Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope

Ireland - Following The Way Of St. Patrick, Part 2

Joseph continues his Irish journey in the footsteps St. Patrick, Ireland's Patron Saint, by foot and by car along the Way and Trail of St. Patrick in Northern Ireland. This episode takes him to Slemish Mountain where Patrick served as a slave and Strangford Lough where Patrick returned to Ireland to answer the heavenly call to convert the populace to Christianity. He visits Saul Church, where Patrick began his mission, and Downpatrick Cathedral, St. Patrick's burial site. While on his journey sacred sites abound, but he best connects with his Patrick's spirit in the forests, fields and mountains where he walked, worked and lived. Ireland is a land of myth and legend and rich in customs and traditions. St. Patrick's Day in Downpatrick is filled to the brim with their observance. Here Joseph discovers that while in much of the world St. Patrick's Day is a rousing party, in Ireland the saint's death is commemorated as a time of reconciliation, contemplation, and family and cultural celebrations. In typical Irish fashion it's also a time for mighty craic - a great time!