An Irish Saint, Lent, and a Teacher Training Day

MARCH 2025

PATRICK AND OUR TEAM

With the month of March comes the world-famous Irish feast of Saint Patrick! But who was Patrick, and why was he important to Ireland? You can find out more about that on our Youtubechannel, with a neatly concise video by Séamus, one of our Retreat Team leaders.

But why would Saint Patrick be important to us today? For us at An Tobar Nua, we’re continuing the work of the many great men and women of God who have come to Ireland over the centuries to share the Gospel. Recently, we were led by Antrim, one of our team members who is also a poet and leads some creative writing workshops at the Café, to reflect and write about Patrick’s ministry. The poems below, written by various team members, are some of the fruit of this poetic introspection. Happy Saint Patrick’s day!

Seeing the people who held me captive. in my dream
Agonizing over what I thought it meant
I responded with a “yes I will go”
Not caring about the cost to myself
This wild voyage across the Irish Sea I began

Perhaps they will not listen to my message
Are you with me LORD? Do you hold my hand?
The fire of the gospel burns in my belly
Reaching out to the Irish, Your love to extend
I rely on your strength, the power of Your Spirit
Comforting me in the long night of darkness
Keeping me close forever. Amen

The hills are still there
though the slave boy is not-
green still the grasses
where feed Patrick’s flock.
-Antrim

You don’t understand
It’s not about a brass band and car floats
and cheering crowds pressing together on a village edge
Alcohol for lunch, bags of Tayto crisps
and poorly recalled stories of how this great man became Ireland’s saint
It’s been diluted over years like Gran’s MiWadi
lost it’s flavour and purpose
This icon that has become synonyms
with what it means to be Irish
had very different ideas when he was called to our land
Ideas of hope and redemption
Ideas of sharing a faith that caught his attention
his heart, his life; so much so he endured strife
and suffering – in order to bring Ireland, the Truth of Christ
You don’t understand, we owe this man.
-Ruth

The title of patron he holds,
The faith of Ireland he molds.
Conditions were bleak,
But he prayed on the reek*
For the salvation of all of our souls.
-Laura
*reek is another word for Croagh Patrick (a hill in Ireland where Patrick prayed)

St Patrick
Confidence in You
In the mouths of all who speak
I arise today
– Heidi

St Patrick’s Battle
You are a God who lives in us
We step forward with courageous hearts
We will be received with grace, we trust
As a gentle doe from the woods departs
– Heidi

DON’T MISS OUR LENT SERIES ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS

If you enjoyed these poems, we have more! This year, we’re inviting you to join us for Lent, through a series of poems written and read by Antrim, about the stations of the cross. This is a project she worked on for the Galway Cathedral last year. Each Tuesday and Thursday in the weeks leading up to the celebration of Easter, you’ll find a poem by Antrim for a different station of the cross on our Facebook and Instagramchannels, so that we may reflect together on Jesus’ journey to Calvary.

OUR FIRST SAOL TEACHER TRAINING DAY

Last month, our SAOL team organized their very first teacher training day, in Athlone (in the center of Ireland). It was attended by 29 teachers and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Some of the teachers commented that it was the best in-service training they’d ever had because the focus was on caring for the teachers. In addition to a workshop on how to best use the Teacher’s Resource Document to guide students through the curriculum, two of our counselors also gave a talk on mental health for teachers. This gave them the opportunity to open up about their struggles – and they really did, while also sharing that this training made them feel acknowledged and seen. We hope to get to do this again next year!

SAOL is a video curriculum available to teachers throughout Ireland (and the world) for free, to help them guide students through reflections about the Gospel. There are many ways to join us in this project, the most important of which is prayer. Some other effective ways include following us on social media, or donating through the button below. Thank you for partnering with us in any of these ways!