Diocese of Down & Dromore

Storyteller Bob Hartman took the floor at Down Cathedral and, with the broadest of smiles and buckets of enthusiasm, wished the congregation, "Happy St Patrick's Day!" 

From that moment we were putty in his hands. Inhibitions melted away as adults and children (and all the clergy at the front) happily pretended to be rabbits, tortoises and old men with false teeth as the sheer force of Bob's energy pulled us in. He was a hurricane of a storyteller and we were right in the eye of the storm, enjoying every minute of it. 

Not the usual kind of speaker for the St Patrick's Day Festival Service, but such was the colour and joy of this year’s occasion. Themed, 'Pass it On,’ the focus was on sharing with the next generation the faith and heritage of St. Patrick and school children and families had been specially invited. 

The day began with Holy Communion in Saul Church where the preacher was Rev Ross Harte, Methodist minister in Newcastle Co Down. At the end of the pilgrimage from Saul to Downpatrick, almost 90 children joined the large group of walkers and led them into the Cathedral for the Festival Service.  Pupils from primary schools in Carryduff, Newtownards and Ballybeen each participated in the opening drama which was a reenactment of Patrick’s arrival in Ireland complete with boat and waves. David Trimble, the children’s worker at St Mary’s, Ballybeen, kindly devised and coordinated the drama and led the children’s songs. We were also delighted to have the award-winning Waringstown Primary School Choir perform three beautiful pieces during the service. As a final act of ‘passing it on’, each child was given a scroll inscribed with a portion of St Patrick’s Breastplate and afterwards, several children took part in the wreath laying ceremony at Patrick’s grave. Then it was off to join the rest of the worshippers for an Irish stew and apple tart lunch in the marquee.

Many nationalities joined the celebrations, including a group of couples visiting from Down and Dromore’s link diocese of Albany, New York, and that, believes Bishop Harold, is how it should be. In his St Patrick’s Day message he called for the celebrations to take on a new character reflecting the new era that the province has entered.  He suggested that we:

• Make St Patrick's Day a holiday for all

• Encourage our politicians to reverse some of the traffic across the Atlantic and to invite world leaders here for St Patrick's Day

• Develop as many shared-future events as we can

Bishop Harold continued, "Today in Saul and Downpatrick, the places at the very heart of the story of St Patrick, the seeds of this future were sown in an important way.  We welcomed children, representing a new future for this province, and we celebrated together the Christ who breaks down all boundaries, and who calls us into God’s future as one community in this province."

Bob Hartman expressed his delight in being at the place of Patrick’s burial on the saint’s own day and afterwards described it as a “really special experience”. We hope it was a really special experience for the children who came and that they will carry into their future and ours a fresh understanding of the bold and transformative Christian faith of Patrick. 

Check our photo gallery for more images and have a look at a short video of the day below.