"Brigid: A Woman, A Life, A Legacy” (a four part lecture series)

Mount St Anne’s in collaboration with Solas Bhride Centre, Kildare offer a Spring Online Course — 

“Brigid: A Woman, A Life, A Legacy”

This 4-week online course takes place each Wednesday evening for 7pm – 9pm (Irish time)

6th March: ST BRIGID AND HER FEAST DAY IN IRISH TRADITION (Bairbre Ní Fhloinn)
Dr Bairbre Ní Fhloinn, is recently retired as Associate Professor of Irish Folklore and Ethnology at UCD. She was Director of the MA in Irish Folklore and Ethnology in UCD, a programme she established. She has written widely on many aspects of Folklore and Ethnology.

13th March: THE SPIRIT OF ST. BRIGID IN OUR CONTEMPORARY WORLD (Rita Minehan)
Sr. Rita Minehan is a Brigidine Sister and founding member of Solas Bhride Spirituality Centre in Kildare. She is the author of Rekindling the Flame, a Pilgrimage in the footsteps of Brigid of Kildare.

20th March: DECODING ST. BRIGID (Eoghan Corry)
Eoghan Corry is the lead travel commentator in Ireland, as well as being a historian, author and broadcaster. Eoghan will draw on his historical background and his travel experience to present a picture of St. Brigid as a saint and demonstrate how her influence and relevance still echoes today.

27th March: ST BRIGID: THRESHOLD WOMAN TO JUSTICE AND COMPASSION (Doris Testa)
Dr Doris Testa is a Brigidine Sister located in Melbourne, Australia. Having a fifty year background in education and social work, she has taught at first and third levels, worked in Child Protection and Community Development. She has held positions of leadership within the Brigidine Victorian Province.

Cost:  Full Course €50

To book a place, please email secretary@mountstannes.com or phone 057-8626153

The Goddess Brigid - Professor Ronald Hutton Zoom Lecture

 

So, there is a lecture coming up online by Professor Ronald Hutton, which looks in part at why the saint and the goddess seem so dissimilar. It is hosted by The Viktor Wynd Museum & The Last Tuesday Society, and will happen on the 23rd of February, so lots of lead time.

From the website:

This talk is designed to look at the evidence for both goddess and saint, and the possible relationships between them.

About this event:

a recording of this lecture will be available to ticket holders for two weeks after the event

Brigid (or Bridget, or Bride) is the most popular Irish goddess in the modern world. This is partly because of her bountiful and gentle nature, as a patroness of handicrafts (especially smithwork), poetry and healing, and partly because she is also revered as a major Christian saint, the patroness of Ireland, with a rich heritage of stories attached to her. She thus acts a a connecting point between the religions. The general supposition is that the goddess had an equal importance in pre-Christian times, and evolved into the saint. If that is so, however, why are the pagan and Christian figures so different, and why are there so few actual references to the goddess in medieval texts? This talk is designed to look at the evidence for both goddess and saint, and the possible relationships between them.

Speaker:

Professor Ronald Hutton is a Professor of History at the University of Bristol. He is a leading authority on history of the British Isles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, on ancient and medieval paganism and magic, and on the global context of witchcraft beliefs.

Date and time:

Wed, February 23, 2022

7:30 PM - 9:00 PM GMT (11:30 AM – 1:00 PM PST)

Tickets:

£5.82 – £11.04

Tickets may be purchased here.

Image: Uncredited, from the website.