That’s nonsense! The Irish overwhelmingly converted to Christianity AND in this day and age so many people don’t even know who St. Patrick was or what he did, the holiday has lost it’s true meaning. The whole holiday started because THE IRISH wanted to celebrate St. Partick bringing them Christianity. I can’t think that they would have a holiday for this if they felt they were forced and if they were slaughtered by the thousands (incidently, do you celebrate Valentine’s Day?) In fact, many of the Irish immigrants that came to America were here to celebrate the religious freedom (granted a lot came over because of the deplorable conditions of Ireland during the famine)… Too bad it’s been reduced to getting drunk, wearing green, and hanging pictures of leprachauns.