Ireland 2015: Kildare

Ahhhh, the last 2 days have been a whirlwind! Not sure what day it is OR what time, but we are having a blast.

Jordan drove us to San Francisco early Tuesday morning. We had a 5 1/2 hour flight to JFK (New York) and then a 5 1/2 hour flight to Shannon Ireland. We picked up our rent-a-car and off to Dublin we went (another 2 1/2 hours). Couple of tips for future travelers to Ireland. DON'T RENT A CAR if at all possible. And if you do, make sure you get a GPS. More to come...........

Our wonderful travel agent, Susan Fetterly recommended we stop in Kildare on the way. FABULOUS idea! Here we made our first stop - St. Bridid's Cathedral.

Brigit of Kildare

Saint Brigit of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland is one of Ireland's patron saints, along with Patrick and Columba. Irish hagiography makes her an early Irish Christian nun, abbess, and founder of several monasteries of nuns, including that of Kildare in Ireland, which was famous and was revered. Her feast day is 1 February, which was formerly celebrated as a pagan festival marking the beginning of spring and the lambing season. Her feast day is shared by Dar Lugdach, whom tradition says was her student and the woman who succeeded her.

St Brigid’s Cross

St Brigid also known as “Mary of the Gael” is an abbess and patroness of Ireland, and she is also the founder of the first Irish monastery in Kildare. Born in Dundalk in 450 A.D, St Brigid is accredited with first creating the unique cross that bears her name, which is normally made from rushes but occasionally from straw.
The distinctive St Brigid’s Cross design made from woven rushes is thought to keep evil, fire and hunger from the homes in which it is displayed, however the tale of its creation is somewhat confused, and there is not one definitive version.
The tale as we know it is as follows: There was an old pagan Chieftain who lay delirious on his deathbed in Kildare (some believe this was her father) and his servants summoned Brigid to his beside in the hope that the saintly woman may calm his restless spirit. Brigid is said to have sat by his bed, consoling and calming him and it is here that she picked up the rushes from the floor and began weaving them into the distinctive cross pattern. Whilst she weaved, she explained the meaning of the cross to the sick Chieftain and it is thought her calming words brought peace to his soul, and that he was so enamoured by her words that the old Chieftain requested he was baptized as a Christian just before his passing.
Since that day and for the centuries that followed, it has been customary on the eve of her Feat Day (1st February) for the Irish to fashion a St Brigid Cross of straw or rushes and place it inside the house over the door.