Our Brigidine Heritage

St Brigid’s College is proud of its Brigidine heritage and takes great care to maintain the spirit of its founders.
Our story begins in 1807 when Daniel Delany, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Ireland, invited six women to form a religious community in Tullow, County Carlow on the first of February. He named them the Sisters of St Brigid, after the great 5th century Saint of Kildare.

St Brigid of Kildare

Saint Brigid was born in Ireland in the 5th century and her feast day is celebrated on 1st February. She was renowned for her generosity and compassion to the poor and the sick, often giving them the food from her own table. Brigid, and some of her friends who also wished to devote their lives to Christ as nuns, chose the Beatitude ‘Blessed are the Merciful’ when they took their vows.

Brigid built a convent settlement and continued her work from that base, travelling about the district caring for the poor and converting many to the Church. She is renowned for her leadership and faithfulness to the Church.
When Saint Brigid died, her fellow nuns lit a fire in her honour before her tomb. For 600 years, the nuns never the let fire go out. This is why pictures of Saint Brigid often show a flame of light beside her, a symbol of the light she brought into the lives of so many, by helping them to understand the love of God.
The spirit of Saint Brigid is reflected in the vision statement and aims of our school.

See Brigidine Values