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2. The legend of St. Patrick the Reborn is quite common in most of the Celtic lands, although under different names. In Wales the story is that of King Arthur, and even England, a heavily Germanic land, has its tales of "Good King Aethelred".

The general outline of the story is always the same: a hero of one stripe or another manages to come to power, either spiritually or politically, and then dies. However, upon his death it becomes known that he shall come again to free his people when they are most at need. The St. Patrick legends are unusual in that the stories do not revolve around the St. Patrick who converted the Irish to Christianity in the fourth century BSE. Instead they seem to involve a King Patrick who briefly united the island after the fall of the last High King and fought against the encroachments of the Norse for a period of ten years before falling in the Battle of the Dunboy.

The legendary King Patrick also had a following of warriors who fought for him, and in which many have seen the likeness of many of the old Celtic Gods, Michael of the Speak, for instance, seems a great deal like Lugh the Long Arm, and even Cuchullan makes an appearance in several of the stories, though his exploits were supposed to have occurred before Ireland was Christianized.

Many of the tales are a muddle of different mythologies and interpretations, and yet still hold a sway over the audience. The poetry is beautiful, especially when read in its Native Gaelic, and whatever the stories lack in coherence they make up in grabbing the imagination and heart.

Of course, as in all such legends, Patrick is struck down by one of his own men who has gone over to the side of the Submissives, and later kills himself out of shame. However, it is said that Patrick and his warriors were brought to a cave to sleep, where they will remain until a shepherd comes upon them and blows upon a great horn and frees them from their slumber. As it turned out, of course, the oppressions of Ragnar VII were not ended by the legendary warrior-saint, but by his contemporary namesake, Patrick O'Sullivan.

After the fall of the Kingdom of Dublin, the epics of the Return of St. Patrick Reborn would form the foundation for the literature of the future Kingdom of Ireland.

Return to The Gael Grows.