A VILLAGE’S unique link to an Irish sailor saint is to be celebrated later this year.

Parishioners of St Brandon’s Church in Brancepeth, near Durham, researched their connection to the saint, who is believed to have reached America a thousand years before Columbus.

As the only parish church to carry the name in the country, the 1,500th anniversary of the epic voyage was thought good reason to stage the weekend celebration.

Local historian Jim Merrington said: “Locally we found that when the Romans left the area, Irish missionary priests arrived here and St Brandon may well have been among them.

“The name Brancepeth is said to derive from Brandon’s Path, which led to his shrine,” he added.

St Brandon 1500 will include a unique Son et Fleur, music and flower festival, with 12 major floral exhibits highlighting the voyages.

Explorer Tim Severin, the author and film maker, who recreated Saint Brandon’s leather boat and sailed it to America, will also give a talk, at the church, on Saturday September 16.

Further details will be confirmed nearer the weekend.