Every March 17th, it has become customary to see people of all ethnic backgrounds sporting Irish Green garments, participating in festive parades and maybe even enjoying an ale or three. But who really was the man whose life we celebrate today? Why is he considered Ireland’s patron saint? And why are faith and spirit as much a part of the Irish identity as are story and song? These questions are explored on the Janson Media DVD St. Patrick: Apostle of Ireland, a one-hour documentary filmed on location in Ireland.
This documentary delves beneath the myth of Patrick to reveal that the patron saint of Ireland was an ordinary man who accomplished the extraordinary by placing his faith in God. Precious few historical facts are known of this man who walked through pre-Christian 5th century Ireland. Two documents written by Patrick, the Confession and his Letter to Coroticus, an Irish warlord, are all that remain. Yet these brief writings captured his emotional state, his innermost feelings and aspirations.
Exquisitely filmed on location in Ireland, and using dramatic wide-screen black and white re-creations set to haunting music, Saint Patrick: Apostle of Ireland, visually traces the great saint’s footsteps. Patrick’s actual confessions are read in voice-over, and evocative music further carries viewers back in time to re-live the experience of walking side by side with Patrick.
