Festival Celebrations

St Patrick's Day

St.Patrick

St.Patrick was born into a wealthy family in 386AD in Roman Britain. At the age of sixteen Patrick was captured by Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate After Patrick was transported to Ireland, he was forced to work as a slave for six years He worked as a shepherd where he was outdoors and kept away from other people. Lonely and afraid he devoted his life to be a faithful Christian. After just over six years of being held prisoner Patrick escaped saying God had talked to him in a dream telling him it was time to leave Ireland To do this Patrick had to walk 200 miles to the Irish coast After escaping to Britain he said he experienced a second revelation of an angel telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary (person sent somewhere for religious duties). Patrick joined religious training, a course that lasted over fifteen years After becoming a priest he was sent to Ireland to minister Christians who were already in Ireland and to convert the majority of the population who were non-Christians. Even though there was a small number of Christians in Ireland already the main religion on the island at the time was paganism. Patrick taught people about God and one way he did this was by using the three leaves on a shamrock One stood for the father (god) another for the son(Jesus) and the last for the holy spirit St Patrick died on the 17th of March.

Nowadays St. Patrick's Day is celebrated all over the world, particularly in Ireland Many parades and festivals happen on the day, one of the largest occurring in Dublin's City centre In Ireland St Patricks day is a national holiday causing all schools and most establishments to be closed for the day. St.Patrick had a huge impact on Ireland and its future, therefore he has earned the title of the patron Saint of Ireland.

Rosa

Rafter,

1st Year, Rang Aodh

Greetings