I keep staring at this picture because it looks a bit like a painting, but it’s actually just a picture I took in 2015 when I visited Downpatrick and used the zoom on my little digital camera to get this shot.

I’m posting about Saint Patrick and Downpatrick today in honor of the upcoming holiday and because I don’t think I’ve ever posted the pictures that I took when visiting Saint Patrick’s grave.

The graveyard is beside Down Cathedral. Parts of the structure date back to 1183. We didn’t go inside the church, though I can’t remember why. Next visit.

The graveyard was so peaceful, as most are, and the artwork on the stones, at least on those time and weather hadn’t scrubbed away, was beautiful and appropriately haunting. Some of the stone markers were over 400 years old!

Saint Patrick’s grave is the focal point of the graveyard.

The plaque gives details of the site, most importantly that it is supposedly the resting site of three saints: Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), Brigid (patron saint of poets and healers), and Columba, or Colmcille, (patron saint of Derry). There is even a couplet for it that goes

“In Down, three saints one grave do fill, Patrick, Brigid and Colmcille.”

The large stone marker was actually placed there in the 1900’s to dissuade people from taking the dirt over the grave as a memento of their pilgrimage or before emigrating. A holy bit of home to keep them safe on their journey?

If you look closely, you can still see the etching of “Patrick” and a Celtic cross in the stone.

We also visited The Saint Patrick Centre, a beautiful exhibition not only about Saint Patrick, but also the history of Ireland as he lived it.

March 17th is supposedly the date of Patrick’s death in the 5th century AD. Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day means remembering your Irish roots (if you have them!) since Saint Patrick has become a symbol of Irish national identity. There are so many myths and stories about Saint Patrick, even his own writings from his time as a slave and afterwards Confessio and Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus. If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend a visit to Downpatrick and The Saint Patrick Centre and his grave site. The history alone will make the time spent there special.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!