Northern Ireland Learning

Teacher’s Suggested Scheme of Work

Autumn 2007
Early Christian Ireland Fact Sheet

ST PATRICK BRINGS CHRISTIANITY TO IRELAND

Saint Patrick as the patron saint of Ireland remains an enigmatic character, He was alive during
the Þfth century and he wrote two important religious documents, the “Confession” and the “Letter
to Coroticus”. There are differences of historical opinion as to Patrick’s date of birth, as to when
he came to Ireland and when he died. Legend has it that Patrick had his Þrst experience of Ireland
when he was kidnapped as a youth of sixteen and taken from Wales by Irish raiders (perhaps
even by Niall of the Nine Hostages, a powerful Irish overlord) to be enslaved in County Antrim in
the service of a minor chieftain called Milchu. Here he was forced to work and live as a shepherd
on the slopes of Slemish Mountain.

After six years of captivity Patrick dreamt that a ship was waiting to take him on a journey. His
dream or vision came true and he escaped to Europe where he studied and became a bishop
before his return journey to Ireland.

The year 432 AD has been generally accepted as the start of Patrick’s mission to Ireland. After
entering the Brene Strait, the narrow entrance to Lough Cuan (translated as “safe harbour”) which
was re-named Strangford by later Viking visitors. Patrick landed at the mouth of the River Slaney
near Downpatrick. His Þrst church was a barn at Saul (Sabhall is the Irish word for “barn”) given
to him by Dichu, the district chieftain who became his Þrst convert in Ireland. The present Saul
Parish Church is a replica of an ancient church built on the site donated by Dichu. On nearby
Slieve Patrick, there is a 10 metre high statue of Saint Patrick, decorated with bronze panels
relating scenes from his life. Patrick also founded a mission settlement near Armagh, itself an
ancient and signiÞcant site of considerable inßuence in ancient Ireland.

Patrick’s success in bringing Christianity to Ireland was due in part to:

• his appeal to the Irish kings; he was able to convince them that a Christian Church within their
realms would bring with it some of the orderliness and efÞciency that people associated with the
Roman Empire.

• his sincerity of faith

• the manner in which he treated the old Celtic beliefs of the Irish

Patrick’s Final Resting Place

Enigmatic to the end, Patrick’s death and burial may have taken place around 462 AD. The legend
suggests that he may have died at Saul, Downpatrick, and because of his followers quarrelling
over where to bury the body, it was placed in a cofÞn on a cart pulled by two untamed oxen.
Wherever the oxen stopped the body would be buried.

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CELTIC INFLUENCES ON THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

The legends of Patrick frequently tell of him disposing of heathen idols and establishing Christian
churches on previously sacred Druidic sites, often on oak groves. In effect, this meant that people
continued to worship in the same environment but in a different way.

High Crosses
The great pillar stones set up by the Druids to mark sacred sites and burial places now had
crosses engraved upon them. The pre-Christian emblems, often circles and spirals, were
combined with Christian symbols.

From the eighth century AD, the Þrst ‘ringed’ crosses appeared in Ireland. For example, the cross
of Patrick and Columba at Kells, Co. Meath has both interlacing designs combined with carved
Christian scenes illustrating stories from the Bible. These include the stories of Adam and Eve,
Daniel in the Lions’ Den and the miracle of the Loaves and Fish.

The crosses had various purposes -

(I) the crosses were symbols of power and protection;
(II) the carvings were used to teach the Bible stories;
(Ill) they served as a meeting place within a monastic enclosure.
Arboe High Cross, County Tyrone.

Healing Wells
The sacred wells and springs where farmers had prayed to a god or goddess to ensure an
abundant supply of water, now became holy wells. They prayed to a Christian Saint and were
baptised.

It stopped at Dun-lethglaisse [pronounced Doonle-gliss-ye], the site of the present Church of

Ireland Cathedral, Downpatrick. A large granite stone bearing Patrick’s name was put in the
cathedral’s graveyard in 1901. Patrick’s burial site is still unknown.

SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY
The maintenance and continuation of Irish Christianity and the extension of the faith to Europe
was encouraged by -
(I) the establishment of monastic sites by the followers of Patrick where the founders’ kin retained
the ownership of the monasteries and the Celtic tradition survived in administration;
(II) the vital role of manuscripts in recording and explaining the faith for scholars and followers;
(Ill) missionary work through Britain and Europe.

Converts

Dichu, upon conversion, presented Patrick with a barn to use as a church. The Irish word sabhall,
meaning barn, has given the name to Saul. The latter has been a place of Christian worship
through the building of a monastery, which like Nendrum was destroyed by the Vikings.

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Donard. whose name is associated with Slieve Donard, established his principal church at
Maghera, near Newcastle in County Down. This was placed within an older cashel whose stone
walls still circle the shell of the old church. Outside is the stump of a round tower.

Tassach was the founder of a church at Rath Colpa (Raholp), not far from Saul. The original
building may well have been made of wood but it was later replaced by a small stone church.
Only the walls remain of that building, but it is one of the earliest Christian buildings in Ireland.
According to the “Hymn of Fiacc” written in the eighth century, Patrick received holy communion
from Saint Tassach, bishop of Rahàlp, just before he died - the source may be unreliable.

Monasteries
Initially the word ‘monk’ meant a solitary person and some did live as hermits in beehive huts.
Others formed small communities of people living and worshipping together. These became
important centres of the community as towns were non-existent. A large number of ‘manaig’ or
farm labourers and craftsmen lived in close vicinity to the monastery. Such an example would be

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Nendrum at Mahee Island, Killinchy.

‘Nendrum’ means the place of the nine hills, and has a three tier structure of the cashel - inner,
middle and outer. The monks lived in simple huts called cells, shaped like beehives. Their meals
would have been eaten in the refectory (dining room).

Manuscripts (manu - by hand/scribere - to write)

The monasteries performed an important role in the promotion of the Christian faith. Many had
their own schools where the pupils learned to read and write in Latin, the language of the Christian
Church. To have books meant that the monastery schools were immensely better equipped for
teaching than the druids’ schools they were trying to replace.
Some skilled monks (scribes) copied parts of the Bible on vellum (calf-skin). Parchment, the skin
of sheep and goats, was also used. The skin was prepared by a long and tedious process of
stretching, scraping, soaking and rubbing repeatedly with chalk and pumice-stone.

• The earliest Irish manuscript still in existence is the “Cathach” [pronounced Cá-hach (as in loch)]
of Saint Columba, this is a copy of the Book of Psalms.
• The Antiphonary of Bangor which dates from the seventh century contains psalms, hymns and
prayers in Latin. The book was taken from the monastery of Bangor to Bobbio in Italy. • The
Book of Durrow was probably written in the second half of the seventh century and is associated
with the monastery at Durrow in County Offaly. The book explores the text of the four gospels,
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Celtic designs of circles, spirals and lace decorate the words.
• The Book of Armagh written at the beginning of the ninth century contains the New Testament
and the writings of Saint Patrick.
• The Book of Kells, the illuminated manuscript, was written at the end of the eighth or the
beginning of the ninth century. It may have started on the island of lona, off the coast of Scotland,
but it has been associated with the monastery of Kells in County Meath from 1007 AD. The Book
of Kells is on view in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin.

In the tenth century book shrines were made to protect the Book of Durrow and the Book of
Armagh. The Soiscel Molaise [pronounced Sushscale Mo-lee-sh-eh](Gospels of Molaise) is
preserved in the National Museum in Dublin and was most probably made in the early eleventh
century. Saint Malaise was an Irish saint who lived in the sixth century and founded a monastery
on Devenish Island in County Fermanacih.

Missionary Monks - Outreach to Britain and Europe

In the Þfty years after Patrick’s death, Christianity spread throughout Ireland, even though the High
Kings at Tara were unenthusiastic or even hostile. The battle on the slopes of Ben Bulben in 561
saw the end of the last pagan High King and the druids and druidism disappeared, except so far
as their beliefs and practices were taken into the new Christian faith. The new heroes were the
saintly missionaries.

