Launch of Pause for Peace 2024 initiative for St Brigid's Day

13 secondary schools in County Kildare together with Into Kildare, the Tourism Board for County Kildare and Solas Bhríde Centre & Hermitages have joined forces and launched its second global ‘Pause for Peace’ movement. This extraordinary and powerful activation will take place on the 1 st of February 2024, Saint Brigid’s Day when the young people of County
Kildare will call on people all around the world to stop for a minute’s silence at 12.00 noon (local time) on the 1 st of February 2024. The launch of the Pause for Peace movement took place in Solas Bhríde Centre & Hermitages before the students visited two well known County Kildare tourist attractions, Saint Brigid’s Well in Tully and The Curragh Racecourse.

All the locations the students visited had a connection with the patron saint of Kildare, her holy well in Tully is a place where pilgrims visit and pray for their special intentions while Solas Bhride is a centre of spirituality and embodies the values of Brigid. Saint Brigid was given her lands at the Curragh from the King of Leinster to build her church; the king had
told her she could have as much land as her cloak would cover and miraculously her cloak stretched and grew and covered all the plains. She built her first church at the edge of the Curragh plains under the shade of an oak tree.

John Hayes who is the Principal of Kildare Town Community School said, “Pause for Peace recognises the dreadful suffering and injustices that are happening all over the world and its objective is to ask people to stop and reflect on how they can promote peace in their own communities and in turn around the world. 70 ‘Peace Ambassadors’ have been selected from
13 different secondary schools located around Co. Kildare and the students are all highly motivated and excited to be involved. The role of the Peace Ambassadors is to promote and speak about the Pause for Peace movement and to be involved in various environmental, sustainable and climate change activations which reflect the cornerstone of the patron saint of
County Kildare, Saint Brigid. A renowned peace maker the beloved saint is also known as a protector of nature and is associated with spring and new beginnings.”

The Peace Ambassadors are from Ardscoil na Trionoide, Athy, Clongowes Wood College, Clane, Patrician Secondary School, Newbridge, Cross and Passion College, Kilcullen, Scoil Mhuire Community School, Clane, Holy Family Secondary School, Newbridge, St. Wolstan's Community School, Celbridge, Maynooth Post Primary School, Heywood Community School, Maynooth Community College, St. Paul's Monasterevin, Newbridge College and Kildare Town Community School.

Between 3,500 and 4,000 secondary school students will create a ‘human Saint Brigid’s Cross’ formation on the Curragh Plains on the 1st of February. If successful, the formation will be a world record with the most amount of people coming together to make a living Saint Brigid’s Cross. The event will be captured from the air with a drone and can be watched on the Into Kildare social media channels.

CEO of Into Kildare, Áine Mangan said, “From last year Ireland celebrated a new annual
national holiday in honour of Saint Brigid, one of the three patron saints of our country. This
will be the second time for us to enjoy this bank holiday which takes place this year on the 5 th
of February. The Saint Brigid’s Day Public Holiday is hugely important not just for County
Kildare, but for the whole country when we expect to see hundreds of thousands of visitors
travel to Ireland to walk in her footsteps. Saint Brigid was a welcoming and hospitable figure
and Into Kildare are delighted to be able to remember and to evoke the spirt of Brigid’s
famous hospitality through our great tourism offering. There is massive interest in Brigid
from a cultural, spiritual, and historical point of view. She isn’t solely a religious figure but is
synonymous as a peacemaker and was in fact the first real climate activist as she was a
protector and a custodian of the natural world.”
Sr. Rita Minehan of Solas Bhríde said, “This movement for a Pause for Peace reflects a
spiritual underpinning to the day and is consonant with the value of peace which Brigid stood
for in her time. By pausing for peace, we send out a message that we actively oppose warfare
and the proliferation of arms, which wreak havoc on human beings as well as on the natural
world. This movement aims to awaken and build a spirit of global solidarity in our search for
peace.”

