"St. Patrick Banishes the Serpents" © 1998 Jim Fitzpatrick.

ST. PATRICK | ST. BRENDAN
"St. Patrick (AD 390-461) is the National Apostle and Saint of Ireland, and probably the most famous and celebrated person in Irish history. There are varying stories on his origins, but most believe that he was born a Romanized Briton either in Cumbria (Wales) or Scotland. The tradition has it that he was captured in a raid by the famous King Niall Noígallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), and was sold by the Irish raiders as a slave to a man named Milchu, a chieftain of Dalriada, in what is now County Antrim. There he was put to work as a shepherd for Milchu, who was also the local high druid. During his captivity, Patrick learned a great deal about the Irish language and customs, also learning a great deal about the Druidism that he was destined to banish from the sacred isle. After six years in captivity Patrick was visited by an angel, and to his surprise, the angel admonished Patrick for tarrying too long in Ireland, telling him to escape back to his family. This he did successfully, reuniting with his family and friends in Britain."

St. Patrick was the first and greatest of the Irish saints, generally considered to be the most famous person in Irish history. There were other saints, however, such as St. Brigid, St. Colmcille and St. Brendan, who also played prominent roles in the history and legends of historical Ireland. And despite their great spiritual power, they still had their work cut out for them in evangelizing the sacred isle, as they had to overcome thousands of years of entrenched pagan beliefs.

< THE COMING OF CHRISTIANITY | ANCIENT IRISH CULTURE >

BUY THE BOOK | DOWNLOAD SAMPLE PDF | SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTER