One thousand five hundred years ago the man known today as Saint Patrick decided to take upon himself an extraordinary mission: he would bring his Christian faith to the people of Ireland who were considered at the time to be a barbarian race living at the very edge of the world. Patrick’s relationship with the Irish was complex. As a young man he was kidnapped from his wealthy family in Roman Britain, a victim of human trafficking, and taken to Ireland where he lived as a slave for six years. Following his escape he studied to become a priest in Britain and then, despite the dangers involved, returned to Ireland. His decision had seismic repercussions for the Irish and for Europe as a whole. In Ireland, Patrick’s Christianity united the divided Irish tribal kingdoms under the umbrella of a new culture. In the years that followed Patrick’s death, legions of Irish monks chose to depart the great monasteries of Ireland to travel to Europe where they shared their faith and learning widely. Monks like Columbanus, Gall, and Colmcille, collaborated with continental counterparts to lay foundations from which modern Europe would emerge.

In a challenge to the conventional narrative, this epic documentary directed by Ruán Magan (The Irish Civil War, The Hunger, The Cable that Changed the World, and 100 Years of Ulysses) places British-born Saint Patrick in his European context and shows how Ireland’s patron saint was part of a radical Christian movement that converted not only the Irish at the edge of the earth, but also large swathes of Europe, to Christianity. It vividly brings to life the pre-Christian culture that preceded Patrick’s arrival in Ireland and reveals how the Irish church he founded became a catalyst in reseeding classical learning, science and philosophy throughout Europe.

Based on Patrick’s own writings which have survived since the 5th century, and featuring insights from leading scholars, this documentary presents the British-born patron saint of Ireland’s origins, epic life, and far-reaching legacy, in dramatically new light, stripping away the myths and legends to reveal who this man truly was.