Archive of the Month
Brigid in Books
By Helen Crawford Walsh, Assistant Librarian, RCB Library
The RCB Library carries a collection of over 70,000 printed items (Representative Church Body Library). This collection, which began with 5,000 books donated by Rosamond Stephen in 1931, has been added to throughout the intervening years through donations from within our community and beyond, ranging from clergy to laity to continual purchases of resources that have expanded into many different categories.
Part of this ‘most valuable possession’ of the Church (Archbishop Gregg’s description of the collection after Rosamond’s death in 1951) are the many items about the life, times, and contribution to our faith of St Brigid. Under the different spellings of her name (Brigid, Brigit, Bridget, Brighid, Bride or Brid) the Library carries over 80 printed titles that enlighten us either about this founding patron of Ireland, the towns and townlands that bear her name or the Church of Ireland churches that are dedicated to her, and events that have occurred within them (some of which can be found through this link: Search results for St Brigid and variations)
While it took the Irish Government until last year to acknowledge the importance of Saint Brigid, the Library has acquired and catalogued items dating as far back as, at least, 1878.
The Church of Ireland Gazette, the Church’s newspaper (digitised by the Library), is worth perusing for the chronology of interest in the saint. The Gazette first mentions the Cathedral of St Brigid, Kildare in 1883, but subsequently there are growing references to sermons and patronal festivals in the intervening years, and even a letter from one correspondent wondering whether St Brigid could be classed as a leader of an all–female clergy team (2009).
New books and leaflets have been published in the last year to renew and bring forward more knowledge about this important Abbess; ‘a saint for women, shepherds, beggars, refugees and those in childbirth’ (Lisa Bitel, 2022).
The history and importance of St Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare can be chartered and explored through the numerous pamphlets, books and Order of Service that are preserved within the RCB Library, all of which are available to view and read.
