Story Archaeologists Search for Brigid

St Brigid's Well at Faughart

I'm very fond of the podcasts (and blog posts) put together by the Wonderful and Talented Chris Thompson and Isolde Carmody on their site Story Archaeology. With well wrought stories, thorough examinations of texts, and a good dose of humour, they present fresh thinking on old stories from Irish mythology.

Follow this link to explore the posts tagged "Brig", or listen (I have pasted a small excerpt below) to "Mythical Women" episode 5 "The Search for Brigid". They provide downloadable files of all their podcasts (mp3s), or you may subscribe to them through iTunes. (Hint: I have found with iTunes in this particular case that I need to download the podcasts one at a time. Can't just click on them all and walk away.)



Hear also (of course!) the podcast on Brig's husband Bres in the Cath Maige Tuired, and read the associated blog postings.

Bres by Jim Fitzpatrick

Brigit's Forge: Online Brigit Resource

Brigit's Forge Website is the child of Hilaire Wood of Aberystwyth, Wales. In her words:

Brigit's Forge website is inspired by Brigit and dedicated to her. It represents the actual and virtual place where I work as a poet and healer and where I research and write about Brigit, Celtic mythology and folklore. I believe that healing, inspiration and creativity are linked, and that the ability to forge is important for bringing our creativity into manifestation. I draw my faith in the Otherworld, my inspiration, and the strength to cope with the challenges in my life, from Celtic mythology and religion in general and Brigit in particular. My method is to read and learn, to go to sacred places in Ireland and Wales, to spend time with land, sea and sky and to let all this inform my spiritual practice. This website is where I hope to share some of what I have learned with people who have the same interests.

The blacksmith's forge is the place where iron is forged to make useful and beautiful objects, and at one time it was also the meeting place for the community, a place to share stories and information, music and jesting, a place where the young men would engage in contests and shows of strength. In ancient times it also had a deeper and more magical significance as a place of initiation and creation.

My aim here is to balance more factual information with nourishment for the spirit and the senses, taking advantage of this medium to use colour, images and sound where possible.

On this site Hilaire offers:

Articles
Charms & Prayers
Meditations
Poems
Olive Branch
Links
Contact
blog

These articles begin where most do, with an introduction to Brigit as goddess and saint, but they move into areas not often examined, such as the the role of Brigit in war, Brigit in Wales (Ffraid, who does not share with her Irish and Scottish parallels an Imbolc feast day), and a comparison with the "Hindu Sarasvati, goddess of learning and the creative arts, who bears some striking resemblances to Brigit, as well as some important differences."

Hilaire's careful scholarship, deep commitment, and creative intellect make this website a valuable and precious resource.

Links to Websites and Publications (Institute of Feminism and Religion)

© Institute for Feminism and Religion. All rights reserved.

Websites and Publications

This page lists other websites that relate to feminist theology.

• Papers by Mary Condren Th.D. , National Director of
  the Institute
• Other Papers
• Books
• Articles

Papers by Mary Condren, National Director

• Brigit SoulSmith for the New Millenium
• Mercy Not Sacrifice Toward a Celtic Theology
• Sacred Spaces
• Sacrifice and Political Legitimation
• War, Religion, Gender and Psyche: An Irish Perspective

Publication Details:

“Sacrifice and Political Legitimation: The Production of a
Gendered Social Order”,Journal of Women’s History,
Spring, (1995),

“Mercy Not Sacrifice: Toward a Celtic Theology”, Feminist
Theology No. 15, May 1997.

“Sacred Spaces” published in German as "Von Menschen-
hand gemacht: Die gesellschaftliche Konstruktion heiliger
Orte" in Schlangenbrut: streitschrift für feministische und
religioös interessierte frauen Nr. 66 17. Jg. 1999, pp.28-31.

“Brigit: Soulsmith for the New Millennium,” pp. 39-49. Special
Issue of Irish Journal of Feminist Studies, Cork University
Press, 2002. Volume 4, Number 2. Also published in
Concilium: In the Power of Wisdom eds. María Pilar Aquino
and Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, vol. 5, (London: SCM
Press, 2000), pp.107-119, and in Irish Spirit ed. Patricia
Monaghan, (Dublin: Wolfhound Press, 2001): 120-133.

(Forthcoming in) “Melting Hearts of Stone,” (2007) in Lisa
Isherwood and Kathleen McPhillips (eds.) Post-Christian
Feminisms: A Critical Appraisal. Ashgate Press.

Article appearing in The Irish Times - Jan 31, 2005 by Mary Condren

• Muse whose rites call us to a personal integrity

Article appearing in The Irish Times - August 16, 2004 by Mary Condren

• Enough to make Jesus picket the Vatican

You can download these papers and read them with Adobe Acrobat
READ, which is free software.

