Below is a video of Thursday’s festival in St. Patrick, Mo., celebrating its namesake holiday.
The tiny Clark County hamlet has hosted live music, food, giveaways, Mass and revelry for about 30 years, but this year marks the 75th anniversary of Irish Father Francis O’Duignan’s first efforts to build the shrine that ultimately was dedicated in 1957.
You can read more about St. Patrick’s history, heritage and festivities here. (Perhaps as further proof of St. Patrick’s more-than-coincidental connection to Ireland, that set of pages is hosted on the website of the Emerald Isle’s County Mayo — my better half’s ancestral county.)
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