Hearts, heads and a holy hat: Ireland's keepers of religious relics reveal all

There is a tradition of preserving relics in Catholicism. The most significant relics from medieval times are on display in the National Museum on Kildare Street in Dublin. Relics are the physical manifestation of the cult of a saint. Folk tradition in Ireland is also at work with a surprising number of relics. A silk chimney hat in Co Westmeath is reputed to have healing properties. It was owned by the 19th-century priest Fr John Moore. A tour of casket containing the remains of St Theresa of Lisieux in 2001 attracted 3 million people. Niamh Wycherley is the author of The Cult of Relic in Early Medieval Ireland.

In Catholicism relics are made up of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of someone known for being unusually good. St Padre Pio was raised to sainthood in 2002. He is best known in Ireland for exhibiting stigmata. His fingerless mittens were changed regularly and they are used to pray for sick relatives. Fr Bryan Shortall, a Capuchin priest in Dublin, explains what makes a relic special. He compares it to a young person treasuring a football jersey from a player they admire. The relics of Padra Pios are kept in the St Michan's Parish in Dublin.