Brigit: Soulsmith for a New Millenium

Final Annunciation.pdf

Sacred Spaces

Susa Morgan Black Resources List

Member of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) Susa Morgan Black has assembled an intriguing list of resources for lovers of Celtic and Brigidine lore, especially as travellers in Ireland. I paste a large portion of it here, but do visit her site and see all that she has to offer you--poetry, articles, and much more. (See especially her Brigit Gwers {lesson}.)

http://www.susa-morgan-black.net/travel/Resources.pdf

Bibliography

General Celtic:

• Kindling the Celtic Spirit, by Mara Freeman, Harper San Francisco, 2001
• Druidcraft, the Magic of Wicca and Druidry, by Philip Carr-Gomm, Thorsons, London, 2002
• Celtic Myth and Magic, by Edain McCoy, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1995
  

St. Brigid:

• Saint Gobnait of Ballyvourney, by Elís Uí Dháiligh, (some say Saint Gobnait is a version of Brigid in her patroness of Blacksmiths aspect)
• Irish Legends: St. Brigid’s Cloak, by Reg Keating, Tarantula Books, Dublin, 1997
• Rekindling the Flame, A Pilgrimage in the Footsteps of Brigid of Kildare, by Rita Minehan, CSB, Solas Bhride Community, 1999
• In Search of St. Brigid, Foundress of Kildare, by Mary E. Pollard, St. Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare, 1988
• The Cathedral Church of Saint Brigid, Rev. John Paterson, Dean of Kildare, 1982
• Brigit of Kildare by Ann Egan, Kildare County Council Library and Arts Services, 2001

Ogham, Irish Herbs and Trees:

• Irish Trees, Myths, Legends and Folklore, by Nial Mac Coitir, The Collins Press, Cork, 2003
• Irish Trees and Shrubs, by Peter Wyse-Jackson, Appletree Guide, Belfast, 1994
• Healing Herbs in Ireland, by Paula O’Regan, Primrose Press, Dublin, 1997
• Brighid’s Healing, Ireland’s Celtic Medicine Traditions, by Gina McGarry, Green Magic, Sutton Mallet, England, 2005
• Ogham, Ancestors Remembered in Stone, by Susan Connolly and Anne-Marie Moroney, Flax Mill Productions, Drogheda, Ireland, 2000
  

Tour and Guide books:

• The Book of Tara, by Michael Slavin, Wolfhound Press, Dublin, 1996
• The Tara Walk by Michael Slavin, (self produced and available in his shop at the foot of Tara Hill)
• The Druids at Tara, by Michael Slavin (self produced and available in his shop at the foot of Tara Hill)
• Sheela-na-Gigs, Origins and Functions, by Eamonn P. Kelly, Country House, Dublin, 1996
• Illustrated Map of the Sheela na Gigs of Britain and Ireland, by Jack Roberts and Joanne McMahon, Bandia Publishing, Ireland, 1997
• Brú na Bóinne, Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth and the River Boyne, by Archeology, Ireland, 2003

• The Complete Road Atlas of Ireland, Ordnance Survey, Ireland
• Paddy Mac’s Gap of Dunloe Pictoral Guide
• Guide to the National Museum of Ireland. by Patrick F. Wallace, Town House, Dublin, 2000
• The Complete Road Atlas of Ireland, Ordnance Survey, Ireland
  
• My personal travel journal, kept diligently for the duration of this extraordinary trip
  

Video:

• The Story of Tara, produced by Michael Slavin, available at his shop at the bottom of Tara Hill

Museums, Tours, and Parks

• Musaem Cheílteach Agus Réstaore. Dingle, County Kerry: www.kerryweb.ie
• Arthur Young Nature Trail, Killarney National Park, begins near Muckross House. Many of the Druid trees grow here, including incredible giant Birches and Pines, as well as Oaks, Hawthorne, Alder, Hazel, Reed, Furze, Fern, and ancient Yews. Even found a Blackthorn bush near Dundag Bay!
• National Museum of Ireland, Dublin: http://www.museum.ie/
  

• Bram Stoker’s Dracula Experience, Dublin: http://www.thebramstokerdraculaexperience.com/
• The Zozimus Ghostly Experience, Dublin: www.zozimus.com
• Irish National Stud, Japanese Gardens, and Saint Fiachra’s Garden, Kildare
• Dublin Ghost Bus Tour: http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey/ghost_bus_tour.asp
• Dublinia, and the Viking World, Dublin: www.dublinia.ie
• Musaem Cheílteach Agus Réstaore. Dingle, County Kerry: www.kerryweb.ie
• Arthur Young Nature Trail, Killarney National Park, begins near Muckross House. Many of the Druid trees grow here, including incredible giant Birches and Pines, as well as Oaks, Hawthorne, Alder, Hazel, Reed, Furze, Fern, and ancient Yews. Even found a Blackthorn bush near Dundag Bay!
  

By Susa Morgan Black

Druid (OBOD), NROOGD, FSA Scot