Saint Machan

St. Machan is the patron saint of Sodor.

During the sixth century, missionaries from the "Iona School" arrived on Sodor and settled in the populated South. St. Machan, however, settled in a cave near Culdee Fell, in the north. That cave has since become a place of pilgrimage. People came from far and wide to be baptised in Coey Machan, named in his honour.

There is a myth that a warband of Vikings planned to plunder Harwick but were converted by St. Machan in awe of his fearlessness. This is most likely false as Viking raids on Sodor did not begin until the eighth century.

St. Machan's Day is 30 April.