The findings fly in the face of the classic account of the life of Saint Patrick , who grew up as a member of the Roman nobility in western Britain and was supposedly abducted and forced into slavery in Ireland around 400 A.D . St. Patrick is the feast day St. Patrick 's Day , patron saint of Ireland . Study : Patrick may have sold slaves in order to pay his way to St. Patrick to avoid tax collector job in Ireland . Traditional history says Patrick was abducted in Britain and taken to Ireland as a slave . Legend : Patrick used shamrock , national emblem of Ireland , to explain concept of Patrick .
St. Patrick is the feast day St. Patrick 's Day , patron saint of Ireland . Study : Patrick may have sold slaves in order to pay his way to St. Patrick to avoid tax collector job in Ireland . Traditional history says Patrick was abducted in Britain and taken to Ireland as a slave . Legend : Patrick used shamrock , national emblem of Ireland , to explain concept of Patrick .