List Patron Saints of Britain and Ireland

List Patron Saints of Britain and Ireland

Four unique patron saints are worshiped within the British Isles and Ireland. My “List Patron Saints of Britain and Ireland” post will discuss these saints and their origins and also when to celebrate their feast day.

List Patron Saints of Britain and Ireland

These saints as you may know are George, Andrew, David, and Patrick. They are the patron saints of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland respectively.

Even though these countries do observe a national day, or feast day, for each of these saints they are not recognized as a holiday.

Special Dates:

Saint George’s Day April 23rd

Saint Andrew’s Day November 30th

Saint David’s Day March 1st

Saint Patrick’s Day March 17th

Please watch this:

The following 10-minute video discusses the countries that make up the United Kingdom. The video explores all about this sacred land and also saints as well.

Credit:   ArtArs DJ HomeStudio

Further Information!

After reading this guide why not check out Wikipedia where you can learn more about the saints of the U.K. and Ireland, as well as other national symbols.

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What Is A Patron Saint?

Patron saints have been adopted since the first public churches were built during the Roman Empire.

What Is A Patron Saint?

These churches were built over the graves of these martyrs, and then subsequently the name of the church was given their names.

A martyr acts as an intercessor for the Christians who worship in the church.

The holy lives of these saints show us the saving power of Christ, and without the Lord could not have risen above their fallen nature.

And that is why we can pray to these somewhat mere men, rather than Christ directly.

Reasons a church may bear a saints name:

  • He may have preached there,
  • He had died there,
  • Some or even all of his relics were transferred there.

The patron saints of England and Scotland, George and Andrew, were martyred for their faith.

However, Saint David and Patrick of Wales and Ireland both died of natural causes.

The only saint that was born in the country that he is patron of is Saint David. He was born in South West Wales.

Saint George though was a Roman, Andrew a Jew, and Patrick was born in England to Roman parents.

Let’s look at each of these saints in turn!


Saint George – Patron Saint of England

There is some dispute as to the birthplace of Saint George. However, there is general agreement that it was probably in the region that was known as Cappadocia, which is in modern Turkey.

English Flag

He is said to have been born in 280AD.

A born leader!

He was described as a tall and fair handsome man by sources. When he was 17 years old he joined the Roman Army.

George soon became an elected official within the army and was in charge of 1,000 men.

This position he held was called a Tribune.

He however had converted to the Christian faith, which was forbidden by the Romans. Emperor Diocletian persecuted the church with the hope of reviving the pagan religion.

Rebelling against the Emperor of Rome!

George rebelled against the Emperor and protected the Christians. He was subsequently tortured and beheaded on April 23rd 303.

Due to his bravery and protecting Christians he was eventually recognized as a saint in 900AD. Accounts also show that he performed miracles.

His emblem comprises a red cross over a white background, which is the English flag we all know of today.

Even the Crusaders and Richard the Lionheart would wear a red cross on their white tunics to symbolize chivalry and bravery.

They had brought this emblem of Saint George to Britain sometime in the 12th Century.

Two hundred years after that he was recognized as the Patron Saint of England.

Origin of St George's Day

Check Out More About St George!

The Story of the Dragon

If you are familiar with Saint George then you may have heard the story about how he slew a dragon. This story is said to represent good against evil.

However, even though it is said to be a story there is a belief that a dragon was slain on Dragon Hill in Uffington, Berkshire.

It is also said that the grass does not grow on the spot where the dragon died.

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Saint Andrew – Patron Saint of Scotland

Saint Andrew was born in the early 1st Century and, like his brother Peter, was one of Jesus’s twelve disciples.

Scottish Flag

He was originally from the fishing village of Bethsaida on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Both Andrew and Peter were fishermen.

Leader of the Church!

Later he would become the leader of a church but was crucified in Patras in Greece towards the end of the 1st Century.

He chose to be crucified on a cross that was in the shape of an X, rather than the traditional T shape that his master Jesus died on.

This X crucifix is called “The Saltire“. Constantine the Great would later take his remains to the capital city of Rome, Constantinople.

But where are his remains?

Legend says that 300 years after Andrew’s death either an Irish or Greek monk took these remains ”to the ends of the earth“.

The monk, St Rule, did so under the instruction of an angel.

He took several of Andrew’s fragments but was shipwrecked on the east coast of Scotland during his journey.

The place where he was shipwrecked is now called St Andrews.

However, there is another legend that persists to the origin of this settlement.

It is said that a bishop brought over the relics of St Andrew in 733 and housed them in the chapel there.

Check Out More About St Andrew!

The Picts and the Scots in the year 832AD went to war against the Angles.

The leader of this army, Oengus, vowed that if they were victorious then Saint Andrew would become the Patron Saint of Scotland.

