Community Relations Unit OFMDFM

FESTIVAL NEWS - 20th February 2009

St Patrick’s Festival Commemorates the Life and Legacy of St Patrick

The St Patrick’s Festival in Downpatrick runs from Monday 9 March to Tuesday 17 March, and includes a wide range of events commemorating the life and legacy of St Patrick in County Down.

Already showing at Down County Museum is the Celebrating St Patrick exhibition which features photographs and memorabilia relating to a pageant that took place at Audley’s Castle, Strangford, on 11 June 1932 to commemorate the fifteen hundredth anniversary of the landing of St Patrick at Saul in 432.  The exhibition also includes an original programme, and one of the costumes worn at the pageant.

On Monday 9 March, a St Patrick’s Festival Lecture at Down Cathedral will be given by cathedral expert and author Fred Rankin on the history of the Cathedral.

Down County Museum will host A Day Exploring the World of St Patrick on Friday 13 March, which includes two talks about the archaeological sites associated with St Donard and the ‘Slieve’ place names of the Mourne Mountains, and a bus trip to Maghera and Ballaghanery Churches.

Sunday 15 March will begin another busy day at Down County Museum, with the St Patrick Themed Guided Walk of the Hill of Down, and Stories of St Patrick Told in Irish for beginners and experts alike.

St Patrick’s Day will once again be marked by the annual Pilgrimage Walk to Down Cathedral and the historical coach tour led by local historian Albert Colmer which will uncover The Life and Times of St Patrick, and offer an opportunity to visit many of the main sites associated with St Patrick in County Down.

The highlight of the festival is the famous St Patrick’s Cross Community Carnival Parade, which this year will embrace the theme of ‘The Sun, the Moon and the Stars’, and already has a truly international feel with parade entrants from as far away as Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, and Romania. If your group would like to enter an entertaining float, vehicle or attraction in the parade, or walk in the parade in fancy dress, traditional costume or club colours, please contact the Community Relations and Development Section, Down District Council, on 028

4461 0853. Closing date for Parade Entries is Friday 27 February 2009.

The St Patrick’s Festival programme is filled with activities for the whole family including traditional craft demonstrations, walks, exhibitions, live music, children’s entertainment, dancing, circus acts, table quizzes, treasure hunts, steam train rides, and more!

For further information or to request your free festival programme, call the Festival Office on 028 4461 2233, or view full event listings online by visiting www.st-patricksdayfestival.com.

Design: Activeware

St Patrick’s Grave at Down Cathedral is a place of pilgrimage for many on St Patrick’s Day, with the age-old tradition of collecting a handful of ‘old sod’ from around the grave, re-enacted here by Dawn Chambers, harking back to a time when emigrants took with them this special soil to remind them of home. The St Patrick's Day Festival in Downpatrick runs from 9 - 17 March, and includes many opportunities to learn more about the history of St Patrick.