St. Patrick’s hidden years in captivity explored in new EWTN docudrama

The new film on St. Patrick, directed by Campbell Miller, spans the period of time beginning with Patrick’s abduction to Ireland by slave traders until his eventual escape from the island.

A new EWTN docudrama called “Saint Patrick: The Hidden Years,” set to air globally on St Patrick’s Day, is the latest film by award-winning Irish director Campbell Miller. His previous works for EWTN includes films focusing on Knock Shrine, Father Willie Doyle, and the Catholic faith in Ireland in penal times.

The film on St. Patrick spans the period of time from Patrick’s abduction to Ireland by slave traders to his eventual escape of the island by boat.

Miller shared with EWTN News the inspiration behind his latest project, which he cowrote with his wife, Kristi.

“Not a lot of people know what actually happened to [Patrick] during this period,” Miller said. “They know that he was brought to Ireland, but they don’t understand what he had to go through. We made sure that we got that across to the audience so that they can understand his conversion.”

He added: “It wasn’t until he had to go through hardship and endure working as a shepherd on remote Slemish mountain that he took ownership of his faith and turned towards God.”

There is a lot that has been written about St. Patrick over the years, but Miller said he anchored his script and story in Patrick’s own autobiography. “We built the story on what he said in his ‘Confessio,’” he said.

Miller explained: “Patrick came from a Roman family. His grandfather and father were both clerics, and his father worked in collecting taxes for the Roman government of the time. Patrick’s family would have had slaves themselves. They would have treated them much better than the way the Irish treated slaves. He would have had teachers come in for him and his family.”

“So he ate very well. He dressed very well. He came from a lovely family. Being torn abruptly away from that when he was 16 and brought to Ireland to live on his own, looking after sheep on Slemish mountain, would have been a major change.”

Miller said a number of people were very helpful the the process of making the film.

“I managed to get help from the St. Patrick Centre, Tim Campbell, who manages the center and is a fountain of knowledge on St. Patrick, as well as Martina Purdy and Elaine Kelly, and Father Feargal McGrady. They are all historians, knowledgeable about St. Patrick and what Ireland and Britain were like at that time. Their contribution is invaluable.”

Miller also said that the cast and crew are from Ireland. “St. Patrick is played by two actors — the young Patrick is played by Kasper Andreasen, and older St. Patrick by Michael Sullivan. I worked with them before and I knew how capable they are.”

He added: “We had a very talented crew that have worked on major productions here in Ireland on the likes of ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Hope Street,’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’ To be able to get that quality of workmanship in EWTN projects, I feel absolutely blessed. It’s the exact same crew that work with me in every production, it’s like a family coming back together again, and that makes it all somewhat simpler. I would also thank John Elson and the acquisitions team at EWTN.”

Scriptwriting was a joint effort between Campbell and his wife, of whom he said admiringly and simply: “She put a lot of time and effort into writing this.”

Most of the docudrama scenes were shot on location at the former British army barracks in Ballykinler County Down. Miller said the remaining army personnel there were incredibly helpful and accommodating, providing every assistance Miller and his team required. They also filmed in the scenic mountains of Mourne and in Donard forest, literally outside Campbell’s back door.

Although St. Patrick has been the best known saint of Ireland for many years, Miller spoke about the importance of his story for today’s Catholics.

“St. Patrick is very relevant today. There we have someone who was brought to his knees. He was taken away from his family. He had to live alone. He was made a slave, enduring ridiculous amounts of hardship that we just couldn’t fathom.”

He added: “And at that point when you’re at your lowest, like Patrick, there’s only one person you can turn to and that is God. God gives you hope that things will get better, and I believe that’s a message that people need to hear today, that things can get better. Just turn towards Christ and ask for his help. Patrick did that, he called out, and God answered, directing him: ‘There’s a boat there to take you home.’”

Hope is a distinct theme that runs through Miller’s work.

“It’s not intentional; it’s something that seems to be there with the characters and situations we end up making films about,” he said. “Hope is something that we all need and no matter who you are, when your back is against the wall, when you’re down on your knees and you feel there’s nothing else, that’s what a lot of people turn to at that point.”

He added: “God sees everything at one time, he knows that it’s going to get better for us. We need that faith in him and we need that hope.”

Miller’s next project is a new TV series for EWTN for later 2026, which will be based in Ireland. “It involves two priests working out of a small rural parish. One being a priest of 40 years, and the other just out of seminary. There’s going to be a lot of comedy moments within it,” he said.

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