The promised Spring arrives.

The sun is warm, the Lough Field hares have a new leveret and Brigid’s promise of Spring has unfolded.

Earlier this week I made my way to Kildare.

Town square with the Tourist Information Centre, perpetual flame & statue of the saint. 

Kildare takes it’s name from Cill Dara, the cell or church of the oak claimed to have been founded in 480 CE by the saint and her followers.

Pic © civic heraldry.com

The town’s modern coat of arms features a Brigid’s cross and oak branch with the motto ‘Spirit and Courage’.

In the square stands a statue of the saint, a memorial to the 350 men who were killed by British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 on the Curragh of Kildare. 

Nearby her perpetual flame rises as a symbol for hope, justice and peace.

As I explored the town I glimpsed Brigid’s sun wheels rendered in reeds, stone and metal. 

The exhibit of various designs, made afresh annually by a local man, was displayed in a grocery shop window.

Visiting the ancient site of St Brigid’s Fire Temple revealed signs of the ritual which took place on 1st February this year, when her fire was kindled again.

Offerings of hyacinths & white quartz stones in the fire pit. 

The town was bustling in the spring sunshine but the tranquility of the Well was calling me.

The Well gardens near the site of the millrace which was said to have been used by the saint.

Sunlight at the entrance where candles burn to Brigid.

The statue of the saint stands on a tiny island around which water flows. 

Home made crosses and flowers left at Brigid’s feet.

The well itself was unadorned and the water clear.

Beyond it stood a RAG TREE festooned with offerings and healing requests.

As I stood savouring the sound of birdsong and flowing water I considered the importance of Kildare to the followers of Brigid, goddess and saint.

My mind then wandered to my own ancestors and family name, originally Mac Giolla Bhrighde, 'son of the servant of Bridget'.

Perhaps centuries ago, inspired by her flame, they had also known this place as pilgrims and I had walked in their footsteps. 

A short visit to the Rag Tree and Brigid's Well narrated by the late Daithi O hÓgáin.

Brighid returns from the Otherworld.

Tomorrow is Lá Fhéile Bríde, Brighid’s Day and tonight after sunset she will emerge to walk the land.

There are many folk traditions associated with Brighid’s Eve in Ireland which welcome her return, one such is the Brát Bhrid, a piece of cloth, put outside the home on 31st January, at sunset. 

The Brát Bhrid was placed on a nearby bush, often a whitethorn, 

on a window sill or tied to the handle of the front door.

It was believed that Brighid would touch the brát and bestow it with healing which remained in the cloth, becoming more potent over time. 

Hands on the door of Saint Brigid's Parish Church, Kildare.

The brát is left over night and at sunrise the dew damp cloth was brought indoors and kept. 

It was laid on people to heal various ailments, to cure infertility in women and ease childbirth. Wearing the Brát Bhrid also saved young children from abduction by the Good People. 

The cloth was often of a specific colour; on the islands off Donegal, 

in Mayo and on Inishmurray, Sligo it was red, in Tipperary, black & in other areas white. 

The Brát usually consisted of a ribbon, a piece of linen or a garment.

According to author Fr Seán Ó Duinn Brighid is the only saint to return annually and her appearance on the eve of the fire festival, Imbolc, is one indication that her roots go back to the ancient goddess who is associated with healing, poetry and smith craft.

It is not only Brighid who returns tonight. 

The Good People will also emerge from the hills as the gates to the Otherworld open. 

A remnant of this belief was recorded in Donegal when a sheaf of corn and an oat cake were left outside on Brighid’s Eve to thank them for the harvest and to ensure good luck. 

On the old date for Imbolc, 4th February this year, sunlight enters several Neolithic mounds 

including the Mound of the Hostages at Tara above.

Celebrations at Imbolc, the first day of Spring and Lá Fhéile Bríde, traditionally take place around the home and unlike the other annual fire festivals there are no references to bonfires being lit on hill tops. 

Perhaps it was too cold to venture forth? 

Or perhaps the sacred fire was the goddess Brighid herself who dwelt in the Otherworld and would return annually to walk the land bestowing protection, fertility and health on people and animals.

In Christian iconography Brigid is often depicted with fire.

 Here she stands with her soulmate, the young woman St. Darlughdacha.

Not too far from my home is Cruachán Bríg Eile, Croghan Hill in Co. Offaly.

Known as the most isolated hill in Ireland, Croghan stands like an island in the surrounding bog and according to John Feehan it can be seen from 12 counties. 

The breast like Croghan Hill with its’ Neolithic passage grave on the summit 

provides a panoramic view.

Excavations in the area have revealed the presence of iron ore, stone hearths, 

ritual lake deposits & the bog body of  Old Croghan Man.

The Hill itself is an extinct volcano and folklore explains that its’ fire can be reached by entering the burial mound.

Locally it is believed that St. Brighid was born near Croghan and that Brigit Begoibne, Brigid the Smith, has her workshop beneath the hill. It is here, using skill, strength and fire that she works metal to create her beautiful cauldrons.

The Holy Well on Croghan is now dedicated to St. Patrick but the fiery goddess Brighid 

is still remembered with offerings of a Brigid’s Eye, red tinsel and yellow flowers.

As the sun sets this evening Brighid will emerge, flame bright, from the mound on Croghan Hill 

to travel the dark landscape blessing her people.

