All Things Considered

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Religion & Ethics

Religious affairs programme, tackling thorny issues in a thought-provoking manner

Religious affairs programme, tackling the thornier issues of the day in a thought-provoking manner

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All Things Considered: In Search of St Patrick

In Search of St Patrick

BBC Radio Wales - All Things Considered, In Search of St Patrick

Delyth Liddell investigates the Welshman who was to become patron saint of Ireland.

Delyth Liddell investigates the Welshman behind the patron saint of Ireland. What made this former slave return to his place of captivity?

He's arguably one of Wales' greatest ever cultural exports: a saint who was captured from the land of modern Wales, and who was trafficked to Ireland and enslaved. Delyth Liddell looks into the life of the saint,  and asks what drove this man to bring so many people in Ireland to faith? 

As some of the participants in this programme make clear, we are extremely fortunate to have some of Patrick's very own reflections on his life (his so-called 'Confessio') as well as an irate letter written to the soldiers of a tyrannical leader named Coroticus. In addition, there are later stories that connect Patrick to Wales, including to Llantwit Major and, possibly, to the former mining village of Banwen in the modern borough of Neath-Port Talbot. 

Taking part in the programme are Dr Elva Johnston, University College Dublin; Dr Simon Rodway, Aberystwyth University; and Dr Ali Bonner, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic in the University of Cambridge. Canon Edwin Counsell offers his views on the possible (or spurious!) connection with Llantwit Major, and at Banwen Annette Williams, a lay reader in the Church in Wales,  explains why that village believes it may be a strong candidate for being the place of Patrick's birth.

Presenter: Delyth Liddell
Producer: Geoff Ballinger

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