Come enjoy dinner and a talk by Prof. Hugh Curan of the Peace and Reconciliation Dept. on Celtic Spirituality, St. Patrick’s Breastplate and Deep Ecology.
Prof Curran writes: “I will be discussing some themes in early Celtic Christian tradition. The legend of “St Patrick’s Breastplate” is one such theme which has humorous undertones relating to a pre-Christian belief system. The inter-connection with wild animals was considered a sign of holiness in Celtic spirituality so compassion and empathy with nature were of considerable importance. In addition there was a need to protect oneself against harm so the “breastplate” of St. Patrick was a ritual invocation of protection. Besides this, I would also like to discuss my own pilgrimage several years ago to Celtic monasteries such as Iona and Lindisfarne (ie Holy Isle) and relate this pilgrimage to sacred places such as holy wells, holy mountains & sacred lakes in Scotland, Ireland and England that continue to be pilgrimage sites for well over a millenium.”