St. Patrick: The Irish Legend
| St. Patrick: The Irish Legend | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Martin Duffy Robert Hughes |
| Directed by | Robert Hughes |
| Starring | Patrick Bergin Malcolm McDowell Alan Bates Susannah York |
| Music by | Inon Zur |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Production company | FOX Family Channel |
| Original release | |
| Release | 12 March 2000 |
St. Patrick: The Irish Legend is a 2000 television historical drama film about the life of Saint Patrick,[1] the Welsh-born fifth-century saint who brought Christianity to Ireland.
Plot
Cast
- Patrick Bergin as Saint Patrick
- Malcolm McDowell as Quentin
- Alan Bates as Calpornius, Patrick's father
- Susannah York as Concessa, Patrick's mother
- Luke Griffin as Young Patrick
- Eamonn Owens as Benignus
- Christopher McHallem as Auxilius
- Michael Caven as Iserninus
- Stephen Brennan as Briain
Production
The film was shot on location in Ireland.[1][2] After reading about the saint, Bergin got into the habit of reciting the prayer "Saint Patrick's Breastplate" every day before filming,[2] and continued this into later life: "if you do the movements for that you are essentially doing a kind of yoga".[3]
Supporting actor Alan Bates was paid £30,000 for two days' work in March 1999; he thought poorly of the film but used his salary to buy a Renault he coveted.[4]
Release
The film premiered on Fox Family Channel on March 12, 2000.[1]
Reception
Variety praised Bergin ("though it appears that even he is straining to keep a straight face through some of the more fantastical sequences"), and wrote that McDowell, Bates and York "bring some much-needed dignity to the production". It summed up: "An impressive cast and fabulous locales can’t elevate this well meaning but completely absurd costumer from years of certain servitude in parochial school auditoriums."[1]
Bates's biographer Donald Spoto says, "Drenched in saccharine piety and utterly lacking in historical accuracy, the television movie presented Patrick mostly as a sideshow miracle worker."[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Fries, Laura (9 March 2000). "St. Patrick: The Irish Legend". Variety. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ a b Elias, Justine (12 March 2000). "Beyond the Revelry: The Saintly Life Of Patrick". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ Lynch, Donal (18 September 2017). "The prayers of Saint Patrick". Irish Independent. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ a b Spoto, Donald (2007). Otherwise Engaged: The Life of Alan Bates. BBC Large Print. pp. 383–384. ISBN 978-1-405-64885-1.
External links