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Hundreds
of people headed to Perranporth on Sunday to celebrate the Patron
Saint Of Tinners, St Piran who landed at Perran Beach.
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| St
Piran actor stands proudly by the St Piran flag |
St
Piran was born in Ireland and studied the scriptures in Rome.
In
Ireland he was said to have performed many miracles but the Kings
of the country were not impressed.
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| The
crowd begins to gather for the pilgrimage |
On
Sunday adults and children from Perranporth Junior School acted
out the story of St Piran on the dunes in the area.
Hundreds
walked over the dunes and watched the play being acted out in three
parts.
This
year for the first time, the audience were treated to a musical
play.
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| The
band leads the way as the walk across the Perranporth Dunes
begins |
There
were 66 actors and musicians who illustrated the life of St Piran.
His death was represented by the children of Perranporth.
In
the first part of the play we discover how the people of Ireland
loved St Piran.
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| The
King demands St Piran be thrown into the sea |
However
the Kings were not impressed and wishing to show their power, St
Piran was flung into the sea in Ireland.
He
had a millstone around his neck but miraculously he floated.
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| St
Piran rows across the water |
The
audience then followed the band across the dunes to the second part
of the play. We are now in Cornwall, awaiting the arrival of St
Piran.
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| St
Piran arrives in Cornwall exhausted |
The
Saint arrived in Cornwall from Ireland exhausted after his long
journey.
At
first the Cornish who find him are wary of this stranger who does
not speak their language. It is not long before they take him to
their hearts.
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| The
people of ancient Cornwall welcomed St Piran |
In
the play the audience saw St Piran preach and build his oratory.
This took place on the site of the original ancient oratory, believed
to be the oldest site of Christian worship in the British Isles.
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| In
the play St Piran discovers tin |
St
Piran discovered tin too, but quite by accident. A blackstone on
his fire leaked a white liquid. St Piran had discovered tin.
Part
three of the play took part on the site of the ancient Cornish Cross.
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| The
children dance around their chough |
Here
we see the 200 year old St Piran die. The children performed a special
dance along with their choughs, to remember St Piran.
The
whole audience of several hundreds then joined together in true
Cornishness to perform 'Trelawney'.
Brian
Odgers is the Headteacher at Perranporth Junior School. He is also
the director of the three part play.
"We
were out in the wind and rain on Saturday running around probably
wondering why we were doing it," he smiles. "But then
you see the number of people who have come along today and you realise
that all the work has been really worthwhile."
The
celebrations in Perranporth were the biggest in the St Piran calendar.
Earlier
in the week on St Piran's Day several children had danced through
the streets of Truro to celebrate the occasion.
See
pictures from Truro
Other
events were held throughout Cornwall including Bodmin and Launceston.
Throughout the world Cornish organisations joined together to celebrate
St Piran.
If
you attended an event in Cornwall or anywhere in the world please
email us your pictures and we will publish them on the BBC Cornwall
website.
email:
cornwall@bbc.co.uk
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