Ireland's Christian Heritage - Touring Ireland in St Patrick's Footsteps - Encountering the Patron Saint of Ireland

In Patrick's Footsteps

From Bernd Biege,
Your Guide to Ireland Travel.
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Touring Ireland With an Early Christian Theme

Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is commonly known as the man who in 432 singlehandedly brought Christianity to the Irish and drove the snakes out of the Emerald Isle. While both these claims are suspect, the historical Patrick seems to have been a very successful missionary in the northern part of Ireland. A tour in his footsteps makes an interesting departure from the beaten track. Dublin

The tour starts in Dublin, at St Patrick's Cathedral - while the current structure owes much of its appearance to the 19th century and has been erected in the 13th. Today's "National Cathedral of Ireland" however replaces a far earlier structure commemorating Patrick. The saint himself is said to have baptized converts at a "holy spring" nearby. Indeed a spring covered with a slab bearing a cross has been found during renovation work. Today it can be seen in the cathedral. Also still on view are the banners of the Knights of St Patrick, an order of chivalry instituted by the British King George III in 1783 but practically defunct since 1922.
The second place to visit in Dublin is the National Museum in Kildare Street. In the collection of medieval artifacts two have a reputed connection to Patrick. A beautiful "bell shrine" dates from around 1100 but was used as a reliquary to commemorate the saint. And a simple iron bell is on view as well. With this bell Patrick called the believers to mass - at least according to tradition, science dates the bell to the 6th or 8th century.
Statues, murals and church windows depicting Saint Patrick, more than often in unhistorical attire, abound in Dublin as they do everywhere in Ireland.
From Dublin a short drive takes you to Slane, a small village with four identical houses at the main crossroads, a castle used for rock concerts and the
Hill of Slane

This quite noticeable landscape feature was already used in prehistoric times as a place of worship or for pageants. There may be a connection to the nearby Hill of Tara, ancient seat of Ireland's High Kings.
Around Easter Patrick chose the Hill of Slane for his spectacular showdown with the heathen King Laoghaire. Just before Laoghaire could light up his traditional royal spring fire on Tara, Patrick lit his paschal fire on the Hill of Slane. Two opposing fires, representing opposing belief systems, on opposing hills - if there ever was a spiritual "Mexican stand-off" this was it. Today the Hill of Slane is dominated by ruins and graves. Patrick himself is reputed to have built the first church here, later St Erc founded a monastery next to it. The ruins are of later vintage though, building and renovating works having obscured all traces of early Christianity.
From Slane you will drive right across Ireland into the West, passing Westport with its historically correct statue of Patrick and finally arriving at Clew Bay. High above the bay towers
Croagh Patrick

This is Ireland's "holy mountain" - indeed religious rituals seem to have been celebrated as early as 3000 BC on the small plateau at the top! The impressive mountain next to the sea seems to have attracted devotees at all times, prehistoric sacrifices were enacted here.
Patrick himself climbed the mountain to find peace and solitude. Spending forty days and forty nights fasting on the top, wrestling demons and desires, all for the spiritual welfare of his Irish brethren. So successful that his feat is still remembered and celebrated today. Which in turn means that peace and solitude are harder to find on Croagh Patrick today!
If you want to climb the 2,500 ft high mountain start at Murrisk. You can buy or hire stout walking sticks here (recommended) and check out the requirements for a pilgrimage. Then you'll start the climb on a steep route covered with shingle, slipping and sliding occasionally, pausing frequently to take in the views, to pray or simply to get your breath back. Unless you are on a pilgrimage only attempt the ascent if you are reasonably fit and do take water and food with you. The views from the top are spectacular - the amenities certainly are not. If you happen to visit Croagh Patrick on Garland Sunday (the last Sunday in July) you will encounter thousands of pilgrims, some attempting the climb barefooted! Watch out for stretcher teams from the Order of Malta Ambulance carrying casualties to the nearest first aid station ...
From Croagh Patrick then make your way eastwards and northwards into Donegal, heading for Lough Derg and St Patrick's Purgatory.



Irish Christian stance towards faggots:

Mind Hacks: Northern Ireland health chief, homosexuality an illness

June 15, 2008

Northern Ireland health chief, homosexuality an illness:

Homosexuality is a mental illness, at least according to the head of Northern Ireland's health committee. Iris Robinson MP, who, with impeccable timing, put forth her views on a radio show while responding to the news that a local man had been badly beaten in a homophobic attack.
After apparently branding homosexuality as "disgusting, loathsome, nauseating, wicked and vile" she went on to recommend that "I have a very lovely psychiatrist who works with me in my offices and his Christian background is that he tries to help homosexuals - trying to turn away from what they are engaged in".
The "lovely psychiatrist" turns out to be Paul Miller who doesn't actually seem to defend the idea that homosexuality is a mental illness but does seem to have a sideline in assisting people to change their sexual orientation.
In a recent newspaper article Miller claims this is based on research:
Dr Miller cited a study by American psychiatrists Stanton Jones and Mark Yarhouse which he said concluded that people can change sexual orientation and that the process of change was not damaging.
"That was a very robust study because in the past, and rightly so, people who worked in this field were criticised for not having robust research."
So what is this research Miller talks about? A randomised controlled trial from the peer-review medical literature? A meta-analysis of past treatment programmes? Perhaps just an exploratory outcome study?
No, it's a book released by a Christian publisher and written by a psychologist and psychiatrist employed by a private evangelical college in the States.
In a subsequent BBC on her comments, Mrs Robinson well, just keeps on digging.
For those of you interested in the new fangled practice of 'evidence based medicine' that seems not to have caught up with Iris Robinson, one of the most influential studies on the mental health of homosexuals was published in 1957.
Conducted by psychologist Evelyn Hooker, it used several measures to profile a group of homosexual and heterosexual males and asked a number of psychiatrists to determine who was gay and straight just by looking at the data from the mental health assessments.
They couldn't, and two thirds of both of gay and straight samples were rated as well-adjusted. This was the first of many studies that showed that there is nothing innately psychopathological about homosexuality.

Link to Petra Boyton with some good coverage.
Link to full text of Evelyn Hooker's 1957 study.