Early Christian Ireland

• Fifth century Ireland


  • About 150 kingdoms called tuatha
• Tuath


  Kingdom ruled by a chieftain or clan leader called a rí
• Druids


  Pagan priests who were chief advisors and could tell the future and preside over animal sacrifices
• At the time when Jesus lived, the Romans ruled most of Europe
• Romans conquered Britain


  AD 43
• Ireland began to convert to Christianity


  Around AD 400
• Saint Patrick arrived in Ireland


  AD 432
• Saint Patrick's actions


  1. Arrived in Ireland

  2. Began to preach and convert

  3. Many Irish went to study in European monasteries

  4. Returned to Ireland and set up their own monasteries
• Saint Patrick


  Most famous missionary, was captured by Celtic pirates and sold into slavery, escaped after 6 years, returned to preach Christianity to the Irish
• Saint Patrick: 'Wrote 'The Confession' - an account of his life in Ireland and his reasons for coming to preach Christianity to the Irish'
• Some of the druids and rithe (kings) did not accept what Patrick was doing
• Patrick: 'I lived in daily expectation of murder, treachery or captivity'
• The power of the druids came to an end and Christian priests, monks and bishops replaced them
• Patrick became a hero after his death
• Many legends were told about him (he banished the snakes from Ireland). We know that this is not exactly true. There were no snakes in Ireland, and this is a metaphor. The snakes were the 'Pagans' who were banished from Ireland
• Many monasteries were built in Ireland


  6th century (AD 500-599)
• Other legends told, were that he won great battles with the druid priests on the Hill of Tara and elsewhere
• Monasteries


  Places founded by holy men who wanted to pray and honour God
• People transferred some of the stories the Celts had told about their gods to St Patrick and other early Christian leaders like St. Brigid
• The first group of Christians in Ireland often came together to dedicate their lives to God
• The earliest monasteries were made from timber and have not survived
• Some believed they could get closer to God by devoting their lives to prayer in remote places. They were called hermits and lived in isolated locations
• However, most lived in monasteries. They became known as monks (men) and nuns (women)
• Monasteries were surrounded by an outer stone wall (or banks) for protection
• Male and female monasteries were built beside each other for protection
• Married people lived in monasteries also as there was no strict rule about remaining celibate (single)
• Inside the wall, monks grew their own food - they were self-sufficient
• Monks wrote books and made beautiful works of art
• Famous Monasteries


  • St Ite founded some monasteries, the most famous convent was founded in Kildare by St Brigid
  • St Finian of Clonard and St Brendan of Clonfert built monasteries which became centres of learning and culture
  • St Enda built the 1st monastery on the Aran Islands in 490
  • The remotest monastery was Sceilig Mhicil/ Skellig Michael on a tiny rocky island 12 miles off the Kerry coast
  • The biggest monastery was founded by St Ciaran at Clonmacnoise in AD 545 beside a busy crossing place on the River Shannon. People from all over Europe came to study there. Many kings are buried at this site
• Celtic monastery


  • Circular walls made of timber or stone
  • Small wooden huts where the monks lived
  • Bigger wooden churches
• Main building


  Church or oratory
• Bee-hive huts


  • Round stone huts
  • Corbelled walls
• Tall round towers


  • Used as bell-towers
  • Used as look-out posts
  • Used to store treasure
• Farmers worked on the land around the monastery


  Gave animals and crops to the monks as rent for the land they farmed
• Other buildings


  • Abbot house
  • Refectory (dining room)
  • Scriptorium (where the monks copied manuscripts)
  • Guesthouse for visitors
• Cemetery or graveyard


  Beside the church
• Monk burials


  • Simple graves dug in the ground
  • Stone cist graves
• Daily Life in a Celtic Monastery

  Life was very strict and monks followed the Rule of St Benedict
• Monastery


  • Self-sufficient
  • Monks produced all their own food and clothes
• Monk's clothing


  Long tunics with woollen cloaks and shoes or sandals