Burt Wolf Travels & Traditions: St Patrick

The Story of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin Ireland. Dublins St. Patricks Cathedral was founded in 1191 and is one of the oldest Christian sites in Ireland. The land where it stands was originally an island where two branches of the Poddle River came together. The Cathedral is 13th Century Old English Gothic. It was built on the site of an older stone church. The first Norman church on its site dated back to around 1190. And before that there was a small timber church there that predated the Norman Conquest a native Irish church. The story goes that St. Patrick used water from a well nearby to baptize locals and convert them to Christianity back in the 400s. By the middle of the 1800s the building had became rather dilapidated. It was restored by Sir Benjamin Guinness of the Guinness brewery. Inside there is a stained glass window---a gift from the Guinness family. At the bottom of the window are the words, I was thirsty and ye gave me drink.--- Clearly a reference to the role of religion, but not a bad thought for the owner of the worlds most famous brewery.