A Brief History of Brigit's Flame

from the community website of Kildare, Eire.

Lighting the Perpetual Flame of Brigid (A brief history of the flame)

A sacred fire burned in Kildare reaching back into pre-Christian times. Scholars suggest that priestesses used to gather on the hill of Kildare to tend their ritual fires while invoking a goddess named Brigid to protect their herds and to provide a fruitful harvest.

When St. Brigid built her monastery and church in Kildare she continued the custom of keeping the fire alight. For her and her nuns the fire represented the new light of Christianity, which reached our shores early in the fifth century.

for the complete article and a photograph of Brigit's Flame, please go to the Kildare Community website at: http://kildare.ie/community/notices/perpetual-flame.asp