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The Saint Patrick's Centre

I am so excited to be traveling to Northern Ireland to visit the Saint Patrick's Centre

Hi! I'm Colleen

This young abassador experience is designed to help me gain a greater understanding of the culture, history, geography, and government of Northern Ireland. Thanks to the generous support of The Saint Patrick's Centre in Northern Ireland and our local Milwaukee chapter of the Friends of The Saint Patrick Centre, I am taking a trip of a lifetime.

Who am I?

Avid traveler from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (stars indicate some of the places I have traveled thus far)

Third year nursing student at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point

Sibling to two older brothers and one younger sister

Child of two parents who are Celtic Crazed

Day 1

I am incredibly nervous but ultimately excited to immerse myself in this experience. My first day was all travel! I flew out of Milwaukee into Newark for a very productive layover. I am taking three nursing classes this summer, so I want to get ahead on my homework because I anticipate limited time to work while on this trip. Once I landed in Dublin I soon met up with other young ambassadors to begin the adventure.

Day 2

It seemed like this day went on forever. After all of the young ambassadors arrived in Dublin, we spent some time informally getting to know one another and then time just flew by. First we went to Newbridge house and farm, a residential Georgian home built in the 1700s. This home was built for the view of a beautiful open field with old trees scattered across it. We had tea and sausage rolls in the cafe and then we headed to Newcastle. On the way we saw the Ross monument. Once we arrived in Newcastle we ate at a local stone fired pizza place, then we went to the pub! All my nerves were for nothing. Today was lots of fun.

Day 3

I conquered my fear of heights today on our four hour hike through the Mourne Mountains in County Down. I had only heard about this unbeleivable place of natural beauty because my parents (big Game of Thrones fans) said some of the scenes were shot there. This landscape did not disappoint. We hiked past this lake, ate our packed lunches along the way, and on our ascent up the mountain we also saw a cave!

I am back at our lodgings now for a little down time. Looking forward to dinner to close out this day with these new traveling companions.

Day 4

Today was all about deepening our historical understanding about Saint Patrick by touring the Saint Patrick Centre, meeting with the President and Vice President of its board, and visiting Down Cathedral( pictured above) and Saul Church (pictured below). Saul Church commemorates the site of Saint Patrick's earliest place of Christian worship, while Down Cathedral hosts the site of Saint Patrick's grave. As the day progressed my grade school education resurfaced and I was reminded that when a saint is recognized in the Catholic Church, their feast day is assigned to the day of their death. The now worldwide celebration of Saint Patrick's Day on March 17th is a celebration of this saint's entrance into heaven.

Day 5

This morning we had tea with the area's clergy members and learned about how both the Troubles, and more recently Covid, have affected different religious communities and taken a toll on their congregations. We then got to speak with a member of the legislative assembly and a member of parliament in Northern Ireland. They explained about the Sinn Fein party and how their main political goal is a united Ireland. After that we got a break for lunch,

On the way out of the Saint Patrick Centre a few of us met this kind older gentleman who is the president of the Saint Patrick’s Golf Club. He offered to take us over to see the place, so we decided to go! He showed us around the club and his hospitality continued when he brought us to his beautiful house and told us stories of his late wife and brother. After that we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed back to the Centre. We met with the Chief Officer of Nursing with the Department of Health. This was right up my alley because of my interest in healthcare. He taught us about the process of policy making for the healthcare system in Northern Ireland. He discussed the benefits and challenges of having free healthcare, and he answered a few of my questions. It was very interesting and informative. After that we went on a drive around Stangford lough (lake) with various pit stops along the way:

Inch Abbey—learned about the founder, John de Courcy who built the abbey to make amends for his destruction of Erenagah Abbey.
Killyleagh—learned about Sir Hans Sloane (inventor of sweetened chocolate)
ice cream at a gas station
Scrabo County Park—walked up a massive and exhausting hill to see the Scrabo Tower. You can see Scotland from the top of this hill!. - definitely burned off the calories from the ice cream
Ballygalget GAC—learned to play hurling from a team of experienced players. It was a blast!!
Portaferry—got on the ferry back to the other side of the lake to make the drive home.

