The legacy of St Brigid

As Irish Country Living comes off the M7 at Kildare we are greeted by beautiful black sculptures of horses galloping through the roundabout. This writer forgot what a special place Kildare is until that fresh winter morning, when the flat plains of the Curragh, the stallions from the Irish National Stud, the Japanese Gardens and even the retail temptress that is Kildare Village, were looking particularly good.

We took a left onto Tully Road to find the new Solas Bhríde building soaring before us in all its white, modern glory. We were being confronted by the other unique thing about Kildare: St Brigid. The centre is opening tomorrow (Friday) just in time for St Brigid’s Day (Sunday).

St Brigid’s Day was viewed traditionally as farmers’ new year. Hired labourers took up their contracts in new or old surroundings and farm machinery was checked for serviceability.

Three Brigidine nuns based in Kildare and their helpers, Cairde Bhríde, can take credit for the new centre.

“We wanted a legacy to Brigid,” says Sr Phil. The sisters were “looking at the seeds for the future” and considering where they wanted “to nourish”. With the decreased involvement of religious orders in education in Ireland, the nuns are moving out of this sphere and instead view their role as facilitating spirituality in people’s lives.

You’ll find more symbolism in this centre than in a Dan Brown novel. The building itself and the ceiling in the Brigid room are in the shape of a St Brigid’s cross. Even on the day they turned the sod, the sisters wove a St Brigid’s cross on-site and it was the first thing that went into the concrete.

The centre meets a very practical need. The three nuns, Sr Mary, Sr Phil and Sr Rita, have always been inundated with visitors to their home. In the year 2000 alone they had 3,000 people pass through their doors.

“People have connections with Brigid’s parishes, Brigid’s schools, hospitals and academies,” says Sr Rita.

Being such a gracious host sounds like an absolute nightmare if you ask us.

“Listen, you have to try to live this thing,” laughs Sr Rita. “All were welcome at [St Brigid’s] door, no one was turned away. She loved the poor, the sick and the sore, and helped them on their way.”

But the masses will not be descending on their house now that they have the centre. Solas Bhríde is a calm, tranquil and soothing place, with state-of-the-art windows that open and close themselves in response to how warm or cold the room gets. It’s very ecologically sustainable and the system has an “A” Building Energy Rating.

As modern as it is, however, there are still touches of the familiar – such as Sr Catherine’s piano from Mountrath. It can be found in the conference centre, which can be self-contained and rented out for anything that’s in-keeping with the ethos of the centre. There is also accommodation available in the form of hermitages, which cost €50 a night.

The Solas Bhríde journey was a bumpy one to say the least.

Sr Rita was charged with the task of finding a suitable site.

“I was coming down from Dublin for a meeting with the sisters one day. It was a Friday evening and it was wet and miserable and I was late. I took a wrong turn, ending up on Tully Road. I got so mad with myself and said: ‘Oh my God, I’m so stupid’ and then I said: ‘God there has to be a reason, why did that happen?’ And then next thing I saw a sign: ‘Land for sale’.”

She raced back to sisters Mary and Phil, high with excitement, screeching: “Get into the car, this is it, this is it”.

The National Stud was also interested in the site, so they reached an agreement where the stud bought seven acres of the site and the Brigidines bought 3.5 acres.

The site was bought in 2007, but by the time they got the planning permission and were ready to start fundraising it was 2009, which brought with it the financial crash as well as the Ryan report. This saw the nuns take a low profile rather than trying to look for money.

Fundraising did go ahead thanks to golf classics and other events run by locals. They also received help from the Brigidine Order. Professional expertise was given free-of-charge by people who believed in their vision and two Tús workers are helping in the setting up of the centre, as are the Cairde Bhríde, who have shared the nuns’ vision since the beginning.

Cairde Bhríde are local men and women who are interested in being involved. They are particularly welcome given that the Brigidines only have 60 nuns left in Ireland and only four in what was previously the Brigidine stronghold – Mountrath.

Irish Country Living met one member of Cairde Bhríde, Margaret Wright from Clonmany, on the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal, who says being involved is “just good for yourself. I just find to walk with Brigid is walking with the Lord”.

However, many people who come to Solas Bhríde aren’t looking to connect with a deity.

“We’re a Christian centre. We’re open to all people of all faiths and none, and we do have people coming from all different faith traditions and of no faith tradition,” says Sr Mary. “They might be looking sometimes beyond the Christian into the pre-Christian ... the goddess movement. They’re not rooted in something, but they’re searching.” CL