Gail Arthur - Celebrancy and Storytelling

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Brigit's Cross: Repeal the 8th!

A not horribly accurate but wonderful short film urging a yes vote in this week's abortion referendum in Ireland.


Saint Brigid – Short Film #RepealThe8th from David Keeling on Vimeo.

From David Keeling.

Journey with Brigit, Goddess of Poetry: An Online Course with Mael Brigde

It's open!
After a change of hosts, registration for my course, Journey with Brigit, Goddess of Poetry, is open at last! This is an intensive course that both nourishes the writing (and reading) of poetry and connects the participant to the poet in Ireland, and poetry in our lives.
The classes come out one a day, and you are welcome to move as quickly or slowly as you like through each lesson.
I look forward to connecting with some of you in this forum.
Blessings on your pen!
Mael Brigde

Review: Picture Book - "The Story of Saint Brigid" by Clarke and Croatto

The Story of Saint Brigid by Caitriona Clarke, illustrated by Barbara Croatto, Veritas (2015), 23 pp..

This small, slender, and well produced picture book in one way resembles adult books about Saint Brigit more than most picture books: rather than telling a single, unfolding tale, it picks a number of items of information about the saint and briefly recounts them, opposite illustrations that highlight one of the items mentioned on each page. My limited experience with reading books to children suggests that this sort of thing is often of less interest than a gripping story line. Nevertheless there are times when this kind of thing is just the ticket, or is at least a pleasant way to learn a lesson—in this case, who is Saint Brigit? In this particular instance the book is aimed at Irish school children who will have heard often about her, perhaps even go to a school named for her, and so will be more inclined to be curious about the answer to that question than a child who hasn’t grown up knowing her name. Published by Veritas Publications, it comes from an unapologetically Catholic perspective.

I like the easy, conversational tone of the book, beginning with the first page, where Clarke addresses the child reading the book (or more likely having it read to them). “Have you ever heard of Saint Brigid? ... Maybe you have made a St Brigid’s Cross out of reeds? Maybe even your school is named after her!” This engages the child him- or herself, letting them know that this story is about their lives, too.

I was startled on the next page of text to learn of Saint Brigit’s mother that, “it is thought she was captured by pirates in Portugal and brought here as a slave—just like St Patrick …” I have never heard this before. I am more familiar with the suggestion that Broicseach was the daughter of Dalbrónach of the Dál Conchobair in County Meath. I am delighted to learn of another folk geneaology and would love to know where the idea started and how common the belief is in Ireland. In the fifteen hundred years since Saint Brigit’s birth there has been ample time for shifts in and additions to her stories, departures from the texts that I largely rely on for things like this.

I was also surprised to read that Brigit’s father, Dubhthach, had chosen to name his daughter after “the goddess of fire, who was thought to be gifted in poetry, healing, and craftsmanship.” Of course, there is no basis for this in any of the texts, but it is a neat way of connecting the two in the mind of the reader without supposing that they are the same person. This of course would get some backs up, but as I am of the opinion myself that they are not the same person, though they have grown together in our modern understanding, it doesn’t bother me at all, and I appreciate the nod to the goddess.

From this point on there are no surprises. We are told the familiar outline of Saint Brigit’s life, pared down drastically for the brevity of a picture book, and learn of the emphasis in her tales of generosity, compassion, and holiness. Her founding of a double monastery which was in time to produce great works like the (now lost) Book of Kildare is an addition which I favour, taking her out of the sweet holy girl category and placing her into the powerful efficient woman category—a good model for young people to be aware of.

We are told of the use of Saint Brigit’s Crosses in Irish homes for protection of people and animals against illness and their homes from fire, and of her holy wells in healing. There are some humorous elements, such as the expression of gobsmacked horror on the king’s face when Brigit’s cloak is spreading out over his land. The book concludes, “In her, Ireland can proudly lay claim to a wise and charitable woman who devoted her long life to the service of others.”

I have mixed feelings about the artwork that accompanies the text. Mostly, I like it. It is has a light touch which works well with the sparse, friendly writing. There are clean lines against colourful washes and a good sense of design, and there is, as mentioned above, a touch of humour in some of the images that appeals. What I don’t like, and this is purely a matter of taste, is how Croatta draws many of the human faces, which feel a bit awkward to me.

On balance, I like this book.

Making Your Own Brighid’s Cross with Jude Lally

Jude Lally gives step by step, image by image instructions in making a Brigit's cross at the Mystery School of the Goddess.

