Patrick's Mysterious Adventure begins .... | The Church of Ireland Diocese of Connor

Patrick’s Mysterious Adventure begins ….

Wednesday March 13th 2019

Lord Mayor of Lisburn and Castlereagh, Councillor Uel Mackin, jumped aboard with the team of Patrick’s Mysterious Adventure on opening day at Christ Church, Lisburn.

Schoolchildren in Lisburn are getting a dynamic introduction to the real life of Ireland’s Patron Saint Patrick, thanks to Connor Children’s Council’s fantastic event, Patrick’s Mysterious Adventure.

The interactive exhibition and story trail opened at Christ Church Parish, Lisburn, on Wednesday morning, March 13, and will continue until Saturday March 16, with a special St Patrick’s themed service on March 17 at 11.30am.

Lord Mayor of Lisburn and Castlereagh, Councillor Uel Mackin, jumped aboard a pirate ship with the team of Patrick’s Mysterious Adventure on the opening day. Connor Children’s Council are being supported in this venture by Christ Church staff and parishioners.

Patrick’s Mysterious Adventure is an all-age exhibition and story trail, themed around the life of St Patrick. Actors, led by Ross Jonas and Chris Neilands from the Play it by Ear Christian drama group, re-enact the tale from Patrick’s capture by Irish pirates to his return to serve the people of Ireland that he loved so well.

Visitors have the opportunity to connect with the life story of St Patrick, discover more about him and be inspired by his faith and faithfulness to God.

The first three days, March 13-15, are school days, and local primary schools have been invited along to experience the interactive story trail and take part in two workshops.

Uniformed organisations from the local area will attend on Thursday evening and experience all the fun and drama.

On March 16, from 11am-4pm, everyone is welcome to come in and explore the St Patrick trail. The exhibition can be explored independently or through timed performances where actors bring the story to life.

As well as the interactive story trail and exhibition, visitors can enjoy live Irish music and dance, take part in craft workshops and have some tea and cake in the café.

To keep the children entertained throughout, there will be plenty of hands-on activities including a photo booth with costumes to dress up, and craft and colouring activities in the café.

This family friendly event, which has been supported by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, is totally free!

Lord Mayor Mackin said it was wonderful that the story of the life of Patrick was being told in this way. “Patrick did a tremendous amount of good in bringing the Christian message to Ireland,” the Lord Mayor said.

“To see the props and the effort that has been put into this is just fantastic and I am sure the pupils coming from local schools will always remember their experience at Christ Church this week.”

The pupils featured in our photo gallery below are from Old Warren Primary School, Wallace Prep and Knockmore Primary School.