This is the traditional Manx 'Invocation to Bridget' by Emma Christian.

Translation:

"Bridget, Bridget, come to my house, 

come to my house tonight.

Open the door to Bridget, 

and let Bridget come in.

Bridget, Bridget, come to my house, 

come to my house tonight."

To read more about Brighid I thoroughly recommend 

‘Brigid - Meeting the Celtic Goddess of Poetry, Forge and Healing Well’ by Morgan Daimler 

which can be found HERE.

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Brighid's Crosses for Imbolc

Wrapped up warmly and wearing wellies I ventured into the Lough Field today to cut the reeds to
make Brighid's Crosses for our home and for friends.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Lough Field was once a lake containing a tiny island on
which grew a fairy thorn. When the course of the River Barrow was changed the lake dried up
but local belief held that the thorn and the field was still the gathering place of the Sídhe.

Several stories about the field and the lough were told to me by an elderly man who had lived
here all his life and although Jim considered himself to be good Catholic, attending mass every
week and saying the rosary regularly, he confessed that he had a strong belief in the 'good folk'
and the Old Ones who are still about.
At one time, before electricity came to this part of the island and people still rambled to each
others' homes of an evening to tell stories, it was understood that the fairies lived in the Lough
itself, so today I made sure to ask their permission before I began to cut.

This year I was alone but in previous years several of my women friends have gathered
by the fire here to make crosses, drink tea and eat home made scones.

Pic © Séan Gilmartin

We make several different forms of crosses each once special to Brighid in different counties.
The well known four-armed cross,

Pic © Séan Gilmartin

My own favourite the three-armed cross,

Pic © Séan Gilmartin

And the more complicated woven cross which needs two pairs of hands.

Pic © Séan Gilmartin

Once completed the cross is hung above the hearth or the front door as protection against
famine, fire and disease.

Tonight the goddess is believed to walk the land of Ireland. 

So I wish you all the blessings of Brighid on your hearths and on your homes.

For more information on Brighid and Kildare please visit HERE

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Imbolg and Brigit's Day

Lá Fhéile Bríde shona dóibh go léir - Happy Brigit’s day to you all.

The snowdrops in our garden arrived in time for Imbolg and the storms abated enough to allow me to wade into the Lough Field next door to gather reeds for the Brigit's Crosses.

The St. Brigit's Cross, which many consider to be a solar symbol connected to the Goddess Brigit / Bríde, was made for protection against fire, storm, lightning and illness and was in the past condoned by some priests and condemned as superstition by others. 
They are still made by women across Ireland to protect the home and family and hung above the front door or hearth.

Today the well known four-armed cross below is most popular but in times past the design of crosses varied depending upon where you lived and could be made from straw, rushes or reeds.

Four-armed Brigid's Cross originally made in Co. Leitrim.

Three-armed Brigit's Cross.

The three-armed cross was traditionally made in Co. Donegal or in other parts of the island where it was made to be hung in the byre to protect the animals.

Woven cross originating from Co. Derry.

In some areas last year's Brigit's Cross was taken down but usually the old crosses were left in place and a new one added so that it was common to see several pinned to the underside of a thatched roof.

A new cross now hangs above our hearth and the Goddess Brigit protects and blesses our home again.    

The Blessings of Imbolg to you!

The name Brigid, Bhríde, has its' roots in Bríg meaning 'exalted' or 'high', a meaning also incorporating ideas of power, strength, vigour and authority. 

As a triple goddess Brigid is known as Brigit of Poetry, Healing and Smith-craft and she illuminates the dawn sky as three swans fly overhead. 

In her hands she holds the triple flame as well as the three-armed Brigid's cross, once common in Co. Donegal.

Fastening her cloak is a gold disc, one of a pair discovered in the roots of a tree at Tedavnet, Co. Monaghan and dating from the Early Bronze Age.

To either side of the main figure can be seen two mounds, part of Loughcrew, Co. Meath, the openings of which are aligned to the Imbolc sunrise around 7th February, the original date of the fire festival.

On St. Brigid's Eve, she is believed to walk the land dispensing her blessing and in folk tradition a cloth left outside overnight, the Brát Bhride, is blessed by Brigid as she passes by and is said to protect her people against 'fire, famine and fever'. La Fhéile Bride, Brigid's day, is now celebrated on the 1st February and marks the beginning of Spring.

Below the hands of the goddess can be seen Croghan Hill, Co. Offaly whose proper name, Cruachán Bríg Eile, means 'mound of the Exalted Eile', the daughter of a king. Locally it is said that Brigid was born near the foot of the hill which she visited later as St. Brigid.

Croghan Hill itself is an extinct volcano and it is beneath here that Brigit Begoibne had her smithy where she created beautiful cauldrons.

The bronze vessel in the painting is from the Early Iron Age and was discovered at Fore, 

Co. Westmeath. From Croghan Hill flow three springs which at one time fed the three 

sacred healing wells at its' base. 

Below the spread of Brigid's cloak can be seen the oak tree and the ridge of clay, where 

St. Brigid founded Cill Dara, 'the Cell of the Oak', Kildare and it was here that Brigid had her shrine and perpetual flame.

At the bottom of the painting, surrounded by reeds and reflecting the gentle sunlight at Imbolc, is a well in Co. Laois symbolising the sacred wells of Brigid throughout Ireland. 

The gold disc & bronze vessel are on display in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin.