responsible for a surge in the numbers of the native red squirrel . The idea of furry friends looking after each other is adorable; you can just imagine the tough but sensitive pine marten giving a squirrel the pep talk he needs to get the courage to ask another red squirrel out.

Saint Patrick’s Day is unusual in that we celebrate the extinction of a native Irish species on foot of a mysterious visitor to these shores. What were the long-term ecological ramifications of the loss of snakes? Did the rat population spiral out of control? Sionnach - the fox is long-established in Ireland – arriving in the post-glacial period – and widely present our folklore. They even turn up in traditional medicine: a fox’s tongue was prized for being the best way for extracting thorns from the flesh.Traonach - along with the cherry blossom, this native bird was long considered the herald of summer, with papers in the West of Ireland noting where and when it had first been heard that year .

It wasn't the removal of snakes it was symbolic the old druidic religion was represented by serpents this is what the Christian monks where said to have destroyed and removed from the island

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