Songs of the Oystercatcher by Heather Upfield

I have added a new page (the first "page") to my Brigit poetry blog, Stone on the Belly: a series of poems written by Heather Upfield, honouring Brihde through the seasons.

To see and download Songs of the Oystercatcher, please click here.

"Kilbride Burn" by Heather Upfield

Heather Upfield kindly gave me permission to pass on to you her photo:

She says,

"I popped up to West Kilbride today and took a walk through Glenbryde. This is the Kilbride Burn which joins the Atlantic Ocean about a mile further downstream. St Bride arrived on these shores (probably where Kilbride Burn meets the sea) around 500AD and established chapels along the coast — at North Ayrshire."

“Saint Bridget and the King's Wolf” by Abbie Farwell Brown (1900)

“Saint Bridget and the King's Wolf”

by Abbie Farwell Brown

EVERY one has heard of Bridget, the little girl saint of Ireland. Her name is almost as well known as that of Saint Patrick, who drove all the snakes from the Island. Saint Bridget had long golden hair; and she was very beautiful. Many wonderful things happened to her that are written in famous books. But I suspect that you never heard what she did about the King's Wolf. It is a queer story.

This is how it happened. The King of Ireland had a tame wolf which some hunters had caught for him when it was a wee baby. And this wolf ran around as it pleased in the King's park near the palace, and had a very good time. But one morning he got over the high wall which surrounded the park, and strayed a long distance from home, which was a foolish thing to do. For in those days wild wolves were hated and feared by the people, whose cattle they often stole; and if a man could kill a wicked wolf he thought himself a very smart fellow indeed. Moreover, the King himself had offered a prize to any man who should bring him a dead wolf. For he wanted his kingdom to be a peaceful, happy one, where the children could play in the woods all day without fear of big eyes or big teeth.

Of course you can guess what happened to the King's wolf? A big, silly country fellow was going along with his bow and arrows, when he saw a great brown beast leap over a hedge and dash into the meadow beyond. It was only the King's wolf running away from home and feeling very frisky because it was the first time that he had done such a thing. But the country fellow did not know all that.

"Aha!" he said to himself. "I'll soon have you, my fine wolf, and the King will give me a gold piece that will buy me a hat and a new suit of clothes for the holidays." And without stopping to think about it or to look closely at the wolf, who had the King's mark upon his ear, the fellow shot his arrow straight as a string. The King's wolf gave one great leap into the air and then fell dead on the grass, poor fellow.

The countryman was much pleased. He dragged his prize straight up to the King's palace and thumped on the gate.

"Open!" he cried. "Open to the valiant hunter who has shot a wolf for the King. Open, that I may go in to receive the reward."

So, very respectfully, they bade him enter; and the Lord Chamberlain escorted him before the King himself, who sat on a great red velvet throne in the Hall. In came the fellow, dragging after him by the tail the limp body of the King's wolf.

"What have we here?" growled the King, as the Lord Chamberlain made a low bow and pointed with his staff to the stranger. The King had a bad temper and did not like to receive callers in the morning. But the silly countryman was too vain of his great deed to notice the King's disagreeable frown.

"You have here a wolf, Sire," he said proudly. "I have shot for you a wolf, and I come to claim the promised reward."

But at this unlucky moment the King started up with an angry cry. He had noticed his mark on the wolf's right ear.

"Ho! Seize the villain!" he shouted to his soldiers. "He has slain my tame wolf; he has shot my pet! Away with him to prison; and to-morrow he dies."

It was useless for the poor man to scream and cry and try to explain that it was all a mistake. The King was furious. His wolf was killed, and the murderer must die.

In those days this was the way kings punished men who displeased them in any way. There were no delays; things happened very quickly. So they dragged the poor fellow off to a dark, damp dungeon and left him there howling and tearing his hair, wishing that wolves had never been saved from the flood by Noah and his Ark.

Now not far from this place little Saint Bridget lived. When she chose the beautiful spot for her home there were no houses near, only a great oak-tree, under which she built her little hut. It had but one room and the roof was covered with grass and straw. It seemed almost like a doll's playhouse, it was so small; and Bridget herself was like a big, golden-haired wax doll,—the prettiest doll you ever saw.

