A Quarter Century of Storytelling: The Saint Patrick Centre Celebrates 25 Years
St Patrick's Centre
The Centre, which is the only exhibition in the world about Ireland’s patron saint is located just 30 minutes south of Belfast, Northern Ireland beside the medieval Cathedral of Down, where Saints Patrick, Brigid and Columcille are buried. The visitor attraction has a major multimedia exhibition which was completely refurbished in 2024 and provides a stunning audio-visual experience narrated by Oscar-nominated Irish actor Ciaran Hinds, telling the story of Saint Patrick and how Saint Patrick’s Day became the biggest cultural festival in the World.
‘The story of Ireland begins in the words of Saint Patrick himself’, said Director Dr Tim Campbell, who has managed the visitor experience since it opened. The Centre is ideally located for a stop between Dublin and Belfast, has an excellent garden cafe, the best gift store in Northern Ireland and welcomes over 140,000 visitors annually. ‘How can you come to Ireland and not meet Patrick himself?’ He said.
St Patrick's Grave, Downpatrick
Talks and events including a major 25th Celebration Concert led by Andrea Rice Band on Saturday 14th March. The Centre will also provide the worldwide launch of EWTN’s new docudrama ‘Saint Patrick - The Early Years’, which was filmed at historic sites around Downpatrick and will be released on the 17th March. An exhibition celebrating the Centre at 25 will be launched, which will run all year.
The anniversary celebrations will continue with Saint Patrick’s Day when over 15,000 visitors will flock to the County Down town to watch the parade and participate in the pilgrimage from the first church in Ireland at Saul to Downpatrick Cathedral for a cross-community church service and the laying of wreaths on the Patron Saint’s Grave. The Saint Patrick Centre will have Irish Dancing, traditional music, and guided tours all day on March 17th and will lead the Saint Patrick’s Day County Town parade. For all details see www.saintpatrickcentre.com.