Geography - Ireland Patron Saint

1. Ireland is an island to the west of
England.

2. Around 400 A.D., Patrick was
abducted from his village in
England and thrown onto a
slave ship headed for Ireland.
Patrick was sold to a chieftain named
Milchu. He spent six years tending his
master's flocks on the slopes of the
Slemish Mountain

3. • Patrick escaped and traveled 200 miles cross country to
the west coast
• Patrick eventually returned to his home and family in
England.
8th Grade Geography – Mrs. Van Heck

4. • "It was an Ireland of tribalism, an Ireland of war, an
Ireland of suspicion, an Ireland of violence and death.
Here he came as a virtual stranger to this country of
warring factions.“

5. In 432 A.D., Patrick built a church on the site of the
present day St. Patrick's Memorial Church in Saul --
the first ever Christian church in all of Ireland

6. Each year, as many as one million pilgrims and
visitors make the trek to the top to pray at the
stations of the cross on the mountain. It is
located near Galway in County Mayo.

7. St. Patrick spent 40 days in prayer and
fasting on the top of the mountain for the
people of Ireland.

8. • Why do you think St. Patrick spent 40 days and nights
fasting and praying on the mountain?
• Why do you think he picked that mountain in County
Mayo?
• Why do you think he returned to Ireland?
• Do you have a patron saint that you honor?