Downpatrick is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about 21 mi (34 km) south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the burial place of Saint Patrick. Today, it is the county town of Down and the joint headquarters of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
Downpatrick had a population of 11,545 according to the 2021 Census.
Down Cathedral
The remains of the 'Mound of Down'.
Reputed grave of St Patrick
Downpatrick in the late 19th century
Saint Patrick was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigid of Kildare and Columba. Patrick was never formally canonised, having lived before the current laws of the Catholic Church in such matters. Nevertheless, he is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Church of Ireland, and in the Eastern Orthodox Church, where he is regarded as equal-to-the-apostles and Enlightener of Ireland.
Stained-glass window of St. Patrick from Saint Patrick Catholic Church, Junction City, Ohio, United States
The reputed burial place of Saint Patrick in Downpatrick
Late Roman Britain
"Patrick going to Tara", illustration from a 1904 book