She was so beautiful and so good that people wanted to live near her, where they could see her sweet face often and hear her voice. When they found where she had built her cell, men came flocking from all the country round about with their wives and children and their household goods, their cows and pigs and chickens; and camping on the green grass under the great oak-tree they said, "We will live here, too, where Saint Bridget is."

So house after house was built, and a village grew up about her little cell; and for a name it had Kildare, which in Irish means "Cell of the Oak." Soon Kildare became so fashionable that even the King must have a palace and a park there. And it was in this park that the King's wolf had been killed.

Now Bridget knew the man who had shot the wolf, and when she heard into what terrible trouble he had fallen she was very sorry, for she was a kind-hearted little girl. She knew he was a silly fellow to shoot the tame wolf; but still it was all a mistake, and she thought he ought not to be punished so severely. She wished that she could do some- [6] thing to help him, to save him if possible. But this seemed difficult, for she knew what a bad temper the King had; and she also knew how proud he had been of that wolf. who was the only tame one in all the land.

Bridget called for her coachman with her chariot and pair of white horses, and started for the King's palace, wondering what she should do to satisfy the King and make him release the man who had meant to do no harm,

But lo and behold! as the horses galloped along over the Irish bogs of peat, Saint Bridget saw a great white shape racing towards her. At first she thought it was a dog. But no: no dog was as large as that. She soon saw that it was a wolf, with big eyes and with a red tongue lolling out of his mouth. At last he overtook the frightened horses, and with a flying leap came plump into the chariot where Bridget sat, and crouched at her feet, quietly as a dog would. He was no tame wolf, but a wild one, who had never before felt a human being's hand upon him. Yet he let Bridget pat and stroke him, and say nice things into his great ear. And he kept perfectly still by her side until the chariot rumbled up to the gate of the palace.

Then Bridget held out her hand and called to him; and the great white beast followed her quietly through the gate and up the stair and down the long hall until they stood before the red-velvet throne, where the King sat looking stern and sulky.

They must have been a strange-looking pair, the little maiden in her green gown with her golden hair falling like a shower down to her knees; and the huge white wolf standing up almost as tall as she, his yellow eyes glaring fiercely about, and his red tongue panting. Bridget laid her hand gently on the beast's head which was close to her shoulder, and bowed to the King. The King only sat and stared, he was so surprised at the sight; but Bridget took that as a permission to speak.

"You have lost your tame wolf, O King," she said. "But I have brought you a better. There is no other tame wolf in all the land, now yours is dead. But look at this one! There is no white wolf to be found anywhere, and he is both tame and white. I have tamed him, my King. I, a little maiden, have tamed him so that he is gentle as you see. Look, I can pull his big ears and he will not snarl. Look, I can put my little hand into his great red mouth, and he will not bite. Sire, I give him to you. Spare me then the life of the poor, silly man who unwittingly killed your beast. Give his stupid life to me in exchange for this dear, amiable wolf," and she smiled pleadingly.

The King sat staring first at the great white beast, wonderfully pleased with the look of him, then at the beautiful maiden whose blue eyes looked so wistfully at him. And he was wonderfully pleased with the look of them, too. Then he bade her tell him the whole story, how she had come by the creature, and when, and where. Now when she had finished he first whistled in surprise, then he laughed. That was a good sign,—he was wonderfully pleased with Saint Bridget's story, also. It was so strange a thing for the King to laugh in the morning that the Chamberlain nearly fainted from surprise; and Bridget felt sure that she had won her prayer. Never had the King been seen in such a good humor. For he was a vain man, and it pleased him mightily to think of owning all for himself this huge beast, whose like was not in all the land, and whose story was so marvelous.

And when Bridget looked at him so beseechingly, he could not refuse those sweet blue eyes the request which they made, for fear of seeing them fill with tears. So, as Bridget begged, he pardoned the countryman, and gave his life to Bridget, ordering his soldiers to set him free from prison. Then when she had thanked the King very sweetly, she bade the wolf lie down beside the red velvet throne, and thenceforth be faithful and kind to his new master. And with one last pat upon his shaggy head, she left the wolf and hurried out to take away the silly countryman in her chariot, before the King should have time to change his mind.

The man was very happy and grateful. But she gave him a stern lecture on the way home, advising him not to be so hasty and so wasty next time.

