The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs initiative "To Be Irish" is marking today, February 1, St. Brigid’s Day (Lá Fhéile Bríde), with a program of over 75 online and in person events around the globe and across Ireland celebrating leadership, creativity, and the talent of women.
Said a release: "To Be Irish working alongside the Department of Foreign Affairs will bring Embassies and Consulates, international Irish community organizations , Local Authorities, venues and organizations in Ireland and around the world to join forces with our 70 million-strong diaspora to mark St. Brigid’s Day and an impressive platform for a battalion inspired by Brigid.
Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora, Colm Brophy, T.D., said: “I am delighted to launch the ‘To Be Irish on St Brigid’s Day’ initiative.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs has been organizing a special St Brigid’s Day program since 2018 - honoring the contributions of trail-blazing women to our diaspora, to Ireland and to the world.
"This is the first year that we are taking this program online - to share the amazing performances, seminars and other discussions which take place at Irish Embassies and Consulates at this time of year and to connect these with inspiring Brigid’s Day events taking place here in Ireland.”
Anne Anderson, the former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States and to the EU, noted that "This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate women’s vibrant voices, and their extraordinary, transformative power. I look forward to participating in our St. Brigid’s Day event in Brussels. It marks 50 years of Ireland's EU membership and celebrates Irish women who have helped to shape the EU during that time.”
The program covers more than twenty countries.
In New York, the New York Irish Arts Center will be screening a documentary made by TG4 about Brigid and and there will be an opportunity for making the famous St. Brigid’s Cross.
In Houston, there will be an online conversation with Monica McWilliams, a groundbreaking leader and campaigner for peace in Northern Ireland, and on behalf of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, which she co-founded.
The Embassy of Ireland in Mexico will host a panel discussion and Q&A exploring the lives of women that have played a key role in the independence of Ireland and Mexico, and how they are remembered.
The conversation will feature Carmen Saucedo, Irish Historian, Sinéad McCoole (Mna100 Centenary Podcast) and Michael Hogan, an Irish American based in Mexico who has written a book on revolutionary women. There will also be a message from the Secretary at the Mexican Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Martha Delgado.
Over 75 events are planned globally. The full list is available to view at tobeirish.ie/events.
St. Brigid is one of Ireland's three patron saints, alongside St. Colmcille and St. Patrick. The origins of her Feast Day, on 1 February, are thought to originally be a pagan festival called Imbolc, which honored Brigid as the goddess of poetry, healing and fire, and marked the beginning of spring.
The day is also seen as a way to celebrate women, and the Celtic goddess’s heritage as a “symbol of feminine energy." Lá Fhéile Bríde celebrates the arrival of longer, warmer days, and an emergence from the darkness of winter.
The "To Be Irish" initiative was launched in 2020 by the Department of Foreign Affairs to create meaningful connections with the Irish diaspora and those who have a grá (love) for, or are interested in, Ireland and Irish culture around the world.
