St Patrick (c.385 - c.461):
Bishop, pre Reformation
Patrick was born somewhere in Roman Britain and was carried off as a slave to Ireland, where he herded sheep on Slemish Mountain, County Antrim. It is said that he escaped, and according to tradition he studied at Auxerre and Tours and was ordained as a bishop. He returned to Ireland, landing at Strangford Lough, and supposedly first preached the Christian faith in Saul, County Down. He founded a settlement in Armagh and wrote a hymn in Irish, a letter to a hostile chieftain named Coroticus, and his Confession, which are the main sources for information concerning his life and are generally accepted as authentic. He is believed to be buried in Downpatrick, and his feast-day as patron saint of Ireland is the 17th of March.