"A long way from the heart of Europe lies this land." "A long way to the west surrounded by waters of the Atlantic." "The fate of this small nation is not dissimilar to the fate of other small nations." "Yearning for freedom and remaining independent of mighty neighbours." "This land struggled successfully for freedom and retains it to this day." "The land is called Ireland." "As the Irish emphasise:" "Independent, free Ireland." "ST." "PATRICK'S LAND" "Written by, photography, directed by" "Arrival in a new country always carries a sense of expectation." "Expectation of new impressions." "Of what is the same here as in other countries, and what is different." "Tourists come to Ireland too." "An unusual type of tourist." "People who love seclusion, fresh air, wind, rain and foul weather as well as long fogbound days." "According to old legend fifteen hundred years ago" "Apostle Patrick arrived after a long trek from the river Shannon." "On his way he blessed pilgrims and turned heathens to Christianity." "The death of his best friend was the cause of his contemplation regarding human transience and God's eternity." "And the top of this mountain became the place of his penitence, meditation and prayer in aid of the Irish nation." "From those days the mountain carries St. Patrick's name." "Only a sprinkling of tourists visit the top during the year." "Exception is the last Sunday in July when it becomes a place of pilgrimage for all Irish believers." "On Easter Monday, 24 April 1916, brigades of Irish volunteers attacked the Central Post Office, the Town Hall, castle and the docks." "The rebellion was suppressed and it's leaders executed, including the rebel leader, James Connolly, who was shot sitting down having already been gravely injured." "That was the beginning of a free Irish Republic and the end of the hated English rule." "It happened here in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland, which at first glance resembles English towns of today." "Potato pest in the middle of the 19th century caused the start of a catastrophic famine." "A million Irish people died of hunger, 1.5 million emigrated." "150 years ago six million people lived in this country, today less than half that number." "Even today Irishmen leave their land." "Not only poor farmers emigrate, but in search of a better future the intelligentsia too - the spiritual elite of the nation." "100000's of Irish people emigrated to America." "For centuries lighthouse beams on the Atlantic shores of Ireland offered first glimpse of Europe for those who arrive on a visit to their homeland from the New World;" "and the last glance of home for those leaving." "Ireland is a land of believers with the Catholic Church deeply embedded." "Already in St. Patrick's time, time of early Christianity, were monasteries the centres of high culture and learning." "For many centuries little has changed." "Even today monastery is a place which enables spiritual development." "Artists, scientists, teachers, professors all join together here." "Every second Irish educationalist comes from the ranks of the Church." "Strict daily routine, use of every minute not only for service of God but to work, create, learn - a historical novel is, for example, narrated during lunch - such is the characteristic atmosphere of each monastery." "Wish of many Irish families is to see a son or daughter in a monastery because a monastery encourages development of talent and ability advancement of body and soul." "So, by the way, a thought occurs:" "What a pity for this nation that such folk will have no descendants." "The only wealth this land produces is peat." "Peat is warmth and warmth means life." "A fireplace with burning peat is part of the magic of every Irish home." "Seventh day is Sunday." "Morning belongs to God, afternoon to celebration, music, dance." "Horse racing on a beach serves as a traditional popular sport." "And God said," "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth:" "And it was so." "These are fields and pastures, stone and more stone." "As if God forgot this land." "But fewer God's gifts appeared the more do people respect them." "The sea is rarely friendly." "It doesn't lure tourists." "And for fishermen it provides hard toil." "A shark caught in a trap instead of a crab or langoustine is like an evil jape and thus has to be returned dead to the sea." "Most up-to-date Japanese technology is found in the Catholic Church's Dublin recording studio." "Pupils, teachers and missionaries, are learning to operate the most modern media instrument of the 20th century." "Teaching staff are university educated." "Director, Father Dan studied at the Art Academy in New York." "It's Sunday 30 July 1967." "From midnight on throng of believers climb St. Patrick's mountain." "Unheard of weather:" "Cold, wind, freezing rain." "Sixty thousand people took part that day in the four hour ascent of the mountain." "According to next day's newspapers twelve thousand young people completed the walk quicker than their fathers and grandfathers." "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;" "male and female created he them." "Where the wave of moonlight glosses The dim grey sands with light," "Far off by furthest Rosses We foot it all night," "Weaving olden dances, Mingling hands and mingling glances" "Till the moon has taken flight;" "To and fro we leap And chase the frothy bubbles," "While the world is full of troubles And is anxious in its sleep." "Come away, O human child!" "To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand," "For the world's more full of weeping Than you can understand." "A long way from the heart of Europe lies this land." "A long way west, enveloped by sea, thrashed by Atlantic rain and wind." "Folk's joys and troubles of this small nation are not dissimilar to joys and troubles of folk anywhere else on Earth." "They are linked by fear of illness, misfortune, death - and yearning for human happiness too."