Armagh, City of Faith

Claire McCollum visits the cathedral city of Armagh to find out how it became known as the centre of the Christian faith in Ireland after St Patrick built his first stone church on a hill in the city. The city is now home to two major cathedrals, one for the Church of Ireland and the other for the Roman Catholic Church. Claire visits the foundations of St Patrick’s first stone church, where archaeologists have found evidence of pre-Christian worship on the same site, and meets The Very Reverend Shane Forster to find out how faith has shaped the identity of the city and its people.

Also looking over the city is the Armagh Observatory, founded by Archbishop Richard Robinson in 1789 to make Armagh a centre of science as well as faith. Claire meets a PhD student at the observatory to learn about the research centre's Christian ethos and looks through the world's oldest telescope to be still housed in its original dome. Armagh is also known as ‘the orchard county’, so Claire goes apple picking with a Christian family during harvest to find out what role faith plays in farming.

With locally recorded music from Ballymena, Down Cathedral in Downpatrick and Orangefield Presbyterian, Belfast, and a special performance from Blessing Annatoria.