![\"\"](\"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/PicMonkey-Collage-8-1024x1024.jpg\")
Through history, myth and legend, St Patrick\u2019s legacy and his influence and impact breathes within the landscapes, culture and people of his heartland in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\nThrough history, myth and legend, St Patrick\u2019s legacy and his influence and impact breathes within the landscapes, culture and people of his heartland in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
Walk in his footsteps amid the seclusion and beauty of Slemish Mountain, visit his grave at Down Cathedral, and explore the Ecclesiastical Capital of Ireland, Armagh, where two majestic cathedrals bear his name.<\/p>\n
Rachel Quigg, Destination PR Officer said: \u201c<\/em>Northern Ireland will come alive this St Patrick\u2019s Day with celebrations, parades, concerts, traditional music and great fun guaranteed no matter which county you visit, with a wide range of family friendly, inclusive events. It is the perfect way to start a weekend in Northern Ireland before exploring the legacy of St Patrick\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n The\u00a0Home of St Patrick Festival 2017<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0taking place until 19th<\/sup> March is directly inspired by the life and work of St Patrick and held in the landscape once his home, in Counties Armagh and Down.<\/p>\n This year’s festival\u00a0literally has something for everyone and\u00a0will be narrated through walks, talks, bells, drums, processions, music, art and exclusive concerts set in breath-taking locations. Many\u00a0Irish and international artists will come\u00a0together for\u00a0this year\u2019s programme to\u00a0include world renowned writers such as Elif Shafak and one-time\u00a0punk royalty, Viv Albertine, and some as far as Australia too arrive to celebrate the life of the Spiritual Father of our island.<\/p>\n Some of the festival highlights include:<\/p>\n Visitors are invited to meet at St. Patrick\u2019s Church of Ireland Cathedral at 9pm where Archbishop Richard Clarke will lead the congregation in prayer. He will then guide the congregation via torchlight to St. Patrick\u2019s Roman Catholic Cathedral to be welcomed by Archbishop Eamon Martin. This symbolic expression of the unity of the Churches is a reflection of St. Patrick\u2019s own journey of uniting the Irish people with Christianity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Celebrate St. Patrick\u2019s Day in Armagh with a spectacular display of colour, music, dance and entertainment for all to enjoy as the wonderful procession themed around \u2018Myths & Legends\u2019 snakes its way through the city centre.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Voice of the Irish concert takes its inspiration from St. Patrick writing in his Confessio that it was literally \u2018the voice of the Irish\u2019 calling to him to return and introduce Christianity to Ireland. This inaugural concert with its own inspirational complement of up to 100 young musicians from across Ireland performing a programme of popular songs, movie themes and classics interspersed with readings and performances by some of Ireland\u2019s leading actors and musicians. A unique experience of one of the largest orchestral line-ups ever in a wonderful Cathedral acoustic.<\/p>\n In Belfast<\/strong>, the city will mark St Patrick’s Day with a colourful carnival parade and free concert on Friday 17th<\/sup> March<\/a>. The streets will be awash with colour from 12 noon as the parade leaves Belfast City Hall snaking its way through the heart of the city to Custom House Square where the annual concert will feature headline act, X Factor runner-up, Fleur East and traditional tunes from band The Rare Aul Stuff. Community groups from across Belfast’s cultural spectrum will take part in this year’s Belfast themed parade, alongside professional and amateur performers, costumed characters, musicians and dancers.<\/p>\n Enjoy a truly traditional St Patrick’s Day at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum<\/strong> in Cultra, Co. Down with a unique festival of music, seasonal foods and crafts. Listen to storytelling, sample homemade traditional foods and solve the St Patrick’s Day Quiz as you make your way around the Folk Museum. A visit to the stunning ‘Step in Time: A Story of Irish Dance’ exhibition in the Folk Galleries has never been more fitting on this day. With traditional craft demonstrations, music, farming life and all the usual shops, houses and school houses to pop in and out of, there is something for everyone on 17th<\/sup> March<\/a>!<\/p>\n Derry City and Strabane District Council will mark St Patrick\u2019s Day with an action packed weekend of activities for all the family at their Spring Carnival<\/strong> from 17- 19th<\/sup> March<\/a>, a \u2018Feast of Great Events\u2019. The theme of this year\u2019s festival is Forever Young and it will run in conjunction with the LegenDerry Food Festival<\/a> and Ubuntu Global Festival as part of a fun filled three-day weekend. The LegenDerry Food Festival showcasing the talents of our local chefs and producers. Live Cooking Demos, Artisan Foods, Street Theatre, Music. Kids workshops & Activiwill have live cooking demos, artisan foods, street theatre, music, children\u2019s workshops and activities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Further exploration of St Patrick\u2019s heartland and Christian Heritage in Northern Ireland is possible not just on St Patrick’s Day, but year-round with attractions, exhibitions and events making it worth visiting at any time, and an evocative exploration of St Patrick\u2019s heartland is possible by driving the 57-mile Saint Patrick’s Trail<\/a> or following the Saint Patrick’s Way<\/a> walking route.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For more information on upcoming events and following the trail of Saint Patrick in Northern Ireland, visit <\/strong>www.discovernorthernireland.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" St Patrick\u2019s Day is just around the corner, and Northern Ireland has a packed programme of events lined up to celebrate Ireland\u2019s patron saint. Through history, myth and legend, St Patrick\u2019s legacy and his influence and impact breathes within the landscapes, culture and people of his heartland in Northern Ireland. Walk in his footsteps amid … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13611"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13611"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13617,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13611\/revisions\/13617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}DOWN & ARMAGH<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\n
\n
\n
BELFAST AREA<\/strong><\/h1>\n
DERRY~LONDONDERRY<\/strong><\/h1>\n