On The Trail of Saint Patrick
Leo Casey digs through the archives to unearth the real St Patrick.
Statue of St Patrick on Downpatrick Head
The brand of St Patrick must be the envy of every marketing manager; it has local and universal appeal, it is clearly identifiable and is associated with uplift and celebration. St Patrick’s Day on March 17 is the undisputed feast day for Irish people everywhere. Across the world international icons such as the Eiffel Tower and Sydney Opera House are bathed in green lights, not to mention green rivers, bonnets and badges. The question is, who was the real St Patrick and why is he credited with converting Ireland to Christianity?
The complete picture may be found not just in the contemporary writings of Patrick, but also in the biographies written many years later. Intriguingly, there may well have been some 7th Century spin involved in getting the brand of St Patrick to the fore. Ireland after all was once known as the Island of Saints and Scholars and many holy people such as St Brigid, St Brendan, St Columcille, St Kevin and others contributed to the establishment of Irish Christianity. Brigid in particular was a powerful leader in the early church and she had a special affinity with the monasteries of Kildare. In later times when Armagh and Kildare rivalled each other to become the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland, it made sense for Patrick’s biographers to talk up his association with Armagh.
What we know is this, Patrick was born in Roman Britain around the end of the 4th Century. He was from a prestigious family, his Latin name (by which he was surely called) was Patricius which means ‘noble of the patrician class’. At the time Roman Britain was largely Christian and his father was a deacon of the church. When Patrick was a teenager he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland to work as a slave.
While in captivity Patrick remained devout and prayed each day. Eventually he escaped back to Britain and returned to his family. Later Patrick had a dream which he interpreted as a call for help from the people of Ireland. He eventually returned as a missionary, first as a priest and later as a bishop. He established a church in Armagh and also travelled throughout the land preaching and converting people to Christianity.
There are only two sources of his own writings, his Confession which he wrote near the end of his life and Letters to the Soldiers of Coroticus where he decries the practice of taking slaves. It is likely we would not have heard much more of St Patrick were it not for subsequent writers and the need to elevate the importance of anyone associated with Armagh.
Three hundred years later a humble monk, Muirchú, was commissioned to write a new book on the Life of St Patrick. Muirchú told the story of Patrick with plenty of embellishment. The figure that emerges is some kind of super hero, able to compete with the druids by using better magic and powerful rituals. Patrick’s name becomes associated with important places and important people. All this certainly helped the appeal of Armagh as the religious capital of Ireland.
In later centuries, many other stories and traditions such as the wearing of shamrock, the banishing of snakes and the importance of parades grew through the folk practices of the time. Saint Patrick’s Day parades might have started as recruitment events with military marching bands and all of the associated regalia.
Few doubt the influence of Patrick in establishing Christianity in Ireland; however, the full picture is even more interesting. Celtic Christianity seems to have developed on this island as a unique alternative to the more rigorous Roman church. Not surprisingly, many of the original pagan feasts and traditions were taken over by the new religion. The celebration of the winter solstice was conveniently close to Christmas, the end of harvest festival, known as Samhain, became Halloween or the Eve of All Hallows.
It was this fusion of Celtic and Christian ways that fuelled the early success of Patrick and his followers. In a way, Christianity became Irish rather than the other way around. In Celtic Christianity, abbots, abbesses, monks and nuns seem to have been more readily embraced than the Roman bishops and dioceses. Monastic settlements like Kildare, Clonard, Armagh and Monasterboice emerged as centres of religious and political power.
Each place had its own significant saint, St Brigid of Kildare, St Finian of Clonard and St Ciarán of Clonmacnoise. Even today, scattered throughout the country, familiar place names trace their roots to the influence of these early monastic leaders. We have Mount Brandon in Kerry (the hill of Brendan), Glencolmcille in Donegal (the valley of Colm Cille), many places called Bridwell (the well of Bridget), Cill Ciarán in Connemara (Ciaran’s church) and numerous references to Patrick such as Slieve Patrick, Ard Patrick, Knockpatrick (all meaning Patrick’s hill) Patrick’s Well and Downpatrick.
In the centuries that followed the coming of Christianity to Ireland, stories and traditions became associated with these early leaders of the church. Creative imaginations mingled with historical memory and a unique brand of folklore emerged and was handed down through the generations. When medieval monks wrote these tales into their great books they captured the myth and magic of the earlier oral histories. Local connections with people and places were often embellished to aggrandise the patrons of the time.
These texts and the stories within, give us some sense of the essence of Celtic Christianity. Great respect for the natural world, an affinity with animals, a sense of wonder, a love of learning and the practice of a good life. These values are with us to this day.
Monasteries
GLENCOLMCILLE
The glen is named after Saint Colmcille, often known as one of Ireland’s twelve apostles.
In the years after St Patrick, Ireland developed a strong monastic tradition based on scholarship and religious fervour. Saintly men and women, the abbots and abbesses at the time, guided communities devoted to living a simple Christian life.
One such leader was Columba who later used the name Colmcille meaning dove of the church. Many places around Donegal and Derry are associated with Colmcille and he is often portrayed as a warrior saint fighting of evil monsters and demons. Glencolmcille is a wonderful place to visit and many people go there to visit the folk village or to take Irish language classes.
Downpatrick Head and Dún Briste
The coast of North Mayo is a hidden gem on the Great Atlantic Way. It is a beautiful and dramatic shoreline ranging from the broken cliffs of Downpatrick Head, past the Céide Fields and on to the quiet townland Belderrig and beyond. Dún Briste is a spectacular sea stack standing just off the coast.
The remnants of medieval buildings can still be seen from the headland nearby. There is a legend that a pagan chie ain named Crom Dubh lived there and refused attempts by St Patrick to convert him to Christianity. In frustration the saint struck the ground with his crosier, thereby creating the sea stack and leaving Crom Dubh to live out his days in isolation.
MOUNT BRANDON
The name of Mount Brandon is associated with the famous Saint Brendan who lived around here in the sixth century. Saint Brendan was known for his seafaring and navigation skills and is said to have discovered America long before Columbus. The story of the Brendan voyage has been part of Irish folklore for many centuries. The precise location of his point of departure is known as Brandon Creek and is still used by locals as a small harbour. Is it possible that an Irish monk and his crew could have crossed the Atlantic in a leather boat to arrive in Newfoundland in the 6th Century? There are written documents from the twelfth century that describe the voyage, but did they just write the stories of the time?
In 1976 Tim Severin and his crew attempted to replicate the journey using a similar boat construction to what Brendan would have used. He set out from Brandon Creek and succeeded in demonstrating that such a feat was possible. We will never know for sure if Saint Brendan really made the journey.