Pilgrims are looking to St Brigid for “hope” this year, according to a leading expert on Ireland’s patroness saint.

On Alive and Kicking with Clare McKenna today, a special report from Newstalk reporter Josh Crosbie looked at how some people chose to celebrate St Brigid’s Day.

He joined co-founder of the Brigid’s Way Celtic Pilgrimage Dolores Whelehan at the saint’s believed birthplace at the Hill of Faughart in county Louth to find more.

Ms Whelehan said it is no surprise Brigid has experienced a rise in popularity in recent years.

“Interestingly, Brigid was born at a time which was considered to be challenging,” she said.

“That’s why Brigid is coming back into our consciousness so much at this time.

“It’s because we are in a very interesting and challenging transition from the way we live into a better alignment of our role as humans on the planet.”

Brigid's bed

Ms Whelehan said the nine-day walking pilgrimage from Louth to Kildare begins at a megalith in Faughart which she describes as “Brigid’s bed”.

“It’s about understanding the importance of the sacred landscape we live in,” she said.

In nearby Lisnawully, where the first leg of the pilgrimage ends, local man Padraig O’Comiskey said he made an important discovery during COVID that relates to St Brigid.

“I was out for a walk with my cousin in the deer park and I noticed a small thing on this rock [in a stream] called a cut mark,” he said.

“I knew was man-made and carefully started removing the sod around it which revealed a double spiral.

“These things are extremely rare - you only really find them at the likes of passage tombs.”

Holy relics and gifts left at St Brigid's shrine. Image: Stephen Barnes/Religion / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr O’Comiskey said the discovery was “of course” related to St Brigid who was understood to have travelled the route when she lived.

“You can go to Newgrange and see this art like this, but this here is the only example of it on bedrock in the entire country,” he said.

Another co-founder of the pilgrimage, Beibhinn Ramsay, said the journey to Kildare “tells the life story of Brigid”.

“There is a real sense of euphoria, hope, and something really special achieved at the end of it,” she said.

“I think there’s something very special about coming in from the canal and suddenly there is the Curragh of Kildare and these vast planes.

“The fact that the cathedral and the Catholic Saint Brigid’s Church are in the town too – I feel inspired when I’m there.”

Alternatives

Ms Ramsay said there are other alternatives to celebrating the St Brigid, other than the pilgrimage.

“It’s about taking a little bit of time, sitting in your garden, local park, house, and maybe light a candle to symbolise that fire of Brigid and the fire in your heart,” she said.

“Maybe you look to the water, the flow of water in her wells, and you recognise spring is here, there is hope and the birds are singing.

“If Brigid can overcome the challenges in her life, she’s giving me an opportunity to know there’s always a way.”

St Brigid's Day was designated as a bank holiday in 2023.

Main image: St Brigid's Shrine in County Louth. Image: Radharc Images / Alamy Stock Photo