SmokeyTheBear

26 There is a dispute as to his place of burial; the site with the strongest claim seems to be Down Cathedral, where a large slab of rock on which the word Patric is inscribed.

27 Veneration of Patrick was apparent in the eight century AD. At this time Patrick's status of national apostle was made independently of Rome; he was claimed locally as a saint before the practice of canonisation was introduced by the Vatican.

28 Fables about Patrick ridding Ireland of snakes or his use of the shamrock to explain the Trinity, still endure as part of modern St Patrick's Day folklore and custom.

29 What's good luck on Saint Patrick's Day?: Finding a four-leaf clover (that's double the good luck it usually is). Wearing green. (School children started this tradition of their own -- they used to pinch classmates who don't wear green on this holiday). Kissing the blarney stone.

30 Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide.

31 In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government changed this law, and last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin.

32 An Irish blessing: hahaha8220;May you always have...
Walls for the winds, A roof for the rain
Tea beside the fire, Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all your heart might desire.hahaha8221;

33 According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a shamrock is "any of several similar-appearing trifoliate plants (plants whose leaves are divided into three leaflets). Common shamrocks include the wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) or any of various plants of the pea family (Fabaceae), including white clover (Trifolium repens) and suckling clover (Trifolium dubium)." Wood sorrel is shipped in large quantities from Ireland to other countries for St. Patrick's Day.

34 An Irish toast: He preached with such wonderful force
the innocent natives his teaching,
with wine washed down each discourse,
Says he: "I detest all dry preaching!"

35 Writings attributed to St. Patrick are his Epistle to Cortices accepted as authentic, and a fine hymn in Irish, the Breastplate of St. Patrick. The Epistle, written in Latin, beseeches Coroticus, a British chief, to free some Irish Christians whom he had taken captive.

36 Croagh Patrick, colloquially called 'The Reek', is God's conical shape beacon above the town of Westport. The summit is the holy ground on which St. Patrick supposedly rested, fasted and reflected during all 44 days of lent in 441 A.D. Here, too, according to legend, is where Ireland's patron saint banished the snakes from the island. It has been a place of pilgrimage ever since.

37 The mountain is renowned for its annual Patrician Pilgrimage in honour of Patrick, and penitential exercises have been faithfully handed down by many generations. On the last Sunday of July each year, its slopes are full of pilgrims, many barefooted, climbing to the summit to attend Mass in the ancient stone church.

38 Near the base of the mountain is Tobair Padraig, or Patrick's Well, named for the natural spring nearby where Patrick baptized his first Irish converts. The present structure was built in the 15th century, and today is completely restored. A stone statue of St. Patrick - holding a green clover to the heavens in his right hand - stands at the beginning of the path.

39 Believe it or not, the colour of St. Patrick was not actually green, but blue! In the 19th century, however, green came to be used as a symbol for Ireland.

40 Lough Derg (Red Lake) Co. Donegal.
This island contains a shrine to Saint Patrick. Legend says he killed the lake monster there and its blood dyed the water red. Many people go there on three day pilgrimages to pray from the first of June to the 15th of August. Lough Derg is said to be a cure for the seven deadly sins.

41 Saint Patrick's Isle is located at the Isle of Man, just off the coast of Ireland. This island is where Saint Patrick is said to have brought Christianity to the people there.

42 Downpatrick Shrine Downpatrick, Northern Ireland.
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (originally named Church of Dendalethglass) is where Saint Patrick, Saint Brigid, and Saint Columba are believed to be buried. A bell, tooth, and hand from Saint Patrick were discovered in the 12th century. Saint Patrick's hand was enshrined in silver and placed in the high altar of the Abbey Church. Water was poured through it to heal sores. The bell and tooth are now in the National Museum of Dublin.

43 Sabhail (Barn) (pron. SAUL) County Down, Northern Ireland.
Legend says Saint Patrick died here and received his last communion from Bishop Tassach.

44 The first church founded by Saint Patrick is located at Mag-inis. The ground is considered holy.

45 Ard Macha or Armagh (Macha's Height) Northern Ireland.
Saint Patrick built the Cathedral Church and founded the See of Armagh in 444 AD. The Primate of the Church of Ireland is housed there today.

46 An Irish toast: hahaha8220;St. Patrick was an Irish man he came from decent people
On a rock he built a church & on this church a steeple
Now it's the red rose for England, the thistle for Scot,
the shamrock for Ireland - the pride of the lot!!!
This toast often given but like my deceased grandmother
who used to deliver it, never forgot!hahaha8221;

47 Dunshaughlin Co. Meath.
Domnach Sechnaill church was built and the first hymn composed in Ireland was written by St. Sechnall. It honors Saint Patrick, is 23 stanzas long, and is known as Hymn in Patrick's Praise.

48 Dublin (Black Pool):
Saint Patrick's Cathedral (built on Saint Patrick's Day 1192 over four older churches) has a stone slab called Saint Patrick's Well Stone. The stone covered the remains of Saint Patrick's Well from the ninth century AD, where Saint Patrick baptized converts and was unearthed in 1901.

49 An Irish toast: hahaha8220;The Scots have their whisky, the Welsh have their tongue, but the Irish have Paddy, who's second to none!hahaha8221;

50 St Patrick is credited with establishing the Leap Year tradition of women proposing to men. The story states this was because St Bridget complained that women were tired of waiting for marriage proposals. The story also says that Bridget proposed to him, but he refused

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