Each year on 17 March, St Patrick’s Day is celebrated across the world, from dyeing the Chicago River green to parades through New York, Sydney, Paris and Munich. But in Northern Ireland, there is a quieter way to mark the occasion: on foot.
Saint Patrick’s Way is an 82-mile walking trail running from Armagh to Downpatrick, linking places associated with Patrick’s life and finishing at his burial site. While much of the world celebrates St Patrick’s Day with raucous parties, this route traces the landscapes where the real story of Ireland’s patron saint unfolded.
Established in 2015, Saint Patrick’s Way was inspired by Spain’s Camino de Santiago. “The initial idea came from a man called Al Graham who had done the Camino and suggested we create something like that in Ireland,” said Tim Campbell, director of the Saint Patrick’s Centre in Downpatrick.
“Saint Patrick’s Day is one of the biggest cultural events in the world, but often Patrick himself gets lost in the revelry. Our aim is to put Saint Patrick back into Saint Patrick’s Day; to reconnect the celebration with the story.”
The man beyond the legends
The saint turns out to be a more complex figure than the familiar legends suggest. The first surprise is that he was not Irish. Born in Roman Britain in the late 4th Century, he was kidnapped as a teenager by Irish raiders and sold into slavery. He escaped to France, later returning to Ireland as a missionary.
