Conor McCourt was born and raised during the conflict in the North of Ireland in the historical city of Armagh where St. Patrick built his great stone church in 445AD, making Armagh the ecclesiastical capital also known as the Christian capital of Ireland and centre of Christianity in Ireland. Armagh was also the birthplace of the 11th-century Saint Malachy who was born only a ten-minute walk from McCourt's home; his city is so steeped in religious and cultural treasures that the older he gets newfound respect grows for what rests at his door.