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With 2023 seeing the first national bank holiday for St Brigid's Day in Ireland (or a least south of the border) Louth County Council has announced plans for a programme of events and initiatives to celebrate and commemorate St. Brigid.
According to leading Brigidine experts, 2024 marks the 1500th anniversary of her death. With this in mind Louth County Council will begin a series of initiatives that will run between the 2023 and 2024 celebrations to create a meaningful legacy for all to enjoy and participate in.
Louth County Council Chief Executive Joan Martin supported the announcement commenting “Our Brigid1500 programme will seek to engage communities throughout the county to come together and celebrate the life and legacy of Brigid. We are planning a range of initiatives including a live concert during the year to include local musicians and choirs; our libraries and county museum will be hosting a series of workshops and lectures throughout the year all centred around the theme of St Brigid; we will have a fantastic opportunity for a local artist, or artist group, through our Artist in the Community Residency which we will be doing a call out for in January. This residency will offer the artist(s) a year long residency to work with a range of local community groups and schools to create a series of textile and artistic creations that will be exhibited during the 2024 celebrations. And of course we will be looking at walking tours at the local shrine and St Brigids' well, along with a host of other initiatives that will offer opportunities for locals to immerse themselves in the history and legacy of Brigid.”
The Brigid1500 program will be co-ordinated through the Economic Development section of the council under the direction of Colette Moss along with support from the Arts Office and arts officer Moya Hodgers. There are also plans to partner with Kildare on at least 2 events in the run up to the 1500 anniversary commemorations in 2024, which gives both counties an opportunity to come together and promote the legacy of their shared Saint in a way which will hopefully resonate with citizens in both counties and give us an opportunity to create something spectacular for all.
Anyone looking for further details on the Brigid1500 plans in Louth can contact the email address brigid1500@louthcoco.ie