It is late, and we are just now starting to make pasta for dinner! A lot happened today lol

Day 6

I am exhausted tonight, due to my own desires to get the most out of this Young Ambassador experience. We woke up early today to see the sunrise. It was breathtaking. Then a few of us walked to a local cafe for breakfast.This week is the International Week of Walking at the Centre, so we joined others on the tour and learned about “Downpatrick and the 1798 Rebellion walk exploring the role of the County town in the history of the Society of United Irishmen and the 1798 rebellion.” Full discolosure, this quote comes from the Saint Patrick's Centre website. Later in the day one other ambassador and myself met with an accomplished nurse practitioner and current nursing union member. We went to the hospital in Downpatrick which is a great facility, but sadly not utilized to its full potential; there are only 44 beds open at this point because of lack of funding from the government. All the young ambassadors later met with a member of the legislative assembly and a member of the council representing the Alliance Party. We finished our day off as beautifully as it began by kayaking in the Strangford Loch. Pictured above you can see us kayaking out to the island where we grilled out as the sunset.

Day 7

Today we visited Belfast and learned about James Connolly, a political leader who committed himself to the freedom of others and is considered to be one of the greatest political and trade union leaders of the 20th Century. We ended our morning with lunch at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, an Irish Language Cultural Centre.

We also had the rare chance to tour the Hinch Distillery Company, renouned for producing award winning Irish Whiskey and Gin. Another grand day in Northern Ireland!

Day 8

We all got to sleep in this morning, and it was much needed. This afternoon we were introduced to a a civil law lawyer to learn about how the judiciary system works. Then we met Margaret Ritchie, a current baroness of Downpatrick and a former SDLP leader. We continued our day by visiting the village of Loughinisland., known for its three churches that were built on this island between the 13th and 17th centuries. We saw a beautiful cemetary and ruins of the churches. We watched the Loughinisland v Kilcoo gaelic football game. It was very exciting. I am back at my lodgings now for a short rest and dinner.

Days 9 and 10

This weekend was our chance to relax. On Saturday we dressed like Vikings and participated in a reenactment. The local Viking Village trained us to help facilitate the event for the public. Should I add Viking to my resume? We said goodbye to one of the young ambassadors in the evening because he had to head home for army training at Fort Knox.

Sunday morning we attended Mass, then we were off to the races, literally. Tim brought all of us to Downpatrick Racecourse where some of the more adventurous of the group placed bets, and we spent the sunny afternoon watching lots of different horses run.

Day 11

Tim packed the day with education in the morning and another trip to the great outdoors in the afternoon. We met with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and they talked about how the Troubles affected the public's view of the police. Our next stop was Carrick a Rede Rope Bridge. The bridge is suspended almost 100 feet above the Atlantic Ocean and crosses over a 20 meter wide chasm linking the mainland to the tiny island. I did not get an actual picture of the bridge itself because it was not the time to let go and pose for a selfie. I got really scared on the way back over the bridge because it poured buckets on us. As you can see I was relieved to make it back to the van.

We made a few other scenic stops including Giants Causeway where we walked on these huge columns that were formed by an ancient volcanic eruption.

Day 12

This striking architectural building is located on the Stormont Estate and is the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly. We toured the building and met with members of the Democratic Unionist Party . The DUP is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party that was founded during the Troubles.

Although this is not really a great picture, Titanic Belfast turned out to be an interesting and eye opening experience. This museum tells the story of the ship from her conception to her construction and launch. I have to admit I did not even know the Titanic was built in Belfast, so finding out this museum is the largest Titanic visitor's experience in the world really surprised me.

We are counting down to the last of our days here with Tim and the Young Ambassadors, and, I have to say, I really don't want to leave.

Day 13

Today was another day filled with sightseeing. We started at Ballynoe Stone Circle (pictured above) and then headed to Ardglass where we saw seals close up. We ate lunch in a local cafe then on to Struell Wells (pictured below). These are old bath houses that date back to the 8th century.

We ended the day with a tour of a 13th century castle called Dundrum Castle. Although most of the inner workings of the castle are not there, you can still climb some of the stone walls and imagine how the inhabitants of long ago might have perched atop a tower to look out for an attack.

Day 14

It is difficult for me to recall how nervous I was before embarking upon this trip to Ireland because today Downpatrick feels like a second home. We finished our time here with a tour of St. Mary’s Secondary School - an all-girls high school. We then took an Irish language mini class where we learned the basics of the language. Our day ended with the local district council chair and some of the council members hosting a reception for the Young Ambassadors and the Friends of the Centre.

I am so very thankful to all of the people who make this program possible and I feel blessed to have been a part of it. Tomorrow we are off to Dublin. It is so sad to say goodbye.

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