A chara, – The programme for St Patrick’s Festival this year offers a veritable tsunami of material. On its website, I count about 176 items on a wide and varied landscape from March 12th to 17th.
Of the 176 items listed on the website, it seems that every possible aspect of a celebration of St Patrick is on offer, except for one. St Patrick himself seems to be missing.
The following three items seemed promising in addressing this, but their descriptions on the website seem to indicate that Patrick remains in the shadows.
The Saint Patrick Show – A Musical & Visual Tale from Ancient to Modern Times “will transport you via music, dance and iconic imagery on a journey through the ages”.
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In the Footsteps of St Patrick will focus on “some of the most historic parts of the old city that have been enriched with reminders of St Patrick”.
The Dodgy History of Ireland: The Ugly Truth about St Patrick is “a light-hearted animated series on famous Irish people and events”.
It’s Hamlet without the prince.
Patrick’s six years of enforced lockdown transformed his life, and so led to a subsequent transformation in the history of Ireland. In our enforced pandemic lockdown, we could take heart from this.
There could surely be space for at least one offering of substance on Patrick? – Is mise,
PÁDRAIG McCARTHY,
Sandyford,
Dublin 16.