Christianity in Ireland

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.

Did you know?

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.

It is believed that Niall Noigíallach, a High King of Ireland, and the Uí Néill dynasty's 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.

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.

The land of Saints & Scholars

Ireland is known as the land of Saints and Scholars due to the many Saints and Scholars it actually produced. When Christianity flourished among the Celts and Irish in Ireland a monastic movement had been created. Churches and monasteries were being built around Ireland creating a not only places of worship but also places of learning.

Did you know that Ireland has hundreds of Saints? Some of which are worshipped around the world today. Some of the Irish Saints we have covered are as follows:

• St Palladius
• St Patrick
• St Brigid of Kildare
• St Finnian
• St Brendan
• St Columba
• St Enda
• St Oliver Plunkett
  

The monastic movement in Ireland

Christian’s in Ireland become known for their monastic lifestyle, they changed the way Christianity would be taught but also they lived. They would build monasteries in remote places, including small islands as Columcille did when he founded Iona monastery. The monasteries became central locations not only for worship but also for learning. The monks were extremely intelligent, the spoke and wrote Latin but also had great skills in art as proven with the creation of some of the finest illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells.

Monks also loved to write and they started recording important events that were occurring in Ireland during their time. They were also known to record stories or folklore that had been handed down to families over generations and some of the stories date back when the Celts had become settled in Ireland. This was extremely important in terms of documents history, without the records from the monks we today would know very little about Ireland its early history.

After Christianity was introduced to Ireland the Irish Church set about re-introducing Christianity to Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire, they setup religious settlements in France, and Italy. They spread the gospel to places like Germany and beyond where previously the word Christianity had not been heard.

Today Christianity in Ireland is still popular with the majority of the population practicing their religious beliefs on a weekly basis or even daily.

• Timeline of Irish Christianity history

The following timeline is based on events involving Christainity in Ireland. It should be noted that this timeline is incomplete and more dates will be added.

• 430AD - Palladius arrives in Ireland
• 432AD - St Patrick arrives in Ireland
• 453AD - St Brigid of Kildare is born
• 470AD - Saint Finnian of Clonard is born
• 480AD - St Ita is born
• 484AD - Kildare Abbey founded by St Brigid
• 512AD - St Brendan ordinaned as priest later founded Clonfert
• 520AD - Clonard founded by St Finnian
• 521AD - Colm Cille (St Columba) is born
• 525AD - St Brigid dies
• 530AD - Saint Enda of Arran dies
• 543AD - St Columbanus is born
• 545AD - Clonmacnoise founded by St Ciaran
• 546AD - Colm Cille founded monastery in Derry
• 554AD - The Abbey of Kells founded by St. Columba
• 561AD - Battle of Culdremna between Columcille and High King
  563AD - Iona Abbey founded by Columcille after he flees Ireland
• 570AD - St Ita dies
• 577AD - St Brendan dies
• 600AD - St Aidan is born
• 615AD - St Columbanus dies
• 1629AD - St Oliver Plunkett is born
  
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More reading and sources

• The Prosper of Aquitaine - catholic.com
• Re-introducing Christianity to Europe - bible.ca
• Doon Mass Rock - YourIrish.com