389? - 461?

During the first quarter of the fifth century there were enough practising Christian in Ireland (the exact numbers not known) when Pope Celestini 1 (422.32) and his advisors considered the time had come to construct a church there and in 431 Palladius was sent as a missionary and first bishop. It is not known what he achieved or indeed if he even arrived in Ireland. So Rome sent another - Bishop Saint Patrick. This was not his first visit as he had been in Ireland as a boy of about sixteen. He had been brought up as a Christian in Cumbria where he was carried off by Irish marauders. He passed his captivity as a herdsman around the Slemish mountains in County Antrim (according to tradition) or it could have been Connaught. The young herdsman saw visions in which he was urged to escape, which he did after about six years of slavery, to the northern coast of Gaul.

Patrick was made a Bishop in 432 by Saint Germanus at Auxerre and it was possibly because of his previous experiences in Ireland why he was chosen by Rome to go to Ireland.

On his return he concentrated on the West and North and on the whole his mission was popular, even if the ruling strata saw Christianity as a threat. Legend has it that one of his first acts was to convert his old master.

Patrick faced many dangers, being arrested, often imprisoned and even locked in irons, by the druids. It was they who led the opposition to the new faith that Patrick was trying to organise. He spent several years establishing his mission and setting up an organisation in Ulster on the Roman model. It is said that it was he who established the espisocal church at Armagh where the Cathedral now stands. Many priest and bishops were appointed, (as many as 350 bishops), and thousands of people baptized. Travelling extensively over land which didn’t have the network of road like those in the rest of Europe. It would appear that Patrick had no problem with women priests, as many of the fifty churches that he built of timber were left in charge of women. It was also said that one of great achievements was the introduction of the monastic system, founding monasteries for both men and women. The introduction of Latin language was also attributed to him and was the key factor in establishing the native literary tradition.

St. Patrick died around 461 at Saul but his burial place is disputed, it may have been Armagh or Downpatrick. He still is perhaps the most famous person in Irish history. Among the well known legends is the story of the shamrock, which he used to demonstrate the meaning of the Trinity and it was he who rid Ireland of its snakes.