"Sirrah Stupid," she said as she set him down by his cottage gate, "better not kill at all than take the lives of poor tame creatures.  I have saved your life this once, but next time you will have to suffer. Remember, it is better that two wicked wolves escape than that one kind beast be killed. We cannot afford to lose our friendly beasts, Master Stupid. We can better afford to lose a blundering fellow like you." And she drove away to her cell under the oak, leaving the silly man to think over what she had said, and to feel much ashamed.

But the King's new wolf lived happily ever after in the palace park; and Bridget came often to see him, so that he had no time to grow homesick or lonesome.

Source: The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts by Abbie Farwell Brown (1900).  Chapter One.

Image: Illustrated by Fanny Y. Cory

Found on The Baldwin Project site. This work is in the public domain.

Stained Glass of the Founding Brigidine Sisters and Bishop Delany

Stained glass window by George Walsh depicting the six founding Brigidine Sisters with Bishop Delany in the garden at their convent in Tullow
Abbreviation	C.S.B.
Formation	c. AD 1807; 211 years ago
Founder	Daniel Delany
Type	Catholic religious order
Headquarters	Coonamble New South Wales
Website	Brigidine Sisters, Australia.

• The Brigidine Sisters: Our Beginning. Australian Brigidines.
• Solas Bhride.

•  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Institute of the Brigidines". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

All snitched from the Wikipedia page.

Krewe of St. Brigit - Tampa, Florida

Chartered in July, 2003 the Krewe of St. Brigit was formed with community service endeavors in mind. With the collective resources of our members, we aspire to make significant contributions to our community with charities that benefit women a priority in our fundraising efforts. In 2008 we debuted our "tavern" float. The float is inspired by a local Irish tavern and the design of Mary Dietz (1959-2014), one of our founding members. Through the contributions of our "float fairies" over the past few years it is a creation of our members with many special symbols that we understand and appreciate representing our society of women.

In 2012 we joined the Krewe of Shamrock and The Highlanders to host the Tampa Bay Tartan Ball. The ball has become one of the talked about events of the pre-season and is dated around the time of the Celtic Fall Solstice.

Every year we celebrate Imbolc, traditionally held February 1st , which is regarded as the true First Day of Spring, the Celtic Season of Light. Bonfires burned in honor of Brigid the goddess, symbolizing purification after being confined to one's home during the long bleak winter. Before the YMKG Day parade we as a krewe, gather the night before the parade to celebrate our Imbolc.

Go to their page to learn more and see all the lovely photos!

Podcast Mael Brigde, Founder of the "Brigit's Sparkling Flame" Blog and "Daughters of the Flame" Flametending Group, Discusses Her Work

Ah! Last spring I had a lovely visit with Amy Panetta when she came to Vancouver for the Celtic Studies of North America annual conference. Somewhere in there she managed to do this interview of me, and now it is up on her Celtic Feminine Podcast. You can listen now or download it for later.

Play Podcast in New Window

In this podcast, Amy has a conversation with Mael Brigde, about her work and connection with Brigid.  Since 2004, Mael has maintained the longest-running, most prolific blog about Brigid entitled, "Brigit's Sparkling Flame" where she collects a variety of different resources about Brigid, such as in links, books, music, and events. She also has her poetry dedicated to Brigid on her "Stone on the Belly" blog.  She founded "Daughters of the Flame," which is the first non-church-based flame tending group dedicated to Brigid, which interestingly enough lit their first flame on Brigid's Eve, January 31st 1993, the same year that the Brigidine sisters in Kildare Ireland relit Brigid's flame.  

Currently, Mael teaches online courses dedicated to Brigid.

Links:

Brigit's Sparkling Flame Blog

Stone on the Belly Blog

Daughters of the Flame

Mael's Brigid Courses:

Journey with Brigit - Goddess of Poetry

Stepping into Brigit – Goddess Activation Course

Discovering Brigit – Goddess and Saint with Mael Brigde

Intro and Outro Music from the album, "A Year In Ireland" by New Time Ensemble, Used with Permission

To support the many hours that will go into this podcast, please consider donating.  You may send a donation by clicking HERE.  Also, be sure to send me an email at apanettamusic@yahoo.com notifying me of this donation.  Thank you!

Triple Brigid Talisman by Morpheus Ravenna

Triple Brigid Talisman: Lady of Poetry, Skill, and Fire

$35.00 – $45.00

Description

This talisman honors Brigid, Irish and Scottish Goddess of poetry, healing, smithcraft, fire, and many other bright things. She also called Brig, Brigit, Brid, and is closely related to the Gallo-Brittonic divinities Brigantia and Brigindona.

