Leading nationalist and unionist politicians have called on the British Government to make St Patrick's Day a public holiday in Northern Ireland
March 17 is known around the world as the day to celebrate Ireland's patron saint, but while it is a full public holiday in the Irish Republic, it is only a bank holiday in Northern Ireland.
Leader of the nationalist SDLP Margaret Ritchie, MP for South Down, where St Patrick is reputed to be buried in the grounds of the Church of Ireland's Down Cathedral in the town of Downpatrick, has written to Secretary of State Owen Paterson on the issue, and her call for a change has been backed by the Democratic Unionist Party.
"Patrick is one thing that we can all, Catholic and Protestant, unite around in Northern Ireland," she said. "His legacy unites us all and he is a unifying figure in Northern Ireland. He is a symbol of reconciliation and a symbol of unity between communities."
She said Mr Paterson should back her calls for action on marking the day with a public holiday. The SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party) leader said the move was long overdue.
Conflicting accounts of St Patrick's history have mingled with myth over the centuries. The young lad was said to have been kidnapped at the age of 16 in Britain and brought to Ireland as a slave, before he escaped, only to return to Ireland as a missionary.
Ms Ritchie said: "St Patrick's Day is a sleeping giant for tourism."
Her call for a public holiday was backed by Mr Paisley Jnr, whose father had previously made a similar call. "I think it is actually my party's policy to have a public holiday," he said. "St Patrick was a prototype Protestant, so why would anyone have any problem" adding "He lived on Slemish mountain near Ballymena in my constituency, so even better... I know there is some myth he had something to do with Downpatrick."
If St Patrick was good at banishing snakes from Ireland shouldn't he be given a chance to demonstrate his skills in bridging sectarian divides in Northern Ireland?
Full details at the
Belfast Telegraph , the leading Northern Ireland newspaper.
The calendar for 2011 features vintage photochrom prints of spectacular scenery along the County Antrim coastline, Northern Ireland, taken in the 1890's, courtesy of Library of Congress.
