Discover how a boy became devoted to the people who enslaved him, returned to their shores, and changed Ireland forever...

He was taken from his home in England and dragged across the sea to Ireland. When he escaped, he traveled on the European continent, lived for a while as a monk, and then returned as a missionary to the people who had enslaved him.

Many legends surround the life of St. Patrick. He competed with Druids and negotiated with tribal leaders. He traveled all over the emerald isle bringing both Christianity and the Roman Empire to its shores. J. B. Bury, the first modern biographer of St. Patrick, sought to find the man beneath the layers of myth and legend. Explore Patrick’s place in history, the influence of earlier Christians on Patrick’s work, the political and social conditions in the Roman Empire at that time, and much more.

This new edition of Bury’s classic biography has been re-edited, introduced by Jon M. Sweeney, and includes sidebar notes from other biographers, mystics, historians, and storytellers of Ireland.

Praise for Jon M. Sweeney’s biography of St. Francis of Assisi:

“There is no sounder introduction to Francis’ life.” – Catholic News Service



“This new and updated edition…is nothing short of astonishing in its power to touch the heart and revive the soul.” –St. Anthony Messenger



“Sweeney achieves a fine balance between excellent scholarship and sweet accessibility for every average reader.” –Walter Wangerin, Jr.

Editor-writer Sweeney gives Bury's 1905 biography of the legendary St. Patrick a greater contemporary context in this meticulously researched and presented work. An Irish historian, expert on the Greek and Roman empires and a Protestant, Bury wrote what Sweeney calls the "ideal modern biography" of Patrick, the saint often credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. In his work, Bury concurs with various scholars on certain aspects of Patrick's life, but adds his own details and challenges others with sensitivity to the cult of legend and tradition that has become part of the Patrick story. Sweeney assembles and rearranges material from Bury's original work and incorporates more of Patrick's own words, from his Confession and Letter against Coroticus. Sweeney's light edits to Bury's text clarify exactly what Patrick did in Ireland, his Confession and Letter against Coroticus. Sweeney's light edits to Bury's text clarify exactly what Patrick did in Ireland, noting that although he did convert some pagan kingdoms, he also was responsible for organizing Christians who were already there and connecting the island with the church of the Roman Empire. Readers with a scholarly interest in Patrick and Irish history will find this most appealing.

Publishers Weekly - July, 2008