Mid Kerry Biddy’s Day Festival

 

This is definitely a festival to put in your pilgrimage schedule if you are so lucky as to travel Ireland around Brigit's day. The Mid Kerry Biddy’s Day Festival!

If last year’s lineup is anything to go by, this is a rich time with much to learn and do. For instance:

Traditional Ukrainian Motanka Doll Crafting, Traditional Sugán Footstool Weaving, Biddy Costume Crafting, Story-telling workshop…

From their site:

In the heart of the mid-Kerry region, the annual Biddy's Day Festival emerges as a vibrant tapestry weaving together the threads of tradition, community, and the age-old craft-making skills that have defined Irish heritage. This year's festivities, set against the picturesque backdrop of Killorglin, promise a captivating journey into the heart of Irish folklore. 

At the core of the Biddy's Day celebration is the timeless tradition of Biddy groups, a revered custom that sees these spirited emissaries don straw hats and carry Brídeóg dolls on visits to both rural and public houses. Their mission? To weave a protective spell against malevolent spirits, ensuring the well-being of both humans and animals in the year ahead. A visit from the Biddy, steeped in history and meaning, guarantees good fortune, fertility, and prosperity; a lack of visitation considered a profound oversight. 

Held during the February Bank Holiday weekend, the Biddy's Day Festival has become a beacon, reigniting interest in a once-fading tradition.  

Mike Coffey and Biddy’s Day Crafts

Images from Mid Kerry Biddy’s Day website.

 

Saint Brigid of Ireland Card - Art Print - Instant Download

 

Catholic Paper Goods has a lovely downloadable Saint Brigit card available for just over £6. Detailed instructions for creating your cards from the file are given. From the website:

Saint Brigid of Ireland Card - Art Print - Instant Download - DIY Downloadable PDF 

5"x7" £6.11 Local taxes included (where applicable)  

INSTANT DOWNLOAD! NO PHYSICAL PRODUCT WILL BE SHIPPED 

St. Brigid of Ireland Card downloadable art print and greeting card. The inside of the card is blank with plenty of space for personalization. Simply download, print, trim and fold—no waiting for this product to ship in the mail. Measuring 5" x 7", it doubles as an elegant, frameable art print to give as a gift for confirmations or baptisms.

Does not include envelope.

Image: Shows drawing of red-haired white woman in white robe with green, hooded cape. She is holding a shepherd’s hook or bishop’s crozier in one hand and a large four-armed rush cross in the other., and has a large halo. The words "Saint Brigid of Ireland - Ora pro nobis" (pray for us) are inscribed to the left of the woman.

Brigit in Winter

 

Ashli of Clann Bhríde asked this question on Facebook, and it got me thinking:

"How do you like to incorporate Brighid into the winter season?"

My reply to her:

Hmmm. I don’t really change the things I do, but I am aware of the season on a deep level, a time of retreat and reflection, or at least the strong desire for them! As so much of the earth quietens to live through this time in semi-suspension, there is room to reflect on the essence of dark and silence. Brigit is in there, dark and quiet, yet there behind the prayer, moving in the flame, bringing warmth to the chilling of my body and my heart. As we move closer to Imbolc I watch for her movement beneath the ice, for her fingers to stir the frozen waters and begin the slow walk toward spring, light, summer, and busy, busy growth. I like her at this time of year, poised in her threshold stance above two seasons, two ways of being in the world.

Image: of ice on blackberry bush, with a few red and green, frozen leaves. By Mael Brigde.

“Ó a Bhríd – Ode to Brigid” (Susan Quirke and Enda Gallery)

 

What a beautiful, moving, wonderful chant. It brings ease to my troubled heart. “Ó a Bhríd – Ode to Brigid” is here.

From Susan Quirke’s YouTube site:

This track was commissioned by the Herstory Educational Trust to write a piece of music in honour of Brigid for St. Brigid's Day, 2024. 

In her own words; 'Since landing home from Australia I have been making music with Enda Gallery deep in the hills of Kilfernora in County Clare. We have co-written and co-produced an Irish meditative mantra in our own native tongue, 11 minutes and 33 seconds long, imbued with love, the rhythm of a heartbeat through the sound of the bodhrán, magic and mysticism to honour the Spirit of Brigid and our homeland of Éire. The song flowed peacefully through us as we sang our vocals through the light of a flame. In honour of Brigid and her sacred symbols, we have the sound of fire crackling throughout the track. We also recorded the water from St. Brigit's well in Liscannor to balance the sound with running water from the well.

The song is also created at 432hz, known as a healing frequency.

 LYRICS 

Tabhair dom do lámh 

Oscail mo chroí 

Ag athrú ar nós crann 

Ciúin ar nós uisce domhain 

Ó a Bhríd Bríd”

 ---- English translation: 

Give me your hand 

Open my heart 

Changing like a tree 

Quiet as deep water 

Ó a Bhríd Bríd

Image: Woman and man lighting candles at Liscannor St. Brigid’s well.

Dr Niamh Wycherley on "The Real St Brigid" (Brigid 1500)

Dr Niamh Wycherley gives the first in a series of talks organised by the County Kildare Federation of Local History Groups running from August 2023 to January 2024 to mark Brigid 1500.  

Notes: Recorded in Kilcullen Heritage Centre, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare, on Wednesday 16 August, 2023, during National Heritage Week. Posted by County Kildare Federation of Local History Groups. See their website: kildarelocalhistory.ie

Image: Screenshot of opening credits to “The Real Story Brigid.” Portrait of St Brigit in stained glass.

Interview with Mael Brigde (from A Legacy of Druids by Ellen Evert Hopman)

A snippet from an old interview I did with Ellen Evert Hopman for her book ‘A Legacy of Druids’ has appeared on the Pagan Collective blog.

I was happy when the book came out in 2016. The interview had taken place in 1997, so it was interesting to see where my thinking was at the time. It was also great to read the entire book. So many interesting people tell their stories there.

Image: Mael Brigde around the time of the interview, wearing a pink t-shirt that reads: Priestly People, showing in silhouette a woman raising a chalice and host. A gift from my sister, who got it at a Roman Catholic Women Priests gathering.

"Brigid’s Mantle — Finding the Fiery Saint of Kildare at the Heart of Celtic Spirituality” by Nancy Fitzgerald

 

From the website:

“Brigid’s Mantle” is for those seeking courage when their church is failing them.

The church has dismissed the concerns of women and kicked the can down the road on women’s ordination.

 

St. Brigid’s light has become stronger and more important than ever. An ordained a bishop and successor to the apostles of Christ, she was one of the most important leaders of the fledgling Irish church. 

 

This book explores the lessons Brigid has to offer women—and the entire church—today.

Image: of book cover.