The Irish standard., 1915-01-30
LIFE OF ST. eRlelD OF IRELAND
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sought her advice and was looked up
on, at one time as authoritative II
Synod held in Dublin. She travelled
all over Ireland establishing Converts
and Monasteries at the request of the
Bishops, but finally the people of her
own beloved province of Leinster pre-
vailed on her to return to them, she
finally returned, and in the year
487 she established the church OF
Kildare. the church of the Oak.
Now the favorite or rather the
sacred tree of the ancient Irish
was the oak tree which typified
strength and endurance, hence the
name given by st. Brigid to her
principal Church and Convent and
how truly this symbol of the oak tree
typifes the Irish church.
Great and numerous were the mira
cles performed at Kildare by it's Holy
Abbess, its fame spread broadcast and
attracted thousands to the place.
Houses had to be built for their &C.
commodation and in a short time an
important town sprung up which af-
forwards became the capitol of the
province Of Leinster. The shrine of
Kildare was to the people Of Ireland
what Lorretto was to the people of
Italy. Brigid was called MARY of
Erin. st. Mel, before she was born,
said she was to be the daughter of
Light, and hence the name given to
her of Brigid, meaning light. Be.
cause of this she kept sacred light
constantly burning before her shrine
at Kildare, it is said that this light
which was lighted by St. Brigid in the
Fifth century never went out till af-
ter the English invasion in the 18th
century:
"The midnight wind roared through
the oaks of Kildare,
The clang from the round tower at
intervals came,s
While st. Bride at the Altar was
kneeling in prayer,
And her Sisters attended the mys-
tical fame"
Alas, the Danish invasion, the Eng
lish invasion and later terrible Penal
laws, reduced the shrine of Kildare
and many another Holy Shrine in Ire
land to ruins and ashes. The English
people at the time of the invasion Of
Ireland were supposedly Catholic
and hence civilized people. but.
"By' their fruits We shall know
them" From their actions they
seemed but little removed from the
savage. =. Catholicity did not seem to
have a very great hold upon them
for they seemed to be possessed by
the evil one in their desire to tear
down the church, Goddess people have
always been possessed of this idea,
knowing that II they tear down the
church they will have struck a vital
blow at the roots of law and order,
and when they want to do this they
appeal to the peoples passions
giving them free license to do what
they please, such was and is Eng
lands methods, such is Frances,
1taly's and Spain's, ETC. When un-
speakable things are done today in
the name of progress what could be
expected from the half savage horde
which invaded ireland in the 18th cen.
fury? The notorious Strongbow had
an especial grudge against the work
accomplished by st. Brigid, though
she was gone from among the Irish
for several years, the religion and the
culture she had established there was
brighter than ever. Strongbow was
eager to scent out her shrines and
churches and level them to the
ground. He gave orders to his fol-
lowers that when they came to such
places his foot should be the first to
enter. His conscience must have
bothered him when he was dying be.
cause of this, for we are told that
when he was dying in excruciating
agony Of malignant disease of the
foot, he kept calling to Brigid to come
and take the red hot iron out of his
foot that she had placed there be.
cause he had desecrated so many Of
her shrines.
st. Brigid died February 1st 525, at
the age of ~ years, her remains
were enshrined at Kildare until the
Danish invasion in the 9th century,
when they were taken to the Cathe-
dral at Down and placed in the same
tomb with st. Patrick, they are still
supposed to be there and also the re-
mains Of st. Columcille:
"Three bodies this tomb doth fill,
Patrick, Brigid and Columcille."
According to some writer's the re.
mains of st. Brigid were hid by
the Irish people for over four hun.
dred years because of the many in
vasions and were later taken to Aus.
tria to place called Neustadt on the
borders of Hungary where, according