Through narrow, winding roads with overflowing hedgerows, Faughart appears virtually untouched through the centuries.

I came to this ancient village a few months ago to visit St. Brigid’s Shrine.

Little did my husband Damien and I know how much we were to learn that day, or the unexpected impact St. Brigid — one of the patron saints of Ireland, along with St. Patrick and St. Columcille — was to have on our lives, especially as the faithful begin to mark the 1,500th anniversary of St. Brigid’s death, circa the year 525.

The shrine attracts thousands of visitors each year, but on the day we visited, we were almost alone, as we walked up a grassy slope to the glass-fronted oratory.

I could almost feel the presence of St. Brigid standing beside us, as I looked out at the same breathtaking views she must have seen as a young girl: Dundalk Bay and the Plain of Muirthemne to the south; to the east, the ancient Cooley Peninsula, with its myths and legends and to the north; Slieve Gullion mountain and the historic “Gap of the North,” the strategic mountain pass, where many a battle raged and many a life was lost.

Nestled on one of the hills that circle the imposing mountain of Slieve Gullion, this beautiful, peaceful Shrine of St. Brigid is divided by a country road into upper and lower sections. In the upper section, with its lush greenery and towering beech trees, St. Brigid’s Stream (Sruth Bhríde), flows by modern Stations of the Cross, as it leads visitors down and across the road to the lower section to a small oratory along the banks of the stream to a tableau of the last Station of the Cross, the Crucifixion. It is truly holy ground steeped in centuries of prayer.

Fifth-Century Saint

St. Brigid was born in Faughart, County Louth, around A.D. 451 or 452. Her mother was Broicsech, a captured Christian slave who was baptized by St. Patrick, and her father, Dubhthach, was a pagan chieftain of Leinster. Her father named her after the pagan goddess Brigid, but that is the only connection between the saint and the mythical goddess.

As a young woman, Brigid was renowned for her beauty and her learning, and despite his strong opposition, Brigid chose Jesus over her father’s arranged marriages.

It is written that Brigid was a friend as well as a disciple of St. Patrick and that, with one heart, formed through Christ, these two pillars of the Irish people did many great works.

Brigid founded celebrated convents, monasteries and great places of learning. She was also recognized as a miracle worker. In biographies written by saints after her death, beginning with the Irish monk Cogitosus in A.D. 650, there are lists of miracles performed by the saint throughout her life.

One of her first miracles was the legend of her miraculous cloak. When the pagan king of Leinster refused to give Brigid land to build her dual monastery (one for women and one for men) in Kildare, she asked if he’d give her the land her cloak would cover. Looking at her small cloak, the king laughed and agreed, but he was astounded when Brigid’s cloak stretched to cover many acres of his prime land. Realizing that Brigid was truly blessed by her God, he gave her the land, became a patron of her monastery and later converted to Christianity. Treasured, luminated Scriptures were created in this famous Kildare monastery.

Her teachings also remain vibrant today in St. Brigid’s cross. She wove it out of rushes (a type of straw) as she comforted a dying pagan chieftain. When he asked her its meaning, she explained that, to save us, Jesus, the Son of God, died for us on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins. The dying man was so comforted, he was immediately converted and died a Christian. To this day, St. Brigid’s crosses are still made each year on her feast day (Feb. 1) and hung in homes and barns, to protect families and livestock from evil, fire and hunger.

St. Brigid is also patron of many trades and professions, but she is especially renowned for her loving and compassionate heart, as she ceaselessly cared for the sick, the poor, the oppressed and the elderly.

On the day we visited her shrine, our guide was Sister of St. Clare Briege McKenna, a gifted woman of God and a lifelong friend. She too was born in Faughart — and named after St. Brigid.

One of the great ancient roads of Ireland, Slige Midluachra, (“Road of the Kings”), ran past Faughart in ancient times. It traveled from the Hill of Slane, some 30 miles to the south, where St. Patrick confronted and converted the High King Laoghaire to Christianity, onward to the very north coast of Northern Ireland. I have no doubt that St. Patrick himself walked that road, stopping at Faughart to baptize and minister to his people, among them Brigid and her mother; Faughart, this hidden gem of great historical, archaeological and religious significance, the place where the great St. Brigid was born and raised.

To commemorate the year Brigid entered heaven, throughout Ireland and further afield, many events will celebrate her life and her memory. On Aug. 16 at her shrine in Faughart, I will join Sister Briege for one such event. In fact, that was the reason she wanted Damien and me to see the storied village.

As we drove away from the shrine that day, Sister Briege remarked that it would be so lovely if I could write a hymn for St. Brigid and sing it at the Aug. 16 Mass.

“Well,” I replied, “you better pray about that, and so will I, because you know I can’t write anything unless I get the inspiration to do it.”'

We all laughed because the previous year I had written and recorded a song called Light the Fire, in honor of St. Patrick — and it had taken me 18 years to complete the writing of that song.

‘Mary of the Gaels’

You can imagine my shock, therefore, when, the very next day, St. Brigid’s Song came to me in its entirety. I recorded it soon after; and thanks to Sister Briege’s prayers, I will sing it this Friday.

In this hymn, St. Brigid is referred to as Muire na nGael, which means “Mary of the Gaels.” It’s very significant, for, in the Irish language, only Mary, our Blessed Mother, was called by the name Muire. However, the Irish people so loved and respected Brigid, they bestowed on her the singular honor of the title Muire na nGael.

I am so grateful that we visited St. Brigid’s shrine that day and that I’m learning so much about this incredible, holy woman of God — this courageous saint who loved with the heart of a mother.

In icons we see her holding her St. Brigid’s cross, a sign of our salvation, or carrying a scroll, representing the beautiful luminous Scriptures she taught and lived by — but invariably she holds in her hand a burning fire, representing the light of Christianity, a perpetual light of faith, hope and love that can never be extinguished. I thank God for her and for the gift of St. Brigid’s Song. She is truly an inspiration for all of us today.

St. Brigid, pray for us.

LISTEN TO THE SONG

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