Saint Patrick in Carrickfergus

The sea journey across the North Channel to Carrickfergus took about a day with a good wind. In his trip to Carrick, Patrick thought about his Christian faith and he had no idea that later he would return to Ulster to set up the Catholic Church. Perhaps the local king, or ri, Miliucc accompanied the saint to Carrickergus. He would have seen the large rock or crag upon which there was a well to provide sustenance for these early people, who were, of course, pagan. There were many gods and little shrines adorned the countryside. There was the Sun god worshipped by the Druid magicians; the Druids, so Patrick learned, were very clever people for it took about 20 years to become one. Patrick would have regarded these pagans as the manifestation of the anti-Christ and he would have looked to the Rome of the popes for guidance in the faith. But Rome lay many hundreds of miles away from Carrickfergus and the Gaelic or Irish church remained quite independent politically of the Holy See.

The population of pagan Carrickfergus was only a few hundred and they fought with stone swords and leather shields. Carrickfergus lay on the banks of Belfast Lough - Belfast at this time being only a small settlement. For many centuries Carrickfergus remained the chief town in Ulster and it competed with centres in the south of Ireland. It appears to have become important before the arrival of Saint Patrick in the region; it may have existed for some centuries before the fifth century and the Christian age.

Patrick returned to Ulster in 432 AD and he had escaped from slavery in 401 AD but Lord Miliucc, a friend of the saint in slavery, may have simply given Patrick his freedom. He said farewell to Carrickfergus, perhaps sailing from here across the sea to his home in Scotland to search out after this parents. Alternatively, he may have made his way down the Antrim hills to Larne, or Laharna, to take a ship from this small port. He had heard in a dream that the Irish wanted this holy youth to once more walk amongst them.

It is not known at what time the saint decided to return to Ulster, but he spent about 20 years in Gaul, or France, studying in the monasteries of Auxerre and Lerins. He came to the attention of Pope Celestine 1, who at first did not think Patrick was capable enough to undertake the Irish mission but at length was persuaded, so the saint again visited Carrickfergus on his way to Slemish. For some unknown reason Lord Miliucc died by suicide upon the saint’s return.

At Carrickfergus he received land from the local king to set up either a church or a monastery. Some think that Patrick’s north-east church was in fact monastic in origin - accepting all the doctrine and dogma of the Church of Rome. He sent regular reports back to the Pope about the Irish mission. The little chapel at Carrickfergus housed only a handful of people for Patrick may not have, as tradition states, converted all the pagans. It is perhaps true that he did not reach all the places in Ireland, for his mission centred around the north-east, particularly North Antrim, which had long connections with Scotland. Today Carrickfergus is a mainly Protestant town.

Carrickfergus was also noted for its medicinal waters but the saint would have rejected this as a manifestation of paganism. Patrick, it is said, performed many miracles, the chief of which was chasing snakes out of Ireland, which, of course, is not really true. The saint travelled around the Carrick area in his chariot accompanied by St MacCartan, his bodyguard.

Today the mission to Carrickfergus has been forgotten but all denominations and non-believers have heard of this great saint, whose feast day is March 17, the day of his death. He is said to be buried at Downpatrick and not at Armagh, where he had set up his primatial see in 455 AD. There are many churches, both Protestant and Catholic, that are named after him along with other saints like Saint Comgall. In a non-Christian world, the figure of Patrick means belief and goodness to others; he is an all-Ireland figure, whose memory will endure for many centuries to come.