The name Brigid is thought to derive from the root *brig signifying high or exalted, and is sometimes translated Exalted One. We see this same root in place-names referring to raised hillforts. In Irish and Scottish folklore, Brigid is linked to Saint Brigid and many believe the saint to be a survival of the pre-Christian pagan Goddess. She is often spoken of as a triad, the Three Brigits. She is said to be a midwife and is called upon to bless births of children and animals, to help protect the herds and the milk supply, and for healing. Milk and milk products have a special association with healing and purification in Celtic thought, and She is connected to both. She is associated with craftsmanship, especially blacksmithing, and is seen by many as the embodiment of the fire that heats the forge. She is worshiped at holy wells throughout Ireland, where the upwelling and flowing of waters are also expressions of the deep well of wisdom and its flowing out in the form of inspiration and poetry. Thus, She is also the Lady of poets and poetic inspiration.

The front of this talisman shows Brigid in triple form, the flames of poetic inspiration rising above each of the three faces. She carries a spear and a vessel of milk, reflecting Her role in Celtic warrior culture, as the Goddess who receives the returning warrior bands from their winter raiding, purifying them with milk or butter to wash the warrior’s mark from them and bring them peacefully back into the fold of settled society. Her stance and position within the archway echoes images of Brigantia from Britain. The words here say Duine úallach / Brigit búadach: “Proud lady / Victorious Brigid”.

The back of the talisman displays a triple St. Brigid’s Cross, a folk charm traditionally woven of straw or reeds in honor of the saint and the Goddess. Between its three arms, Her implements are displayed: hammer and anvil as Lady of the Forge; cauldron and flame as Lady of Healing; and harp as Lady of Poetry. These are framed by poetic lines adapted from the Carmina Gadelica: Lasair dhealrach oir / Muime chorr dée / Bride nighinn Daghda; “Radiant flame of gold / Noble foster-mother of Gods / Bride daughter of the Dagda”. (The original lines in the Carmina Gadelica reference Christian ideas associated with St. Brigid; this has been adapted to a more Pagan form).

You may notice a resemblance between the back design of this talisman, and Ian Corrigan’s beautiful Brigid sigil. I respect Ian’s work and certainly wouldn’t copy – this turns out to be one of those divinely inspired synchronicities, as we’ve both arrived at this design independently. You can check out Ian’s books on Brigid and other creations here.

Talisman is etched in 18-gauge copper, in your choice of 1.5″ diameter medallion, or 2″ allowing for much finer detail. Comes strung on a simple natural leather cord.

Our copper talismans are hand etched in small runs with careful attention. Talismans are individually hand-detailed, so each pendant is slightly different and unique. The artist, Morpheus, personally consecrates all the talismans on her altar.

To order.

MORPHEUS RAVENNA

Tattoo Artist, Morrigan Priestess, Spiritworker, and Writer

New Short Film: Awen by Buccaneer Pictures

Awen from Buccaneer Pictures on Vimeo.
From their Vimeo page:

Awen is a short film. 

We follow the Celtic Goddess Bridgit as she spreads "inspiration" to humans. And encounters opposition from other spiritual beings. 

"Awen" is an Old Welsh word for "The Breath of Inspiration"

Webinar Available to Support Solas Bhride Center in Kildare, Ireland

The following is from Amy Panetta's website:

Last year, in 2017, so many people were so generous to support me in my crowdfunding campaign to go to Ireland to continue my research in the music that is written and performed in dedication to Brigid.  This research was later shared at The Celtic Studies of North America Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia in April of 2017 and is continually shared on The Celtic Feminine Podcast.  With the money raised from the original crowdfunding campaign, I was able to get a flight and lodging in Ireland!  In addition, it was my pleasure to be able to present a 150€ donation in person to the Solas Bhride Centre in Kildare Ireland.

This year, in honor of St. Brigid's Feast Day, I would like to have a fundraiser to donate most of the funds to the Solas Bhride Centre for the excellent work that they do in promoting St. Brigid's values of peace, justice, and compassion.  Solas Bhride Centre and Hermitages is a Spirituality Centre dedicated to St. Brigid of Kildare, Patroness of Ireland. The centre caters to the large number of pilgrims and visitors, local, national and international, interested in the traditions, values and customs associated with Brigid of Kildare.  Please visit http://www.solasbhride.ie for more information.  

