PHOTO GALLERY: Relics of St Brigid welcomed home to Kildare by Mayor, Bishop, Minister and special guests

Pictured above is Bishop Denis Nulty (centre) with the sacred reclic of St Brigid at Kldare Parish Church alongside Caothaoirleach Cllr Daragh Fitzpatrick, Sr Rita Minahen (Brigideen Sister), Sr Phil O'Shea (Brigideen Sister), Theresa Kilmurray (Brigidine Conregational Leadership Team), Fr Andy Leahy (PP Kildare Town) and Francesco Rodriquez (PP Lumiar) at Kildare Parish Church

Photos by Aishling Conway.

The sacred relics of Saint Brigid have returned to County Kildare and have come home to the county after nearly a millennium. Hundreds of pilgrims and locals gathered at St. Brigid’s Parish Church in Kildare Town on Sunday (28 th of January) to see the rare relics of the beloved patron saint of Kildare and Ireland.

The relics were brought to the church by way of a formal procession which made its way from Solas Bhride Centre in Tully outside Kildare Town to the church. Three primary school girls on horseback, Evie Holohan (12) and Aela Twomey (12) from St. Brigid’s Primary school together with 12-year-old Elsa Mai Walsh of Ballyshannon National School led the procession. All three girls are in the Kildare Pony Club and were dressed in long cloaks to represent St. Brigid and the three knights that originally brought her relic from Ireland to Portugal. Theresa Kilmurray of the Brigidine Congregational Leadership Team carried the
sacred relics and was also accompanied by members of the Kildare Ladies GAA football team and some of the Brigidine nuns.

People gathered on either side of the road, keen to be blessed by St. Brigid as her relics passed by while a huge crowd waited outside the church which was already packed from early that morning. The Bishop of Kildare; Leighlin, Bishop Denis Nulty stood outside, waiting patiently for the procession to arrive and formally accepted the sacred relics on the steps of the church from Theresa Kilmurray. Once inside the church, the bishop carefully brought the relic to a niche in the church where it was placed on a purpose-built display plinth. Mass was then concelebrated by the bishop, together with the Kildare Town Parish
Priest, Fr. Andy Leahy. Jesuit priest, Fr. Francesco Rodriquez from the church of John the Baptist in Lumiar in Portugal where the relic originally came from also joined the duo in what was a very special and uplifting celebration. A local soprano. Paul Lenehan sang and was accompanied by St. Brigid’s Choir and organist Dave Usher.

Dignitaries in attendance included the Cathaoirleach of County Kildare, Cllr. Daragh Fitzpatrick, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, Senators Vincent P. Martin and Fiona O’Loughlin, Mario Corrigan of Kildare County Council and various local representatives. After the mass, a large crowd went back to Solas Bhride where the nuns had prepared some light refreshments. David Mongey, The Chairman of Into Kildare, the Kildare Tourism Board said, “The relics
of St. Brigid have not been in County Kildare for nearly 1,000 years.

This year is the 1500 th year of the passing of the saint and what could be more special than to bring St. Brigid’s relics home, where she belongs? She built her church in Kildare and her legacy as a peace maker and a protector of nature is still as relevant today as ever. It has been a long process to finally bring her relics back to the county and together with Mario Corrigan of Kildare County Council and my colleagues at Into Kildare we would like to thank the Brigidine
sisters for their great work in bringing Brigid home.”

It is believed that Brigid died in 524 AD and was buried beside the main altar in her monastic church in Kildare along with Conleth and their graves became an attraction for pilgrims throughout Ireland and Europe. In the eight century, shrines were built for the two saints which were adorned with gold, silver, and precious stones. When the Vikings came to Ireland around the year 800, they started to attack and plunder towns and churches. In anticipation of a Viking attack on the town, the body of St. Brigid was moved to Downpatrick in Northern Ireland where she was buried in an unmarked grave beside St. Patrick and St. Columba. The grave was unmarked to protect it and to keep the location secret, however over the passage of time the location of the saint’s bodies was lost and forgotten and for some three hundred years the location of the patron saints of Ireland was unknown. In 1185 the Bishop of Down prayed to God to show him the location of the sacred relics and bodies of the three saints. A beam of light shone on a section of the floor in the dark church. The floor was taken up, and the bodies of the three saints were found with Saint Patrick in the middle and St. Brigid and St. Columba on either side. The bodies were properly enshrined in 1186 where they remained for the next four hundred years until the shrine was destroyed by Lord Leonard Grey the appointee of King Henry VIII.

Although the shrine was gone, Brigid’s remains were saved and secretly transported to the continent. Tradition also holds that three Irish knights took a bone fragment from her head to Lumiar, a small town outside Lisbon in Portugal in the 13 th century. The relic is still venerated in the church of St. John the Baptist in Lumiar where the knights continued to
spend their lives. An inscription outside the church attests to this and states that the knights are interred within the building.
Áine Mangan, CEO of Into Kildare, the official tourism board for County Kildare said, “The Brigidine Sisters in Tullow, Co. Carlow, procured a portion of the Lumiar relic in the 1930’s and it is this relic that has now returned to St. Brigid’s Parish Church in Kildare Town to mark the 1500 th anniversary of the death of St. Brigid. These relics of St. Brigid are now on
permanent display providing pilgrims and visitors with a sacred space for veneration and reflection. We expect that thousands and thousands of people will come to County Kildare to see the relic and to walk in the footsteps of Brigid. This is great news for our great hospitality providers and local tourism attractions. Cultural, historical, and spiritual tourism is an
essential pillar of our tourism offering. We are delighted that Brigid has come home and look forward to welcoming the many international and domestic visitors who will travel to Kildare to see this special relic.”