Columba, or Colmcille 521 AD-597 AD

He came from a noble family in County Donegal. He studied at the monastery of Clonard and
continued his studies at other monasteries, including Movilla Abbey in County Down. In the year
563 AD, with twelve companions he left Ireland and eventually settled on lona which became a

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very important centre for missionary work in Scotland.

Columbanus 543 AD-61 5 AD

He studied at the monastery of Cleenish on Upper Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, then moved
to the monastery at Bangor, County Down, to teach. Columbanus and his twelve companions left
Ireland in 591 AD and established monasteries in Annegray, Luxeuil and Fontaines, France. After
a dispute with the new king of Burgundy, he and all his Irish monks were expelled. Eventually
Columbanus and his companions crossed the Alps into Italy and established a monastery at
Bobbio on the banks of the River Trebbia.

Aidan
Aidan, a monk from lona, was invited by the King of Northumbria to teach the people about
Christianity. He founded a monastery at Lindisfarne, an island off the north-east coast of
England.

NENDRUM
Mahee island is the largest island in Strangford Lough and lies close to its western shore. The
monastic site of Nendrum was founded by Mochaoi after whom Mahee Island was named.
Mochaoi was said to have been converted by Patrick himself and died at the end of the 5th
century. From the 7th century to the 9th century, the Annals of Ulster record a succession of
bishops and abbots, then in 987, the “herenagh of Oendrium (abbot) was burned in his own
house,” probably as a result of a Viking raid of which there were many at this time in the area.
Nendrum seems to have passed out of use during the 15th century, being replaced by a more
accessible church on the mainland.

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The site
Monastic settlements laid the foundations for the spread of Christianity both in Ireland and
abroad. Usually established in the 6th and 7th centuries, these became important centres of
the community as no towns existed in that period. They attracted local craftsmen and farmers
because they offered some degree of protection against Viking raids which were prevalent at
the time. The custom was to build monasteries inside ring forts. They consisted of tiny huts
made of either stone or wood and wattle. The most important building was the small church
which was built at the centre. This was because the worship of God was central to people’s
lives. In other huts were the kitchen, a dining room called the refectory and sometimes a library.
The monks lived in individual cells usually called bee-hives because of their shape.

Nendrum is approached from the mainland by way of a causeway built in the nineteenth
century. Originally access was only by ford at low tide. Prior to excavation in the 1920’s, all that
was visible of Nendrum was the base of a round tower and the remains of a church. When the
archaeologists dug deeper they discovered a monastic site of some importance. It had a triple-
walled cashel enclosing the buildings of a Celtic monastery. Within these three cashels was a
school, workshops, a cemetery, a church and a round tower. These alone revealed that this was
a site of considerable historical importance.

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Monastic Life
The word monk comes from the Greek word “monachos”, which means “alone”. It was Þrst used
by early Christians to describe men who felt the need to go away by themselves to some lonely
place to contemplate God and pray. The Þrst monks, also called hermits, lived in caves or rough
shelters. They ate little and went without all the things that ordinary people of the time wanted or
needed.

The Þrst monasteries grew up around these hermits because men who also felt the call to a
religious life came to Þnd the hermits in their lonely shelters, wanting to learn from them and to
copy their way of life. One of the Þrst hermits was a man called Benedict who at Þrst lived in a
cave. However, he realised that it might be better to start a community of like-minded men who
loved each other like brothers rather than to struggle alone.

Saint Benedict, as he became later, founded the Benedictine religious order. He wrote down the
things that that he believed every monk should do and these became a blueprint for the many
different orders that were to follow him.

It has never been easy to become a monk. A man wishing to enter an abbey must give away
all that he owns and from the moment the door shuts behind him he must share everything with
the community. A monk’s life has always been hard and not everyone is suited to it. He must
Þrst become a “novice” or beginner, under the tutelage of a senior monk. After two years, during
which the novice is free to leave the order at any time, the other monks in the community vote on
whether he will be allowed to take his yows, or promises to God, and become a monk.

Monastic life today has changed little from its earliest beginnings. Monks still live in sparse cells
and devote their lives to the service of God. Printing and literature still play a large role in their
lives. Early monks used to copy and decorate beautiful religious books by hand. Today they use
a printing press or computerised desktop publishing.

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