To Be Irish returns on St Brigid’s Day (Lá Fhéile Bríde), with a programme of over 75 online and in person events around the globe and across Ireland celebrating leadership, creativity, and the talent of women from Tuesday 1st of February.
Discover talks, performances, exhibitions, music, and more; plus, explore Extraordinary Stories from the global Irish family, including amazing achievements, lasting legacies, and magical memories from women connected to Ireland. Submissions are open to women around the world with a connection to Ireland to share their story or join the conversation using the hashtags #ExtraordinaryStories #ToBeIrish #StBrigidsDay
To Be Irish working alongside the Department of Foreign Affairs will bring Embassies and Consulates, international Irish community organisations , Local Authorities, venues and organisations 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 organising a special St Brigid’s Day programme since 2018 - honouring 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 programme 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.”
Some highlights from the global programme of events across 20+ countries:
Ireland & Europe
● Marking 50 years of Ireland’s membership of the EU, the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU will host a webinar featuring trail-blazing Irish women who have led and shaped the EU. Panellists include Anne Anderson, former Irish Permanent Representative to the EU, Catherine Day, former Secretary General of the European Commission, and Emily O’Reilly, European Ombudsman, moderated by Ambassador Barbara Cullinane, Ireland’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU.
● Online at the Embassy of Ireland in Switzerland - Ambassador Eamon Hickey and author and Joycean expert Nuala O’Connor discuss Nora Barnacle, her husband James Joyce and their relationship, including the period in which he wrote Ulysses.
● Presented by The Embassy of Ireland in Germany and the Consulate General of Ireland in Frankfurt am Main, in cooperation with Literature Ireland, Brigidsfest - Hot off the Press is an exciting showcase specially commissioned translations of the opening segments of six books by some of Ireland’s celebrated female literary talent. Followed by a Q&A with featured writers Elaine Feeney, Roisin Kiberd, Audrey Magee, Hilary Fannin, Olivia Fitzsimons, Louise Nealon and Wendy Erskine.
● Audiences in Lisbon are invited to attend a classical concert at the National Museum of Theatre and Dance, featuring a soprano with accompanying baroque guitar. The museum features a beautiful botanical garden, and is located next to the church that holds relics of St Brigid, which will be viewable by guided tour before the concert.
● The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish Traditional Music Archive have collaborated on a series of three short online films. These films feature traditional musicians Caitlín Nic Gabhann, Louise Mulcahy, and Síle Denvir and include newly commissioned pieces of dance, music, and song in celebration of Brigid.
● Join us in conversation with Monica Williams, Nora Owen, Saffa Musleh, Sonja Tiernan and Olivia O’Leary for what will be an inspiring discussion with women featured in Tiernan’s Irish Women’s Speeches: Voices that Rocked the System.
● A special St Brigid’s Day episode of the Royal Irish Academy’s Shelfmarks podcast series, hears podcaster-in-residence Zoë Comyns chat with poet and writer Elaine Feeney on early life on a farm, superstition, women’s safety in nature, what Brigid means to her, and more.
● The Hamilton Gallery in Sligo presents a hybrid Exhibition featuring artworks by 85 individual female artists inspired by a specially commissioned poem by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin entitled "St Brigid's Well".
● From the National Library of Ireland in Dublin, join artist & folklorist Michael Fortune for a special online presentation where he explores the traditions and folklore associated with St Brigid’s Day.
● At the Angelina Foster Studio in Ballitore, Co. Kildare, take part in the Letterpress Printmaking Workshop - Suffragettes Power of Print, a hands-on experience, channel the creativity of Brigit and learn how to create postcards with your favourite poems or words inspired by women, using vintage text on a mobile letterpress.
● In Dublin, Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland kicks off the inaugural Brigit 2022: Dublin City Celebrating Women featuring a programme of online and in-person events featuring a stellar line up including Imelda May, Felispeaks, Tolü McKay, Ivana Bacik, Rosita Sweetman, Emma Donoghue and more celebrating the spirit of celtic Goddess Brigit.