On this St Brigid's Day, local people have been swapping stories and traditions, as the matron Saint of Ireland experiences something of a revival among devotees in Cavan and Monaghan.
While we all know the story of the Abbess, her cross of rushes and Brat Bhride, Cavan artist Margaret McKenna has channelled her love and respect for "Mary of the Gael" into her work. Margaret's work for celticmyths.ie takes in Irish folklore with a special collection of paintings, cards and prints dedicated to Ireland's female saint.
Margaret told Northern Sound that today is about birth, renewal and springtime and while much is known about Saint Brigid, even she is learning more about the traditions surrounding Ireland's matron saint. "There's something I learned today actually about the Brigid's cross," Margaret said, "and I only learnt this very, very interesting fact with the Brigid's four-pronged cross, you are actually meant to turn it if you bring it into your house for protection, you're actually meant to turn it on the season and I can thank David Maine of the Íontas Arts centre in Castleblayney for that information because we were talking about Brigid earlier. So there you go, you learn something new every day!"
