How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe is a non-fiction historical book written by Thomas Cahill.

Cahill argues a case for the Irish people's critical role in preserving Western Civilization from utter destruction by the Huns and the Germanic tribes (Visigoths, Franks, Angles, Saxons, Ostrogoths, etc.).

The book presents Western history from the collapse of the Roman Empire and the pivotal role played by members of the clergy at the time.

(p. 4) How the Irish Saved Civilization was first published in March 1995 and appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List for almost two years.

[2] However, it also provoked criticism from other reviewers, some of whom offered qualified praise or outright rejections of the main thesis, and some of whom perceived bias.