St Patrick

Catalogue Reference:(PRO) BT 50/415no370217

An embroidered image of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, decorates this silk hankerchief which dates from 1901. St Patrick was born in Wales in the late 4th century. As a 16-year-old, he was taken as a slave to Ireland escaping six years later to study in a French monastery. He eventually returned to Ireland with a mission to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity at which task he worked for the next 30 years. The date of his death, March 17, is celebrated as St Patrick's Day.