I have created a webinar that I would love to send you as a gift donation.  The webinar is about 50 minutes long and is like a class I would give in person where I offer a few words to center us in the season, share my story in how I came to be inspired by Brigid, discuss the life of Brigid the Saint and Goddess, show a short video clip of the variety of music dedicated to Brigid, and teach you the song, Gabhaim Molta Bride!  

Click here to donate.  Any amount, big or small, is a big help!  Once I get the notification of your donation, I will send you the link to the webinar!

A small percentage of donations will be used to offset costs to produce The Celtic Feminine Podcast and ongoing research projects dedicated to Brigid.

Saint Brigit's Peripatetic Disciple: Breaca (and Companions) to Cornwall!

Catholic Online: Saint Breaca, from whom Breage in Cornwall was named, was born in East Meath, Ireland and schooled at the Brigidine convent nearby.

Becoming a disciple of St. Brigit, she was also called Breque, Branca, and Branka. She travelled from Ireland to Cornwall around 460 C. E.. There she and her companions made a home for themselves on the bank of the River Hoyle.

Feastday: June 4

Death: 5th or 6th century

There is a wee problem here. If Breaca studied with Brigit and left in 460, Brigit herself was about four years old at the time. Though we know she was quite precocious, I think this is pushing it. It 's too bad the dates are all so hazy and estimated. It would be nice to know for sure that a disciple of Brigit's had gone on to the big isle to build a community. This would lend some support to the idea that Brigit herself may have done such travelling, too.

According to the site of The Cornwall Historic Churches Trust writes of her church in Breage, Helston:

"Breaca was patron of this church by c.1170. According to c.1540 extracts from a Life written in the 14th or 15th centuries, Breaca was born in the regions of Leinster and Ulster. Her first local settlement and church here was at Chynoweth, near Trew, but the present church where she was reputedly buried stands on a different site."

According to the National Churches Trust:

"The present church was probably built in the early 12th century. It was considerably enlarged with north and south aisles and chapels and transepts from the mid 15th to the mid 16th centuries. This church as viewed from the exterior is much as it was over 500 years ago. It is dedicated to St Breaca an Irish missionary who is thought to have first come to Cornwall in 500 AD to bring Christianity to the area."

All is now clear. You should pop over to those websites for some lovely views.

"Silent Night" (Western Ireland ??Brigidian?? Version)

See the bottom of the post for some interesting reflections on the language from Quora.

As far as I can piece together, this Christmas hymn, which does not mention Brigit at all, could perhaps have been written by Bishop Moel Brigid (or Brigidian O'Brolcan), who died in 1097. (Not to be confused with Bishop Moel Brigid ((also nicknamed Brigidian)) who died in 1042.)* Which would make it of interest because of the name, very similar to my own and meaning "Devotee of Brigit."** It is interesting to know there is a "nickname" for Mael Brigde.

More likely, it is simply that the hymn is written in the "Brigidian" language, or presumably dialect. I am at a loss as to what is going on here. I have found a couple of references to it online, but not much. One is a plea for information posted in 2003 and never answered:

"I have run across a language that appears to be Gaelic-English-Romance-Germanic in origin. It is called "Brigidian." Does anyone know about it? All I could find on the internet were several sites having to do with "how to say...in 2 billion languages.

"I think that this language was made up, but you never know. Supposedly, it is, or was, spoken in western Ireland."

I found one of those sites, too:

"Thank you" in more than 465 languages:

Brigidian (western Ireland)                Boche'

from 

Jennifer's Language Pages

Well, I have certainly never heard of the Brigidian language before, but it is fascinating, so I post this here to ask you if you have ever heard of such a thing.

The query above came from a Lowland Scots listserve, and there may be something to this connection, as hinted in this from Wikipedia:

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots).^[7] It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language which was historically restricted to most of the Highlands, the Hebrides and Galloway after the 16th century.^[8] The Scots language developed during the Middle English period as a distinct entity.^[9][10][11]

The interesting thing for me is, if there really is, or rather was, a non-Gaelic language in Western Ireland named Brigidian, whether it came over from Scotland, and why it is called this. Is there a connection to Brigit, or is it a superficial resemblance, with a different etymology?

