Darerca

CHAPTER 11

One of the things Paddy needed to do was to convert the high King Laoghaire and if he succeeded it would make his task easier because in one stroke the Druids and the chieftains would fall behind. He knew they would be expecting him with their seers and sorcerers.
The druids were a powerful force who led the people. For the most part they were good leaders and women druids were known as banduri. They saw themselves as a priestly class there to administer to the people and maintain their Celtic heritage and traditions and culture. The Romans hated them mostly because they practiced 'human sacrifices'.
He found Laoghaire to be an arrogant'sod'; an Irish insult. The man didn't want to hear the Christian message.
Paddy picked a shamrock from the ground to explain the Holy Trinity and the principle of three deities in one - God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit. Some of the druids fingered the shamrock thoughtfully but others were openly hostile to Paddy's words.

Saint Palladius, a bishop sent by Pope Celestine 1 to Ireland, and a man who also happened to be called Patrick had departed Hibernia. His departure to Caledonia left a void which Paddy filled. Sent back to Ireland, Paddy ended his voyage at Strangford Lough. He converted a local chieftain, Dichu, who gave him the use of a barn which Paddy readily converted to a church. It was his first church on Irish soil and was located at Saul, County Down.
Paddy then travelled south making for the Hill of Tara. Arriving at the same time that Easter fell, he lit a paschal fire atop the Hill of Slane, something which irked the druids as no fires were to be lit before the one on the Hill of Tara - pagan beliefs. The druids warned King Laoghaire that it must be extinguished or it would burn forever. Paddy and his followers were summoned to Tara, and as they went they chanted the Lorica or Saint Patrick's Breastplate.
Laoghaire was impressed by the bearing of Paddy. He wasn't converted himself, preferring to remain a pagan, but he gave Paddy permission to operate throughout his realm.
The druids were mad. Killing mad.
They had thought themselves rid of all these teachings when Palladius had departed. Palladius had concentrated on the southern end of Ireland, and he wasn't the only one with such beliefs.
It was known that a band of monks had set up quarters on the Skellig Michael off the coast of Kerry, and were practicing their faith from the stone beehive huts they had erected on the Skelligs. The druids left them alone though, realising they could hardly do any harm when they were stuck on a rock in the Atlanticum Mare. Paddy's sister, Darerca, also had an influence in that region, particularly on Valentia Island.
Laoghaire was thinking. He needed to appease the druids. A thought occurred to him. "We'll have a trial by fire," he announced.
Laoghaire could see that Patrick favoured Benen, and he felt sure that Paddy would refuse the challenge. Once he refused, the druids would have the upper hand.
"Fire?" Paddy queried.
Laoghaire nodded, an evil smile on his features. "There's a barn near here. If your God is as powerful as you say...then no harm will come to your man. You'll place Benen inside whilst we set it alight."
Paddy didn't look happy.
Laoghaire waited, an expectant smile playing around his lips. The druids also smiled.
Paddy wiped the smile off all their faces with his next words. "I agree to the test on one condition."
"That being?"
"One druid to be placed inside the barn too."
Now it was the turn of the druids to look concerned. They drew straws, but the man who drew the short one looked none too happy. "Is there no other way of deciding this?" he growled.
Laoghaire shook his head, and gave orders for his men to take the two men to the barn. Both were tied to a post inside. Laoghaire's men set the straw alight. The fire erupted.
The flames caught immediately. At one point, they thought they heard a scream, but couldn't be sure above the sound of crackling wood.
Laoghaire wasn't expecting either man to escape this inferno. Neither were the druids. Only Paddy's face was composed. His eyes were closed as though he were in deep prayer.
The structure of the barn was nearly gone, and with nothing combustible left, the flames were dying down. Something collapsed, a roof beam, causing most to flinch.
Laoghaire's men moved forward, and helped to stamp down the remaining flames. They saw the druid first.
He was still tied to the post, but his dead body had sagged. The man's features had disappeared, and his whole appearance was black, sunken, totally without life.
A choking cough startled them. They looked at Benen in amazement. He was not only alive, but the flames had left him unscathed.
The druids withdrew into a sullen group. Paddy stepped forward and untied Benen's hands. The man walked unaided. There was a grim smile on his face. "Now...do you believe?"
Laoghaire was speechless.
The head of the druids was angry. "What manner of sorcery, is this?" he demanded.
Paddy was scathing in his reply. "There's no sorcery," he explained. "Our God saved Benen...you've seen this with your own eyes. Now will you believe?"
The druids had no answer and neither did Laoghaire. But many in the crowd believed. It could be seen in the way they bowed their heads as Paddy and Benin went by.
Laoghaire finally gave his blessing. "Let it be so," he said, approving Paddy's teaching. "You have my blessing Patrick...you may continue your preaching."
"Do you wish to be baptized, King Laoghaire?" Paddy's face was hopeful.
The king looked at the druids and shook his head. "No," he decided. "I'll stick with what I know."
In reality, Laoghaire had wanted to say 'yes' to Paddy's request, but he still had to contend with the druids when Paddy had gone on his merry way. His father, Niall, would have turned in his grave.
He needed to show strength. Weakness could prove fatal to his kingship. That would never do!