She continued, “We are delighted to have so many wonderful young people to assist us to
share the message of peace. Young people have the power to reach out and to communicate
with the world, they must become the custodians of our environment and of the natural
world. Our youth are our future leaders, and we need to empower them to do good, to not
allow injustice, to protect nature, and to be change makers. They are the leaders of tomorrow
and their voices are the most powerful of them all.”
Sr. Rita explained that Pause for Peace asks people of all faiths and none to stop for a
minute’s silence and send out peace from their hearts to the people of the world. She said the
movement has been inspired by Saint Brigid whose legacy is most relevant in our war-torn
world today. “Saint Brigid was renowned as a peace maker and one of the most popular
stories associated with her is that of her giving away her father’s precious jewelled sword to a
poor person so that he could barter it for food to feed his family. She was compassionate, a
protector of the natural world and a formidable force for justice whose light shines ever more
brightly today. From New Zealand to New York from Brisbane to Barcelona a minute’s
silence for peace will take place all around the globe on the 1 st of February and will form part
of the rolling Pause for Peace movement.”

Áine Mangan said, “We are very excited about Pause for Peace, it’s great to collaborate and
support Solas Bhríde, the schools and the young people of Kildare. Other activations and
celebrations which are being led by Into Kildare include the lighting up of the Hill of Allen
on the eve of Saint Brigid’s and a host of trade missions and communications with

international embassies and government departments. Into Kildare are invited to a special
service in St. Bride’s Church in Fleet Street in London on the 1 st of February and later that
evening we will celebrate and promote County Kildare at a special event at the Irish Embassy
in London. Into Kildare, continues to work in association with Kildare County Council to
deliver a comprehensive line up of special events to celebrate Brigid 1500 and a full
programme of events will follow. We are also working alongside our partners and
colleagues at Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland to promote Kildare and the Saint Brigid’s
holiday all around the world.”
The Cathaoirleach of County Kildare, Cllr. Daragh Fitzpatrick said, “This is a momentous
year for County Kildare, the Pause for Peace movement sets the scene for a year of joyous
celebrations which will showcase all the fantastic historical and cultural experiences and
attractions that Kildare has to offer. We look forward to welcoming our many friends both
old and new to County Kildare over the public holiday weekend and I would like to thank all
the schools, Into Kildare and Solas Bhríde for their great efforts.”
2024 marks the 1500 th year of the passing of Saint Brigid, the patron Saint of Kildare and
Ireland. ‘Brigid 1500’ is a festival which will take place in the spring of 2024 when several
special cultural and spiritual events will take place throughout the county including concerts,
talks, meditative and wellness events and historical and cultural events and talks. The Pause
for Peace movement is one of these special events and celebrations which formally
recognises the importance of Saint Brigid from a cultural, religious, spiritual, and historical
point of view.
The Relics of Saint Brigid are also coming to Kildare Town on Sunday, 28 th of January with a
procession leaving Solas Bhride at 10.30am followed by maas at Kildare Parish Church. This
momentous occasion will see the relics of the patron saint coming back to County Kildare for
the first time in over 1,000 years.
Pause for Peace will be at 12.00 noon, Saint Brigid’s Day, 1 st of February 2024. For more
information on the various Brigid 1500 activities see www.intokildare.ie or visit
www.solasbhride.ie where you will get more information on Feile Bhride, a week-long
celebration of the legacy of Saint Brigid. #PauseForPeace. Insta @intokildare

ABOUT SAINT BRIGID
Saint Brigid birthplace is disputed, some say she was born in Faughart, near Dundalk in Co.
Louth in AD 450, while others claim she was born outside Kildare Town. Her mother,

