The patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick, was born in Scotland around 385 and was carried off by pirates to seven years of slavery in Antrim. He escaped, trained as a missionary and returned, devoting the rest of his life to the work of bringing Christianity to Ireland. Of St Patrick's writings only his Confession and a letter addressed to Coroticus (a British Chieftain) survive, but much biographical material was collected in the seventh century by the historians Muirchu and Tirechan. Michael Sheane examines these early texts and retraces the footsteps of a saint whose impact is still felt in Ireland more than 1,500 years after his death.