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St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography. By Phillip Freeman. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2004,
216 pp., $23.00.
In his book, St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography, Phillip Freeman seeks to provide a

heartfelt account of the life of St. Patrick aside from the many legends that have been told and

show the real truth in how he helped change Irish history and culture. In this book, Freeman

focuses on the conversion of the Irish to Christianity as the basis of the greatest change Ireland

would ever experience and highlights Patrick at the one who passionately led them to this

conversion. In this review, the reader will be enlightened on the key points that Freeman

highlighted in his book about St. Patrick’s life and what made him so extraordinary in his faith,

which is something we can still learn from today. It will also examine the strengths and

weaknesses of the author in achieving his goal on the stated focus of this book.

In traditional biographical form, Freeman begins this book discussing what is known of

Patrick’s birth and lineage. Chapter one is centered around his early years, being born in Britain

during the end of the fourth century to an elite family known for both Roman nobility and church

leadership. This background would shape Patrick’s future giving him not only status, but also a

dual language of both Latin and British, which was at the time Celtic and closely related to the

language of Gaul and Ireland.

In chapter two of his book, Freemen tells of Patrick’s capture into Irish slavery just

before his sixteenth birthday. Patrick was taken during a raid on his across the Irish sea to a place

where he would tend sheep in an unknown location for six years, during which time God would

not only protect him, but would shape and mold him into the vessel that He planned to use. After

receiving a vision from God of escaping and returning to Britain, Patrick would courageously

flee and successfully make his way home, though he would not stay there. While little is known

about how long Patrick stayed in Britain before his return, Freemen notes that it is likely that he
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received training as a deacon and priest in his twenties and early thirties, and then returned to

minister to the Irish.

The remaining chapters of Freeman’s book chronicle what is known about Patrick’s time

in Ireland and the profound influence he had on Christianity there. Not only would Patrick face

huge struggles with pirates and druids, but he would ultimately go up against a society that was

strongly engaged in a religious worship of gods and a belief in magical bards and a mysterious,

invisible Otherworld that was always present and watching. His greatest struggle would be in

convincing the Irish of the falseness of such beliefs that had held them captive for generations to

accept the truth of Christ. In the end, as Freeman notes in his book, Christianity would overtake

this false religion and would be well established as a result of the divine inspiration and work

that St. Patrick did there.

In his biography on the life of St. Patrick, Philip Freeman did an excellent job

highlighting the life of St. Patrick and his action to shape Christianity in Ireland against the

backdrop of what was occurring historically at that time in the fifth century. This is a strength of

the book as the author not only detailed in narrative, chronological form the key details of

Patrick’s life, but he also molded it to have significance in what is known historically about

Ireland at the time. As such, one reading this book not only acquires a knowledge of this great

saint and his impact upon a nation, but also learns more about society on a much broader scale

and beyond the boundaries of just Ireland. A second strength that can be attributed to Freeman is

his use of Patrick’s letters. Through the use of Patrick’s own writings, Freeman was able to

capture not only Patrick’s story, but also his emotion and deep faith in God. By capturing the

passion of St. Patrick, the reader is engaged in a greater understanding of the work of God when

one is called to action. From this, the reader will be inspired to examine their own callings and
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whether the passion of their faith may take them where Patrick’s did, even if on a much smaller

scale.

As for weaknesses in this biography of St. Patrick, there are few to be noted as the author

did an excellent job in his writing. One aspect that makes this book somewhat challenging for

the reader is Freeman’s style of jumping from the narrative of Patrick’s life to significant history

and discussions of the culture. At times, it seems that certain sections of the book begin with

historical narrative pertinent to Patrick’s story, but then trail off into insignificant detail. And

while the style of blending history and the account of Patrick’s life is viewed as a strength, the

abrupt nature of the transition at times makes it a challenge for the reader as a second weakness.

Yet when the reader perseveres through those abrupt and often long, insignificant passages, a

blessing is found in the entirety of the biography.

In combining both the historical points and the personal testimony of St. Patrick’s story,

Freeman did adequately support and defend his thesis which was to show the real truth of how

Patrick helped to change Irish history and culture. Though he didn’t have a strong thesis with a

defined argument, Freeman was able to effectively meet his goal of presenting the truth versus

the myth associated with this well-known patron saint. This book is highly recommended for

both those seeking greater academic knowledge, as well as the general audience who know St.

Patrick only through the holiday in March that bears his namesake.

Leah Vintila
Palestine, TX
Liberty University School of Divinity
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