This course offers an introduction to the Christian conversion of the Irish that occurred from the third or fourth century onwards. The religious transformation of the Medieval West was a protracted and complicated process that lasted for centuries and saw the creation of new social, religious and political structures. Lying on the edge of the known world the Irish were never part of the Roman Empire but through increased contact were influenced by the changes that affected their neighbours. Christianity is arguably the most significant of these changes – it altered the Irish landscape and society and crucially affected Irish interactions with the outside world.

In this course you will be introduced to the most recent research on the topic, drawing from a rich body of primary source material from the archaeological and literary record. Throughout you will consider the malleable nature of conversion, Christianization and Christian acculturation, and develop an appreciation of the belief systems and structures through which the religion developed on the island. Starting in the pre-Christian period the course considers how the Irish were introduced to the new belief system, the role of missionaries such as Patrick and the various ways in which the earliest Irish Christians forged their new religious identity. The final week of the course involves a trip to the Treasures Room in the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare St., which displays some of the most valuable objects associated with this formative period in Irish history.