Anyway, here is the hymn that started all of this:

Nóçhé' Nóël, Nóçhé' Cúna / Silent Night / Stille Nacht (Western Ireland Brigidian Version)***

Nóçhé' Nóël, Nóçhé' cúna, 

Gah íes án sa' la xana 

Na íes Marí äte Swíe Loddy, 

Bébé Nuäfóna, ham äte ódí, 

Dòrméz, Crístús, dòrméz! 

Dòrméz, Crístús, dòrméz!

Nóçhé' Nóël, Nóçhé' cúna, 

Rí'ins Sôlí def Aíah, 

Haíshner fröuçh Two bal nuäfóna 

Fwothsòneth mwos salvins hóra; 

Jäésús, a' Two Rúbins, 

Jäésús, a' Two Rúbins.

Nóçhé' Nóël, Nóçhé' cúna, 

Salvatem 'nggósèa 

Fröuçh Cqíëlós-el óró haígnèh, 

Shóveth gratzía-el lánèh; 

Jäésús, yinmöu Húmanäé! 

Jäésús, yinmöu Húmanäé!

Nóçhé' Nóël, Nóçhé' cúna, 

Waléróhs vwons essèa 

Ló Angelícque Halelúya 

Haútèa íet éerigçhaba: 

Ló Meshíach íes ní! 

Ló Meshíach íes ní!

(English literal translation)

Christmas night, Quiet night, 

All is bright in the stable. 

There is Mary and Her Boy-child, 

Holy Babe, little and lovely. 

Sleep, Christ, sleep. 

Sleep, Christ, sleep.

Christmas night, Quiet night, 

Laughing Son of God, 

Love from Thy holy mouth 

Sounds forth our saving hour. 

Jesus, at Thy Birth. 

Jesus, at Thy Birth.

Christmas night, Quiet night, 

Salvation brought 

From Heaven's golden height 

Shows grace's fullness. 

Jesus truly Human! 

Jesus truly Human!

Christmas night, Quiet night, 

Shepherds who heard 

the Angelic Alleluia 

Shouted it everywhere 

The Messiah is here! 

The Messiah is here!

P.S. 24 February 2018

This response on Quora is interesting. There are some other answers that are good, as well.

Is there really a "language" (or possibly hybrid language) called Brigidian? I stumbled across a prayer written in this language, said to be spoken in West Ireland. Never before have I heard of such a thing.

http://brigitssparklingflame.blogspot.ca/2018/02/silent-night-western-ireland-brigidian.html

Allan Miles, B.A. Anthropology & Linguistics, New Mexico State University (2021)

Answered 14h ago

Right, so just to start this off, I want to say that I, too, have never heard of a language called Brigidian, nor has the Glottolog (as another answer already stated), nor has Google.

Various sites claiming to teach you “how to say thank you/good morning/yes/no in 100+ languages” have heard of it, evidently, but offer no background, and all other sources mentioning the supposed language are some reference to the same translation of “Silent Night,” or a religious order founded around St. Brigid. That obscurity is precisely what made me so immediately fascinated with this question— if there’s one thing I like, it’s a good linguistic mystery!

Fair warning, however: since there is a painful lack of resources regarding this, I’m pretty much just theorizing. I honestly can’t tell you if there is such a language as Brigidian or not, but I can analyze it and make an educated guess as to what Brigidian might be, if it isn’t made up entirely. So that’s what I’ll be doing from here on out. (What follows is the long-form answer; for the TL;DR, you can go ahead and skip to the last paragraph if you want.)

First, let’s look at some specific words.

As Eugene Kuznetsov's answer to Is there really a "language" (or possibly hybrid language) called Brigidian? I stumbled across a prayer written in this language, said to be spoken in West Ireland. Never before have I heard of such a thing.states, there are some words that stand out as being derived from either Latin or Gaelic. The words nóçhé', nóël, dòrméz, salvins, hóra, cqíëlós, gratzía, húmanäé, salvatem, and angelícque all sound distinctly Latin to me, and (based on the provided English translation) have the same meanings in Brigidian as I would expect them to in languages where they were borrowed or derived from Latin. I’m much less versed in Gaelic languages, but nuäfóna in particular stands out to me as being similar to the Gaelic and Breton words for “heaven.”

There are also two words that, to me, scream “Indo-European!” Those are íes(which I took to be a cognate of Indo-European verbs for “to be” like “is” and es) and two (which fits in with many Indo-European second-person pronouns such as du, to, ty, etc.). Beyond that, there are the religious terms Crístús (Christ), Halelúya (Hallelujah), and Meshíach (Messiah), but they don’t help us define this language very much, being so commonly shared. Something that may be significant, however, are the words shóveth and haígnèh, both of which appear similar to their English translations (“show” and “height,” respectively).

