ABSTRACT
In 431, Palladius was sent by Pope Celestine I (422-32 CE) as first bishop to ‘those of the Irish believing in Christ’.1 The Irish connection with Rome goes back, therefore, to the very beginning of organized Christianity in the country. Of the mission of Palladius we know virtually nothing. It appears as a shadow in seventh-century documents dealing with the cult of Patrick. Patrick in his own writings makes no direct reference to Rome, and his association with Rome is a result of Armagh propaganda in the seventh century as his developing cult elevated him to the status of national Apostle. However, it is in the documents concerning the cult of Patrick and the slightly earlier works of Columbanus that we find information concerning the Irish relationship with Rome.
