In the lead-up to St Patrick's day, we take a look into the archives. Jimmy Greene visits Down Cathedral and the grave of St Patrick. He interviews Lesley Hanna, retired journalist, about his business making small replicas of the gravestone. Mr Hanna came upon the idea after visiting the holy site himself and finding no souvenirs available to bring his wife. This is certainly a better idea that everyone chipping away at the stone itself!

The replicas are made of ground Mourne granite and plaster of Paris. Schoolboy Alan Leahy paints the replicas, following his day at school, before they are sold. The main markets include visitors to the grave, as well as customers in England, Scotland and America. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Stormont government worked hard to promote Northern Ireland as a tourist destination, as this clip from the Ulster Transport Authority shows.

The patron saint of Ireland’s origins are disputed but he most likely came to Ireland from Wales as a slave in the 5th century. He is believed to be buried in Downpatrick, as are the two other best-known saints of Ireland, Brigid and Columba. The large granite stone marking his grave was placed there in the 1900s to protect the holy site. Downpatrick has been a place for pilgrimage for hundreds of years,as this film from the Nothern Ireland Tourist Board shows. It is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, with records of it going as far back as the 2nd century AD.