Broicseach, was a Christian and her father, Dubhthach, was a pagan chieftain of Leinster.
Folklore suggests that Brigid’s mother was born in Portugal but was kidnapped by Irish
pirates and like Saint Patrick, was brought to Ireland to work as a slave. Brigid spent her
childhood cleaning, cooking, and minding the animals on her father’s farm where they
worked as slaves for her father.
Brigid’s father named her after the goddess of fire, one of the most powerful goddesses of the
pagan religion - whose manifestations were poetry, song, and craftsmanship, which the Irish
considered ‘The Flame of Knowledge’.
She lived during the time of Saint Patrick and was inspired by his preaching’s and became a
Christian.
Brigid’s father wanted her to find a husband, but Brigid had decided that she would spend her
life working for God by looking after poor, sick, and elderly people. Her father was furious
and refused her wish. Brigid’s charity angered her father because he thought she was being
too generous to the poor. When she finally gave away his jewel-encrusted sword to a leper,
he relented and allowed her to follow her desire for religious life. She received her veil from
Saint Macaille and made her vows to dedicate her life to God.
She established her famous double monastery for women and men in Kildare around 470AD.
As Abbess of this foundation, she wielded considerable power but was a very fair, wise and
compassionate leader. The Abbey of Kildare became one of the most prestigious monasteries
in Ireland and was famous throughout Europe.
Saint Brigid also founded a school of art, including metal work and illumination, over which
Saint Conleth presided. In the scriptorium of the monastery, the famous illuminated
manuscript the Book of Kildare was created.

Saint Brigid's Cross: 
Making a Saint Brigid’s cross is one of the traditional rituals in Ireland to celebrate the first
day of Spring, 1st February which is also Saint Brigid’s Day. The crosses are made of rushes
that are pulled rather than cut. They are hung by the door and in the rafters to protect the
house from fire and sickness. Saint Brigid and her cross are linked together by the story that
she wove this form of cross at the death bed of either her father or a pagan lord, who upon
hearing what the cross meant, asked to become a Christian.
One version goes as follows: “A pagan chieftain from the neighbourhood of Kildare was
dying. Christians in his household sent for Brigid to talk to him about Christ. When she
arrived the chieftain was raving. Brigid sat down at his bedside and began consoling him. As
was customary, the dirt floor was strewn with rushes both for warmth and cleanliness. Brigid
stooped down and started to weave them into a cross, fastening the points together. The sick
man asked what she was doing. She began to explain the cross, and as she talked his delirium
quieted and he questioned her with growing interest. While weaving he expressed his desire
to become a Christian and was baptised at the point of death. Since then, the cross of rushes
has been venerated in Ireland.”

Saint Brigid died in AD 524/525 at the age of 75 and was buried in a tomb before the High
Altar of her Abbey church. After some time, her remains were exhumed and transferred to
Downpatrick to rest with the two other patron saints of Ireland, Saint Patrick and Saint
Columcille. Subsequently, her skull was taken to Lisbon, Portugal by two Irish noblemen,
where it is revered as a relic today. Brigid is also known as Muire na nGael or Mary of the
Irish. Her feast day is the 1st of February which is the first day of Spring in Ireland according
to the Celtic calendar.

Saint Brigid's Cloak: 
Saint Brigid went to the King of Leinster to ask for land to build a monastery. She told the
king that the place where she stood was the perfect place for a monastery. It was beside a
forest where they could collect firewood. There was also a lake nearby that would provide
water and the land was fertile. The king laughed at her and refused to give her any land.
Brigid prayed to God and asked him to soften the king’s heart. Then she smiled at the king
and said, “will you give me as much land as my cloak will cover?” The king thought that she
was joking and because Brigid’s cloak was so small, he knew that it would only cover a very
small piece of land. The king agreed and Brigid spread her cloak on the ground. She asked
her four friends to hold a corner of the cloak and walk in opposite directions. The four friends
walked north, south, east and west. The cloak grew immediately and began to cover many
acres of land. The king was astonished, and he realised that she had been blessed by God. The
king fell to the ground and knelt before Brigid and promised her and her friends, money,
food, and supplies. Soon afterwards, the king became a Christian and also started to help the
poor. Brigid’s miracle of the cloak was the first of many miracles that she worked for the
people of Ireland.

ABOUT INTO KILDARE
Into Kildare is the tourist board for County Kildare. The organisation works in association
with Kildare County Council to promote tourism and to support hospitality businesses, visitor
attractions and retail experiences throughout the county of Kildare. www.intokildare.ie

ABOUT SOLAS BHRÍDE
Solas Bhride is a Christian Spirituality centre with a focus on Saint Brigid of Kildare. The
vision of the centre is to unfold the legacy of Saint Brigid and its relevance for our world
today. The centre welcome pilgrims and visitors from all over the world-people of all faiths
and none.