Happy St Maughold's Day

To all our Manx friends, Happy St Maughold's Day on 27th April. St Maughold is the Patron Saint of the Isle of Man and his Feast Day is celebrated on 27th April each year.

Tradition has it that Saint Maughold Patron Saint of the Isle of Man was an Irish Prince, Macc Cuill. One legend is that he was leader of a band of thieves and converted to Christianity by Saint Patrick.

In penance, he set sail from Ireland in a boat without oars and drifted to the Isle of Man/Mannin where he landed close to the headland that still bears his name. Due to his piety and good behaviour towards the Manx people he was chosen as Bishop of Man in 498AD.

Unlike St Patrick's Day in Ireland, St Maughold's Feast Day is not celebrated as a Manx National Holiday. The Manx National Day is 'Tynwald Day' held every year on 5th July and has it's roots in Celtic Pagan and Norse Tradition. Tynwald Day ('Laa Tinvaal' in Manx) takes place on a four tiered soil mound called Cronk-y-Keillown. The hill is thought to have been the ancient meeting site for the Celtic midsummer assembly and possibly has it's origins as a Bronze Age burial mound. A Celtic Cross representing the sun god Lugh is erected close to the hill. On the day of the ceremony the path to the hill is covered with rushes in respect of the Celtic sea god Mannanan who is particularly linked to the Isle of Man. Later, under Norse rule, the hill became the site of Tynwald Parliament, the oldest continuous Parliament in the world.

The word 'Tynwald' is derived from the Norse 'Thing-Vollr' meaning meeting place or assembly field. It has counterparts in Scandinavia and those islands and parts of Scotland that were subject to Norse rule. The significance of the Manx ceremony is it's unbroken history.