Brigid of Ireland
The illustrated tale of a fearless female leader in ancient Ireland
To read this story in the Japanese language, click here.
Every year in Ireland at the start of spring, we celebrate St Brigid’s Day or Lá Fhéile Bríde, honouring the powerful female leader in ancient Ireland, Brigid of Kildare.
Brigid was a trailblazing Irish woman and is the only female patron saint of Ireland. She is also the patron saint of fire, water, healers, poets, blacksmiths, babies, midwives, beer, livestock, fugitives, boatmen, farmers and the arrival of spring.
A Celtic goddess Brigid, linked to the pagan spring festival of Imbolc also figures in Irish mythology.
St Brigid embodies the central role of women in Irish creativity and prosperity. St. Brigid’s Day is celebrated around the world and in 2023 became the first Irish public holiday honouring a woman.
To share the story of Brigid, Irish illustrator Alan Dunne, working with the Embassy of Ireland in Tokyo, has created a manga-style graphic short of the story of St Brigid.
To learn more about St Brigid as a female leader in ancient Ireland, explore the graphic short below:
Meet the illustrator
Alan Dunne is an Irish visual artist and author. He is passionate about creating graphic narratives that he often uncovers through researching cultural and historical archives.
Dunne previously spent 12 years as a motion designer for RTÉ television, and today he shares his passion and expertise with the next generation of artists by lecturing part time at Ireland’s National College of Art and Design.