Without St. Patrick there would be no Henry County. How can that be? Patricius, whom we now revere as St. Patrick, lived somewhere in Wales. At age 16 he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and sold as a slave. For the next 6 years he tended Chief Milchu's pigs at the base of Mt. Slemish in County Antrim, Ireland. During those years of intense deprivation, starving and naked, he formed his faith. When he eventually escaped he went to France and entered the monastery of St. Lehrins. After a time he felt compelled to return to Ireland and did just that around 400 A.D., establishing centers of religious study for men, women and children throughout that country. Tribal Ireland had no cities so these centers grew rapidly and became hubs of art, learning and prosperity. In time people came from all over Europe to learn from the monks. In these last years of the Roman Empire the Irish monks brought books of all kinds and authors into their centers. Continued >