Who was Saint Patrick?

Since I became involved in the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace my collection of reference material on a variety of subjects continues to grow.
Today is St. Patrick's Day.  I'm watching the sun coming out this morning (finally), the grass beginning to turn... and while putting on my green earrings and Celtic amulet I decided to thumb through "Saints Preserve Us" by Sean Kelly and Rosemary Rodgers to refresh my knowledge about St. Patrick.
The following reference was taken directly from book (which I would definitely recommend, by the way)...

enjoy your day!

~ diane

"Partick- March 17
 Patron of Ireland and Nigeria; Invoked Against the Snakes

Patrick wasn't Irish; he was Welsh-Italian.  His name wasn't Patrick, it was Succat.  He wasn't the first Christian missionary sent to Ireland-that was Saint Palladius.  And there were never any snakes in the country to begin with.  But aside from that, everything you know about Patrick is true.  He was declared by the Sacred Congregation of Rites to be the Patron of Nigeria in April 1961."