Each St Patrick’s Day, curators at the museum hand this object over to St Patricks’ parish, Belfast. The black oblong on the back of this hand is opened up and a relic – a supposed fragment of the man himself – is placed in there for worshippers to see. The adoration of relics might seem like a strange practice nowadays, especially in an increasingly secular society, but for some Christians it’s an important part of maintaining links with the past.

There are objects related St Patrick all over Ireland – his tooth, his tombstone, his staff, his bell and his confession.

Object: https://www.ulstermuseum.org/stories/shrine-st-patricks-hand