St Brigid’s Day workshop welcomes all generations
St Brigids Crosses being made. Photo: Jonathan Burke
At the Galway City Museum a mix of young and old congregated to commemorate the arrival of St Brigid’s Day. A plethora of rushes were scattered on the floor and tables for those gathered to participate in the wonderful tradition of ‘St Brigid’s Crosses’.
Historic Anniversary
The workshop, which took place on 31 January, was split into two groups. A morning wave took place from 12pm to 1pm, followed by the afternoon wave from 2pm to 4pm. Both waves featured a number of cross making exercises.
People of all ages participated in the event. Workshop leader Brendan McGowan oversaw the tricky process of making the crosses. Brendan is also the Education Outreach Officer at the Galway City Museum.
Brendan explained the significance of this special workshop taking place. “This year is the 1500th anniversary of the death of St Brigid…she died in 524 AD and we couldn’t let the 1500th anniversary pass without doing something to celebrate.”
Busy Workshop
A variety of cultural backgrounds were represented at the workshop.
It was not only an Irish audience that attended both events. Families from Ukraine were also drawn to the unique ways of producing ‘crosses’. The blend of diverse culture throughout the day was heartwarming for the community.
“This morning it was mostly a group of Irish people. Some of the people here don’t speak English, but I suppose it’s a great thing with the craft that they do have in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, very similar to their own,” added Brendan.
This was one of the first times since the Covid-19 pandemic that a vast number of people participated in a Galway City Museum event. These workshops have now found their feet again.
Children were also involved in getting to grips with making the crosses. The springy nature of the green rushes made it difficult at times to make the perfect cross. The rushes were scattered on the ground with parents helping their children with piecing together the famous crosses.
Brendan and his staff were on hand to assist and ensure that any issues were resolved.
St Brigid’s Day takes place on 1 February with a bank holiday taking place on 5 February.
