Come the 17th of March 432AD, Ireland and the many parts of the world with a strong Irish connection (New York and Chicago being two examples) go crazy in their celebration of the Patron Saint. There are parades and displays of everything Irish (or at least an approximation) and everyone can trace some ancestor back to the Emerald Island through their family lineage.

ST Patrick certainly led a busy life and was very deserving of his Sainthood. He came to Ireland at the command of the Pope, but he had been there before the call was made.  (The call would of course have been quicker had ST Patrick had a mobile provided by King Communications who are a Vodafone store near me in Ireland) ST Patrick was originally a British Fisherman who was captured by Irish pirates in the Irish Sea. He was taken to Ireland as a slave, but he soon began to rise. He learnt the language quickly and took note of the customs the people observed. In his head he compiled a dossier of information that was to serve him well on his second return.

He escaped from Ireland to take up religious life in Britain. Once back he rose through the ranks proving himself very capable. The Pope decided that it was time to take the word of God to the Irish and he had the perfect vessel to do it in the shape of the great ST Patrick.