Granite sun dial photographed M. Ní Dubhshláinne @ St. Columba's Church, Kells Monastic site, County Meath Éire
St. Brighid - Bríd/Irish, Brigida/Latin, Bridgit: (Born C.451 - Died Feb. 1st 525) - Brighid's Feast Day is the 1st February/Imbolc.
Brighid was a REAL Person, a Woman, a Scholar & a Saint, with a history and a life that has led many to simultaneously view her as a Celtic Goddess or as having these qualities, often with 3 aspects/Triple Goddess, Druid. Brighid kept a "perpetual Fire" or "Flame"/Solas Bhríde burning for Centuries, click orange link or the info location Icon to view source: Tara Celebrations Website
Today, The Brigidine Nuns in Kildare, keep this history alive, in doing so they offer us a glimpse of the culture, power and belief systems in place all those years ago, where fire was seen as the new light of Christianity in a very harsh and often brutal time, in particular for women. Where old ways and beliefs began to merge with new ways and belief structures.
Extract: click here or on the info location icon to view the source of this information.
"Kildare County Council commissioned a sculpture to house the flame in Kildare Town Square in 2005. President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, presided at the lighting of the Perpetual Flame in the Town Square on St. Brigid’s Day 2006. This flame was lit from the flame tended by the Brigidine Sisters in Solas Bhride.The Brigid Light is still guarded and tended in Solas Bhride as it was in Kildare many centuries ago by the Sisters of St Brigid. The flame burns as a beacon of hope, justice" and peace for Ireland and our world."
Many other physical sites lie scattered around this Island, mapping out a tangible tapestry, of Brighid's significance and relevance, in the hearts and minds of many, past & Present.
St. Columba/Latin (Colmcille/Irish) - 6th Century AD. (Born 7 December 521 – Died 9 June 597) was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity, alongside other significant figures of the time. Some scholars point to his association with the compilation of the Annals. Another Irish Saint with a history & life that fascinates those who choose to explore. The Feast Day of St. Colmcille is the 9th of June. click orange link or on the info location icon to view a great source of information on this Patron Saint: Tara Celebrations Website
St. Patrick - Feast Day 17th March - this day of celebration has spread across the globe. The dates of Patrick's life are uncertain, with conflicting differences in relation to the date of his death, arrival to Ireland and Birth.
There remains to this day debate and disagreement, around many aspects of his life story. The Irish Annals locate his arrival to be around 432 AD. What is recorded and available in relation to his life story, makes for a very interesting exploration of those times. Click the location icon to view a great source of information on this Patron Saint: Tara Celebrations Website
Good sources:
Author M. Delaney/Máire Ní Dubhshláinne 2025