Another important thing to take note of is grammar.

The grammar apparent in the Brigidian “Silent Night” is characteristically Indo-European. Adjectives appear to come after the noun they describe, as in Spanish. For example: Nóçhé' Nóël, Nóçhé' cúna (literally: “night Christmas, night quiet”).

The word order seems to be SVO, as evidenced by how smoothly the Brigidian lines can be translated and transferred into English. For example: Ló Meshíach íes ní (literally: “the Messiah is here”).

Interestingly, there appears to be a suffix (-el) used to indicate possessiveness. For example: Cqíëlós-el óró haígnèh (literally: “Heaven’s golden height”) and gratzía-el lánèh (literally: “grace’s fullness”). Notice that the -el appears in the same place as the “’s” in the English translation. I’m not expert enough to say whether -elitself is physically similar to any possessive suffix in another language, but I wanted to point out its presence.

Now, a brief note on the orthography, or how it’s written.

As I said earlier, I’m no expert in the native languages of England, but based on my research, the orthography would appear to be similar to (if not actually the same as) the orthography of the Manx language. I specifically would like to point out the use of the digraph çh (presumably pronounced as the “ch” in “church”) to differentiate from ch (which, based on the apparent Gaelic influence, should probably be pronounced as in the word loch). It would make sense that, supposedly being spoken in western Ireland, Brigidian would take on Gaelic-style orthography.

But what does all this mean? What conclusions can we possibly draw from all this information?

My first reaction upon reading the poem in Brigidian was that I was looking at “Gaelic Spanish,” and that’s still what it feels like. Even upon closer inspection, one finds a largely Romance-feeling and sounding language with some Gaelic input. But the other components, those that are similar to English and those that don’t seem similar to anything at all, are what really filled in the details and drove me to my final hypothesis: that this language called Brigidian is (or was) a language spoken by a Romani population in west Ireland around the 19th century.

To support this, I would like to introduce you to the Shelta language, a dialect spoken by the Irish Travellers, the descendants of native Celts and Romani immigrants to Ireland. Now, I’m not meaning to say that Brigidian and Shelta are related to each other— they aren’t even very similar, physically speaking. My theory is rather that they were produced in the same way (via the mixing of a migrant Romani population and their language with the local native Celts and their language) and I bring up Shelta to show that there is precedence for it. It seems entirely possible to me that a Romani clan or clans originally from France or Spain made the trip to England at some point, and then to Ireland, where they settled and mixed with Irish Gaelic speakers. Over time, they invented their own creole language, a way the Romani and the Irish could talk to each other without fully learning each other’s tongues, and what we see here— “Brigidian”— is that creole.

That would explain both the Romance sound and the rather heavy Gaelic influence, and could very well also explain the presence of words that don’t seem to fit in either grouping (possibly derived from a Romani dialect, and thus descended from an Indo-Aryan language, not a Romance or a Gaelic one). As for the words and grammatical conventions that sound similar to English, these are why I pinpoint the 19th century: by then, this creole language would have had ample time to be subjected to English-language influence, and naturally took some on (similar to the way the previously mentioned Shelta language has developed, or the Scots language in Scotland). Besides, the poem “Silent Night” dates from that time, so the way we see Brigidian in that translation is likely contemporary to the poem.

I apologize that this answer became so long— my excitement at the investigation got the better of me, I guess! To sum it up briefly: if Brigidian is (or was) indeed a real language, I believe it was probably, or at least could have been, a creole spoken by a hybrid Irish-Romani population as late as the 19th century and likely for some time before that, in various forms. If anyone has more expertise and could provide information that affects this theory of mine, or just wants to discuss this little enigma called “Brigidian,” please do!

Cheers

*Source: Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. I, Fifth Series, Vol. XXI, Consecutive Series 1890-1891, (1892), pg. 518.

** To learn more about the name, go here.

*** Source: Gaelic Rosary Prayers (2011). Bit of a misnomer there.

Image: "Erin makes a Christmas pudding marked 'Home Rule', while Pat brings international support as ingredients,"by John Fergus O'Hea [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Admittedly, this image has nothing to do with the post, but when I looked for an Irish Christmas image on Wikimedia, this came up, and I thought it was too cool to pass by.