A festival honouring St Brigid will take place next month to mark new bank holiday

Perfect for anyone wondering how to thank Brigid for nabbing us the extra day off.

As the promise of a brand new bank holiday next month guides us through a cold and dreary January, many of us may be wondering how to spend it.

And if you’d like to mark the occasion by celebrating the holiday’s namesake, you can do just that with Brigid 1500 – a new festival celebrating the saint in her native county of Kildare.

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‘Brigid 1500’ is a programme of events organised to celebrate and commemorate St. Brigid’s life and legacy in a broad and rich way.

Brigid is believed to have died in the year 524 and Brigid 1500 has been set up by Kildare County Council to honour her.

The festival promises to “engage with the values St. Brigid championed including faith and spirituality, biodiversity and sustainability, arts and culture, social justice, peace, hospitality and education”.

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Various events are scheduled for the days between Tuesday, 31st January and Monday, 6th February to celebrate the patron saint of Spring, including a Light and Fire Walk, cross weaving workshops, storytelling and live music. Former Eurovision winner Eimear Quinn will perform a concert on Sunday, February 5th at St Brigid’s Cathedral in Kildare town, with a new original song dedicated to the saint.

As someone who’s had “We Sing a Song to Brigid” stuck in my head since the days of primary school religion class, I’m ready for a new anthem.

A full lineup of events and more information on each is available HERE.

Header image via Instagram/brigid_1500

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