This document discusses Irish folklore surrounding Saint Patrick and suggests that the "serpents" and "dragons" he is described as slaying were likely large ground-dwelling owls. It provides background on legends of Saint Patrick battling winged beasts on Saints' Island and Lough Derg, and notes depictions of winged creatures in religious artwork from the time. The document then puts forth evidence that the beasts were actually the now-extinct Cuban Giant Owl, which could have weighed up to 30 pounds and been mistaken for supernatural creatures due to its nighttime habits and appearance.

1. Saint Patrickand theGreat Owl
Irish Historyis richlylaced with folk tale, superstition, myths,
legends and religiousaccount of events that defy logic. Thisis true of
the storiesfound in the annals of thefour masters. Thelegend of
Saint Patrick'sslaying of the serpent described inthe famous Irish
text Acallam na Senorach (Colloguy of the Ancients) is no doubt one
of themost famous.
It was in thistext that the nameLough Derg, a lake located in
Donegal County, was coined as the red lake based on a translationof
the word dearg being red. The lake of blood was said to have resulted
from the blood spewing intothe watersof Lough Derg when St.
Patrickslew the last remaining serpent onSaints’Island. This serpent
was the mother and last of all the serpents in Ireland despitethe fact
that a later story tell of St. Fin-Bar’sdrowning of another murderous
winged dragonon GouganeBarra Lough located in Cork county. In
either caseboth winged beastsappear toshare similar behavior and
habitats. TheSerpent isnot seen as a snake or dragonbut typicallyas
a winged creatureasdepicted inthe tiled mosaicsfound in the altar
railingsof Saint Patrick’sbasilicasalong with the horned elks to its
sides, perched atop the chancel’shanging chandeliers.
The imagesof the winged beast flanked by two horned Elk canalso be
seen in a 3000 BCE copper relief of themonstrouslion-headed bird
Imdugud of the Temple of the Goddess Nenbursag at Tell-al-Ubaid.
Thisrelief wasthought to represent evil and demonic powers. Thus
the story of Patrick's slaying of thisor a like creaturemaybe
allegoricalto his casting ofthe beast or devil down intothe bowels of
the earth.
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_object
s/me/c/copper_frieze.aspx
There also appearstobe a connectionwith the disposalof the
remainsof the winged beast, which was cast intoa hole or cave, which
drives a second interpretationof themeaning of lough derg found in
the Annals of Ulster. These passagesrefer to Cillene, an abbot of locha
Gercc in 721ADwho lived on Saints’Island. Here lough Derg and
locha Gercc being translated Derc referencesinstead theisland’s pit
or cave rather thanthe color of the lakes’ water. The caveor pit on
Patrick’sIsland canbe better visualized in its depictionina painted
manuscriptinthe Biliotheque Nationale, Parris, whereSt Patrickis

2. given by Christ the Bacall Iosa, his pastoralstaff, and is shown
purgatorywhich lieswithinthe pit below.
http://www.digitalfrontispiece.blogspot.com/
These and other stories of St. Patrickand St. FinBar’s exploits in
Ireland reveal imagesof something other than snakes or huge
dragonsroaming thecountrysideconsuming maidensand knights.
Put into perspective, neither Patricknor Fin Bar were men of massive
girth and in all likelihood were only armed with walking sticksin their
encounterswith these beasts. We canall agreethat they would have
been ill equipped todo battlewith any 800 pound flying serpent.
Instead now pictureanominousflying creaturetipping thescaleat
somewherebetween 20 or 30 lbs. A creatureof thissize would be a
fair fight for one or two emaciatedmonksclothed in ankle-length
robes wandering thecountryside. I’m not trying to limit or discredit
these gentlemen’s heroic featsbut both the writtenaccountsand
drawingsof the era point to frightening and fearful creaturesfrom
hell small enough to spring forth from an opening in theground not
much bigger thana fox’s hole.
http://www.big-animals.com/cuban-giant-owl/
Recognizing it would have taken men of incrediblefaith and trust in
the Lord to leave the safetyof their fires in the pitch blackof the
night, given the storiesof themarauding screeching Banshees’
roaming thecountryside.
The Banshee has much more to do with the winged beast thanmay
have been first thought. Banshees were believed to be the Celtic
messengersof death often pictured asskinny women lurking in the
shadowsof the night. One legend describesa washwomanwhodied
in childbirth astheoriginof the crying banshee. Banshees could often
be seen washing or preening next to pools or fjordsin the forest
singing a dirgeor crying inthe dimness of morning light. The
banshees’ small figurewas described ashaving narrow shoulders
standing stooped or in a hunch over posturemuch like that of an old
hag. Here the descriptionsdisturbinglydon’t depict a humanfigure,
quitethecontrarythe imagebecomesmorelike that of a bird with its
head nestled betweenits wingsbent forward pitching downward inan
effort to drinkfrom the waterspassing beforeit.
Other accountsdescribebriefboundsintoflight though thecreature
was generally confined to walking the land in the darkof night. These
and other stories presented by the monks mayhave been greatly

3. influenced by their knowledge of ancient religionsand early depiction
of Lilith, Adam companionbeforeEve.
Lilith is shown in a wall relief as a voluptuous female being crowned
in feathered like hair and wings. Her owls like feet areperched atop
two male lions binding them together bytheir waists(commonlust).
Both her breastsand her crotch aremirrored imagesofthose of the
two owls shown on either side of her. In thisrelief women are shown
as raw and controlling creaturesof thenight. Lilith uses her beauty
and beguilesto the weakness of her male adversariesby makethem
prisonersof their lustful desires. Hence they becomeher and her
sister’s prey. Patrick’spropensitytoward misogynycommonamongst
the clergy of that era would have naturallylead Him to the conclusion
that his battlewaswith the devil.
http://www.mindserpent.com/American_History/introduction/foot
notes/ft_lilith.html
In the wordsof PaulHarvey, “Now the rest of the story”
The beast or beastsdestroyed by St. Patrickand St. Fin Bar were
likely the last of an ancient speciesof ground burrowing Owlsknown
as Ornimegalonyx Oteroor the CubanGiant Owl. Thisbird weighed
upwardsof 20 to possibly30 pounds and stood between 36 to 46
inchesin height. It wings might havebeen as expansiveas 14 feet
from tip to tip. Its behavior was most likely nocturnalpossible diurnal
becauseof its limitationtoshort flightsand ground dwelling
propensities.
By all standardsthisraptor’snocturnalhunting of prey, screeching
cry in the dead of night and silent flight allowing it to appear from
nowhere would have struckfear in all but themost sound of heart.
Seen from the backsideinthe fleeing light of night or early morning
thiscreaturewould appear, with it’s skinny elongated legs, short pear
shaped body and bushy head, much like an old woman fetching water
or scrubbing laundryat thewater’s edge.
In conclusionthese birdswould not have been a danger to manunless
attackforcing it todefend itself before fleeing. Unfortunatelyin this
world we often kill or destroy those thingswe don’t understand and in
our regret rationalizeour actionsby making ourselves the hero rather
then the villain. Thismagnificent speciesofbird appeared tohave
done all it could to remainout of the sight of man. Living on remote
islands dwelling in subterraneancavesthisspeciesremained safe
until monks’ seeking solitudefor prayer entered their habitatsand

4. that wasthe end of the story.
Gerald Maloney
In the end we conserve only what we love, we love only what we
understand and we understand only what we are taught” (Baba
Dioum quotes)