St Patrick is now almost synonymous with Ireland -- and his feastday on March 17 has become a great festival of 'being Irish' around the world. However, what we can learn about the man is markedly different: a Roman citizen from Britain working in Ireland and at odds with other bishops there about his belief that the end of the world was 'soon to come.' However, the seventh-century creation of the mythical Patrick by the theologian Muirchú is a fascinating example of how memory can shape experience.