A Celebration of Brigid: Pagan Goddess & Saint

In her presentation, Íde B. O’Carroll, PhD, Co-Chair, Amherst Irish Assn., discusses the importance of Brigid in the context of Irish culture and tradition, from her pagan origins to her incorporation into a Christian tradition in the fifth century. Íde describes rituals associated with Brigid practiced during the Celtic festival of Imbolg. Finally, she describes Brigid’s link to 19c. Irish women immigrants in America whose unique “female chain migration” aided female relatives to establish themselves as domestic servants or “Brigids” in America.