During the morning of the battle white clouds were said to have made an X shape against the blue sky. The Picts and Scots were subsequently victorious.

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Saint David – Patron Saint of Wales

Saint David was born in South West Wales in Britain, unlike the Patron Saints of England and Scotland. His life though was not recorded until 500 years after his death.

Welsh Flag

So, it cannot be said accurately what happened during his life. (Although there are even some disputes or disagreements concerning Saint George and Andrew anyway).

Links to royalty!

On David’s father’s side, he is said to have links with a Welsh prince, whilst his mother may have been a niece of the famous King Arthur.

He was born sometime in the late 5th or early 6th Century.

His education was within a monastery and as a result of this upbringing, he became a missionary and would travel throughout Wales, England, and a region of France known as Brittany.

On his travels, he converted the pagan Celts that he met to Christianity.

Check Out More About St David!

He lived to be 100 years old and died on March 1st 589. He was buried in his monastery in South West Wales.

This is now the site of the impressive St David’s Cathedral in Pembrokeshire.  March 1st is thus celebrated by the Welsh as St David’s Day.


Saint Patrick – Patron Saint of Ireland

Saint Patrick was born in Britain to Roman parents, although his date of birth is not known. It is known that the year was 385AD.

Irish Flag

His father and grandfather were both religious. His father was a deacon, while his grandfather was a priest.

Hard life as a slave!

He was brought over to Ireland by Irish raiders when he was only 16 years old.

He worked as a shepherd in County Antrim, but his life was very hard as he had to endure six years of this slavery.

After this time he managed to escape and return home to Britain.

Despite this harsh life, he learned the Celtic language and also the Celtic religion from his master who himself was a druid.

This education helped him later for his missionary work among the Celtic people when he came back to Ireland.

Check Out More About St Patrick!

The reason for his return was because he imagined them calling for him to come back and walk among them. This is described in a surviving letter of Patrick’s.

His date of death was March 17th 461AD. Two hundred years after his death he was recognized as the Patron Saint of Ireland.

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Thank You and Please Leave A Comment

I hope you enjoyed my List Patron Saints of Britain and Ireland post. If you have any questions or comments then please leave a comment below.

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Summary
Article Name
Patron Saints of Britain and Ireland
Description
This guide will show you the complete list of patron saints of Britain and Ireland. Also included is a brief introduction to each of the saints.
Author
Publisher Name
The Genealogy Guide
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10 thoughts on “List Patron Saints of Britain and Ireland”

  1. Hi Owain, fascinating stuff again! I’m particularly interested in this post since I am Scottish. However, I’m a little bit ashamed to admit that I didn’t know a lot of the information here. St Andrews is a place I have been to many times but I wasn’t aware of the reason behind its name. Obviously I knew it was named after St Andrew but didn’t know how it had happened. I live in Malaysia now and there is a Scottish Presbyterian church called St Andrews very near to my home. It’s amazing how religion and its effect spreads all over the World. I personally think each of these should be a national holiday don’t you?

    1. I am glad that I enlightened. It’s good to know about our history and that of our nation. It’s also interesting how religion has spread across the world. I was quite surprised and pleased though to read that there is a St Andrews church in Malaysia, quite remarkable.

    1. I just wanted to give you a little background story for these special days in the lives the UK and Irish people. I am glad that you enjoyed it. Please check back soon as I will be adding more days like this to this section of the site.

  2. Truly enjoyed your article it was like a work of art. It was also very informative I enjoyed it a lot. I actually did not even know what a patron saint was going into this but it did intrigue me. I did not even know that they built church’s on top of some of the saint’s bodies! Very interesting.

    1. I am glad that you liked it Luis. It is very interesting the origins to these days. I like finding out about them and writing them so people can read up about them on my site here.

  3. Wow! Thank you so much. Last year was my first year living in the UK where I lived in both England and Northern Ireland. I was familiar with St. Patrick (a very popular boozy celebration day all over the world) but I was unfamiliar with the other three. Next time I head back I think I’ll name drop a Saint or two and impress a local!

    1. Hi Kate,

      St Patrick’s Day is also the most popular of these days, due mostly probably because of the drinking. It’s a shame that the other days don’t get as much recognition. Also a shame that these countries can’t celebrate them with a national holiday like other countries around the world.

  4. Great article. Some educating info here. That is what I love about your site. Not only do you have great tips An s guides to help me research my family history, but you also share some great information. I have learned so much from this site. Thank you.

    1. Thank you Brent and you are most welcome. These origin stories are really quite fascinating. It seems that people do know about these special days but they don’t really know much behind them. That’s why I like to explore them and put them on this site to educate people.

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