According to folklore, on the day of Judgement Christ will judge all other nations, while St Patrick will be the judge of the Irish.

The grave of St Patrick, Downpatrick.

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

The Life of Patrick recounts of how a miracle averted a war between the O'Neill & Ulster tribes over possession of the saints body. Instead, the body was placed into an ox-drawn cart, & under God's guidance they chose Downpatrick ('Patrick's fortress') as his resting place.

At the foot of Croagh Patrick, Ireland's holy mountain, Co Mayo.

Jonathan Swift in 1712 notes that Parliament in London is closed for St Patrick's Day & saw so many crosses in the Mall he thought all the world Irish!

Thomas Dingley on tour in the Kingdom of Ireland, 1681 - records wearing of green, shamrock, scenes of thanksgiving & drinking.

The medieval ruins of Turlough Abbey, Co Mayo. St Patrick began his ministry here in the year 441 AD.

St Patrick is said to have banished snakes from Ireland. This echoes Honoratus of France, who drove snakes from the island where he founded his abbey in the French Riviera. The young Patrick later trained at the abbey, the legend becoming assoc. with him.

Snakes represent earthly wisdom & the power of good judgement. Moses strikes down the snake-staff on Pharaoh's throne, freeing Israel from Egypt; when banished Lucifer transforms into a serpent. Snake venom symbolises the delayed but decisive effect of performing justice. ☘️🐍

'St Patrick, the hero, is the incarnation and perfection of a social value or ideal which conforms to the group which created him.'

Lig-Na-Paiste is said to have been the last serpent in Ireland, left over from the beginning of the world. Trapped in Lough Foyle by St Patrick, he remains there until the Day of Judgement for all his evil deeds.

Dawn at Beltany Stone Circle, Donegal, Ireland - dates from around 1400-800 BC and comprises 64 standing stones

Menhir, or standing stones, were placed to mark burials, travel routes & tribal boundaries. They may have also served a ritual purpose.

The Irish tradition of handfasting is associated with holed standing stones. Couples would make their engagement vows over the stone

In Celtic story-telling tradition, men who righted the standing stone were admitted into the warrior ascendancy on completion of the feat.