St Patrick is the most famous saint associated with Ireland and is a global icon. He is closely connected with the ancient eastern area of County Down and he established his first church at Saul which is a short distance from Downpatrick, County Down.

He first arrived in Ireland at the age of 16 after being captured as a slave and many years later he returned as a missionary to spread Christianity throughout Ireland in the 5^th century. He was a humble man and a visionary. Saint Patrick is buried on Cathedral Hill in Downpatrick beside the magnificent Down Cathedral. Downpatrick is one of the most important spiritual sites in Ireland and Cathedral Hill became an important pilgrimage site through the centuries after the death of Saint Patrick. You can follow in the footsteps of St Patrick as you walk on the oldest pilgrim route in Ireland near Downpatrick in County Down.

There is an exhibition on Christianity in the Down County Museum. In the St Patrick’s Centre there is an audio -visual display on St Patrick. Both places are centrally located in Downpatrick.

The ancient eastern coastal area of County Down has a very rich maritime heritage. The earliest settlers to reach the island of Ireland are believed to have arrived by boat from Britain and there are important features along the east coast of County Down associated with early settlers e.g. the Neolithic Cairn on the Upper Ards Peninsula coastline.

Transport by water was very important in early times as much of the island of Ireland was forested and there were no roads. Invading groups such as the Vikings arrived by sea. They had a base on an island in Strangford Lough.

There are many stories of shipwrecks and heroic rescues by locals living along the coast through the centuries. The coastline with its numerous bays was ideally suited to smuggling which was rife in the 19th century and there are great stories of some colourful characters and how they evaded detection.

Strangford and Portaferry were ports and emigrant ships sailed from Portaferry to North America.

The Celtic Year starts on the night of the 31st October/1st November . This is known as Samhain. It was believed in early times that the deceased members of the family returned on this night to their old home for a few hours hence the old tradition of leaving out bread and water. The 1st May, May Day, Bealtaine is the first day of summer – celebration of fertility- one of the two most ancient and powerful festivals in the Celtic calendar(the other being Samhain) The best loved tradition was to bring home the May blossom- the white flowers of the hawthorn that are abundant at this time of year. This is the only time that the taboo is lifted on touching the fairy thorn. In all other seasons it must never be interfered with as it was unlucky to do so. At 1st May people go out into the fields and bring back mayflowers to decorate door lintels and barns. You can still see knots of flowers tied on door knockers on May Day in some rural areas. The 21 June is the midsummer solstice and is associated with ancient Celtic custom of bonfire building. The fire was lit at sunset and tended until midnight had passed. Next day the bonfire’s cold ashes were sprinkled in the fields. There was a belief that if the whole ritual were not observed by the community their crops might fail or animals die. The Celtic year ends with a thanksgiving for the harvests. The 31st July/ 1st August is the Lughnasa first fruits festival. This is the season of harvests and all the fruits had to be gathered of the trees before the 1 November.

Celtic Saints and Celtic customs

If you are interested in traditions such as the making of the St Brigid’s cross, Brigid Watson can deliver a workshop on this and give participants an opportunity to make their own St Brigid’s Cross while learning about this revered Irish saint and the features of Celtic Christianity.The photograph on the left shows a group making their own individual St Brigid’s cross.