Brigid was born in Faughart in the year 452, so County Louth claims her as one of their own and is celebrating with a multitude of events. As part of the Brigid of Faughart Festival you can learn how to weave your own Brigid’s Cross on the first of the month at An Táin Arts Centre. On Sunday morning, there’s a Pilgrimage Walk from the Hill of Faughart to Dundalk, a 13km route that makes up day one of the Brigid's Way Celtic Pilgrimage. 

Things get a little more primal on Sunday evening, when the Faughart Candlelit Procession takes place. This walk will lead from St Brigid’s Shrine to Faughart Graveyard, finishing up with a fire-lit motte, drumming and chanting at the Hill of Faughart. If you want to explore on your own during daylight, you can check out Brigid’s Trail, which brings you to those key sites as well as the mural of Brigid in Dundalk.  

While you’re in town, you can check out Northern Lights Celebrating Brigid a multi-sensory light show that pays homage to the saint. The full show will take place on Saturday and Sunday night, but the light installation will be switched on from all day throughout February. 

While Brigid may have been born in Louth, she spent much of her life in Kildare, and the county celebrates with gusto. The main hub of activity is around the Brigid, Spirit of Kildare festival, with loads of events taking place throughout the county. Things kick off the weekend before on January 24, when the festival is launched with Songs on a Boat: The Tiny Deck Concert, where Megan O’Neill will be singing on a floating barge as people gather to watch on the banks of the Grand Canal. On Thursday January 30, a theatrical parade will weave through Maynooth town with fire dancers, puppetry and epic floats.   

There are plenty of gigs and concerts throughout the weekend, like the Brigid’s Day Gathering at The Curragh, a free event with Sharon Shannon, Lyra and more. In the Moat Theatre in Naas, Nothing Compares: A Celebration of Irish Women Artists takes place on January 31 with performances from Imelda May, Maria Doyle Kennedy and a spoken word piece by Sabina Higgins. And on February 2, a gaggle of impressive female talent will be performing in St Brigid’s Cathedral for Written in the Soul: An Evening of Song.  

There’s plenty going on in the capital, with Brigit: Dublin City Celebrating Women hosting more than 80 events over the bank holiday weekend. Similarly to last year, the GPO and Palace Building by City Hall will be illuminated as part of Shine On: Brigit, with colourful art projected after nightfall. On Saturday, there’s an evening of spoken word and poetry in the Pepper Canister Church for Brigit x Seanchoíche: Brigit's Fire: A Celebration of Women, and there’s a singer-songwriter night on Monday called Little Women at Little Whelan’s.  

You can head to Meeting House Square on Monday for Imbolc Fair, with crafting workshops where you can make a flower crown or churn butter, and there are live demonstrations and talks all day, too. And if you’re looking for family-friendly activities, there are plenty taking place in the city’s museums – the Chester Beatty is holding a Brigid’s Day – Imbolc Poetry & Art Workshop, and there are Saints, Scholars, and Scribes workshops in the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street. In the Hugh Lane Gallery, there’s a drop-in family workshop on Saturday where kids can weave their own baskets, as well as a screening of photographer Deirdre Brennan’s work Listening for Bridget you can catch all weekend.  

There’s a parade on Sunday, where roller skaters, samba dancers and cyclists will make their way from Capel Street to the GPO, paying tribute to inspirational Irish women along the way.    

Want to tap into your own pagan goddess? This Goddess Brigid Workshop is all about healing and growth, leaning into the concept of Imbolc and new beginnings. Led by Lewis Barfoot, the day will incorporate dancing, chanting, movement and something called a lamenting ceremony, inspired by the tradition of keening. But when all that’s done, you get to chill out with a cup of tea. It’s taking place in the Triskel Arts Centre in Cork on Sunday February 2.    

Up in Bundoran, Féile na mBan returns for its third year, with a weekend dedicated to the celebration of women. There are art and poetry receptions, an open mic night, cocktail hour and a series of talks on topics like Grace O’Malley, Ireland’s pirate queen. You can get arty with knitting, printing and art workshops, or you can head along to the craft market in the Bundoran Community Centre to pick up something that’s handmade locally. Oh, and there are DJ sets and live music nights, too.  

Brigid’s Day goes by many names, and in Killorglin you’ll find the unique traditions of the Kerry-specific Biddy’s Day. There’s a strong focus on craft and tradition at the Biddy's Day Festival, where you’ll see Biddy groups in straw hats holding Brídeóg dolls as they parade through the town with lanterns and flaming torches.  

What better place to mark the woman of the hour than Brigit’s Garden? There’s always loads to see and do at these gardens, but over the bank holiday weekend there are two events honouring St Brigid. On Sunday afternoon, there are two free workshops where you can learn how to weave your own Brigid’s Cross, and on Monday there’s a day-long celebration of Brigid including traditional rituals, meditations, a sacred fire and lunch.  

St Brigid has strong associations with nature and spring, and that’s the focus at the Bríd Festival in the Sligo Woodland School. On Saturday, there’s a willow arch and nature weaving workshop, and on the bank holiday Monday they’re hosting a nature led intentions and lantern walk in the woods. If you’re around the weekend before, you can make your own Brigid’s Lantern on January 25.  

Photo credit: @bridfestivalsligo

At Kilkenny’s St Brigid 'Spring Awakening' Music and Arts Festival, you’ll find gigs all weekend celebrating the city’s thriving arts scene. You can check out Roseanne Reid in Ryan’s Bar, Broken Chanter in Cleere’s Bar or Poor Creature in Set Theatre. The Malachy McKenna play The Quiet Land will also be on every night in Barnstorm Studio.  

This year will be the third Brigid's Awakening Festival, which takes place over the four days of the bank holiday weekend in King House Historical and Cultural Centre, Boyle. The focus is on the goddess Brigid and celebrating the creativity and the innovation of women in Irish society, but there are loads of activities for kids including crafting and readings from local authors.  

Looking for a wholesome way to spend your Saturday? Head to the Brigid – Seeds of Intention day retreat in Ennis. Over the course of the day, you’ll do a yoga and breathwork session, enjoy a nourishing (and seasonal) lunch, then perform a tea ceremony complete with a guided meditation, all before making your own amulet to take home.