Explore St. Brigid traditions and folklore at Mayo's Museum of Country Life

THE National Museum of Ireland - Country Life at Turlough Park, Castlebar, is holding a series of events on Saturday, January 28, exploring some of the folklore and folk traditions associated with St. Brigid.

St. Brigid’s Day - Lá Fhéile Bríde - celebrates Ireland’s only female patron saint on February 1 and most people will be familiar with the popular tradition of making crosses in her honour.

What many people may not know is that the feast day of this 5th century saint was one of the most important days of the year for our rural ancestors.

With its origins in the Celtic festival of Imbolc, St. Brigid’s Day was the festival of fertility and marked the beginning of spring in Ireland. It signalled an end to the darkness of winter and ushered in a new season of hope and growth.

There are many interesting traditions associated with the feast day, all aimed at securing St. Brigid’s protection and promise of new life and abundance for the year ahead.

Come along to the museum on January 28 for a family craft workshop followed by an afternoon of curator-led talks celebrating all things St. Brigid.

Visitors can also view a selection of St. Brigid’s crosses on temporary display and a large willow sculpture inspired by St. Brigid, created by artist Aidan Crotty.

Craftsman and historian Pat Broderick and curator Tiernan Gaffney will be delivering the family craft workshop from 11 a.m. to 12 noon looking at the tradition of making a Brídeog - a straw effigy of St. Brigid. Discover where this tradition comes from and have a go at making your own Brídeog. This is a free workshop but places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Clodagh Doyle, keeper of the Irish Folklife Division, will be speaking from 1 to 1.45 p.m. on objects in the museum’s collection which are associated with St. Brigid, including 300 crosses from all over the country, ribbons, Brídeog and Biddy Boy costumes.

Tiernan Gaffney, curator with the Irish Folklife Division, will deliver a talk from 2 to 2.45 p.m. on ‘St Brigid in Folktales and Folklore’. This talk will examine the origins of St. Brigid as both a Celtic goddess and Christian saint and her connections with nature, fertility, generosity and protection.

Oein De Bhairduin, traveller cultural collections development officer with the National Museum of Ireland, will give a minceiri/Irish traveller exploration of St. Brigid’s Day customs from 3 to 4 p.m. He will look at customs such as the blessing of candles, the graces of the waters and the making of St. Brigid’s cords.

For further information on these events, visit www.museum.ie.