On the 17th March, I celebrated an Irish tradition, however in Spain. It is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated by the Irish who remember and celebrate the most commonly recognised of the patron saints in Ireland and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. 

Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern ireland Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand, among others. Today, St. Patrick's Day is probably the most widely celebrated saint's day in the world.

'Saint Patrick' was far from being a saint, until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan. At that age, he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that raided his village. During his captivity he became a Christian and adopted the name Patrick. After six years he escaped from slavery and went to Gaul to study the monastery under St.Germain, and in his training he got the feeling that his calling was to convert the Pagans to Christianity. He traveled throughout Ireland and established monasteries across the country, and introduced schools and churches in order to introduce and influence Christianity into the Irish country. 

As my Irish Grandparents are staying with us in Spain at the moment, we took part in the festivities that were going on in Benalmadena. In the morning, we attended a church service at Virgien del Carmen church.. Which was a great service and was full of Irish and British nationals who gathered together to celebrate the day. The service was in English which made it even more enjoyable. 

After that, we attended a procession from the Church in Paloma Park which was like a parade. Irish dancing, celtic singing and lots of other traditional acts took place which were thoroughly 

enjoyable. It was great how Benalmadena acknowledged the festivities of the Irish culture and it was so good to experience it here. 

Kendal Welsby