CHRISTIANITY IN IRELAND

Christianity in Ireland

Christianity in Ireland

Introduction

Not much factual history is known previous to the arrival of the Christians in Ireland as they had become the first people to actually document historic events in Ireland. By the time of their arrival in Ireland, approx 430AD, the country was dominated by the Celtic culture that had arrived during the Iron Age period. The people in Ireland were druids including the Kings and nobles, a challenge for any Christian (Bieler, 1979, 23-96).

Samhain, which means summers end, was a belief before the rise of Christianity and was a ritual to mark the start of the Gaelic year, although this is debated with historians. It was when christianity began to increase it was changed to Hallowmac or All Saints day, more commonly known today as Halloween.

Who brought Christianity to Ireland?

Many people believe that St Patrick was the one responsible for bringing Christianity to Ireland. Although he made a major impact on Christian Ireland he certainly wasn't the first to arrive here. St Palladius was the first Christian to arrive in Ireland sent over from Rome by the Pope in 430AD, two years previous to St Patrick's arrival. St Palladius wasn't as successful in converting the Irish and Celtic druids to Christianity as St Patrick (Ellis, 1994, 56-105).

It is believed that Niall Noigíallach, a High King of Ireland, and the Uí Néill dynasties were the main factors of Christianity first arriving in Ireland from raiding Britain and Gaul from slaves, mercenaries and merchants which included St Patrick, who was sold as a slave to Ireland at the age of sixteen (Franklin, 2003, 99-110).

Saint Patrick escaped Ireland 6 years after being kidnapped; he became a priest and then a Bishop. He returned to Ireland after having visions to become a Christian missionary and helped spread Christianity to the people of Ireland.

Patrick

The patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, is often credited with kicking all the snakes out of Ireland. Countless works of art have depicted the bearded saint crushing serpents under his feet, and pointing to the distance with his staff as if to banish them from his sight. Saint Patrick is also said to have been the first man to introduce Christianity to the Irish (Hanson, 1983, 56-99).

Muirchu wrote that Patrick was the driving force behind the annihilation of the Irish druids. Two of his stories illustrate this claim particularly well. The first deals with Patrick and his former master (Patrick had been sold into slavery from Britain to Ireland at sixteen). The other concerns a confrontation between Patrick and the pagan king Loiguire, along with Loiguire's court druids, at the Hill of Tara in Northern Ireland. The Patrick in these stories demonstrates behavior not thought typical of a Christian bishop. Instead of possessing the traits of patience and forgiveness, Patrick is shown as vindictive, and he succeeds in a quest to punish his enemies with the help of the Christian God (Hopkin, 1989, 55-74).

Throughout history, there have been cases of one religion imposing itself ...