Celebrate St. Brigid and join in the many events taking place at the National Museum of Ireland at Kildare Street as part of the Brigit: Dublin City Celebrating Women festival!

Tour: The Saints of Ireland

Saturday 31st January, 1pm and 3:30pm

To mark St. Brigid's Day, join a special guided tour about the artefacts and shrines connected to the patron saints of Ireland and how Christianity influenced the development of writing.On this tour, discover the artefacts and shrines associated with the patron saints of Ireland, St. Patrick, St. Brigid, and St. Colmcille, and see what archaeological evidence can tell us about the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Ireland in the early medieval period.

This tour will take approximately 25 minutes.

 No booking required, places allocated on a first come first served basis. Meet in the Reception. This tour will take place in the Treasury exhibition on the ground floor, and the Medieval Ireland exhibition on the first floor. This tour is not wheelchair accessible. 
 

Drop-In: The Saints, Scholars, and Scribes of Ireland! Early Medieval Handling Workshop

Saturday 31st January, 2pm-4pm

Over this St. Brigid's Weekend Festival, drop into the Learning Resource Room and find out more about the lives of people in Early Medieval Ireland. During this handling workshop, discover replicas of jet crosses from Yorkshire, early medieval leather shoes, and brooches for cloaks and clothes. Take part in some relaxing colouring activities, read through our many books about archaeology, and make sure to explore the Museum's galleries afterwards. 

No booking required. Located in the Learning Resource Room, First Floor. Not wheelchair accessible. This workshop is for families. Children must be fully supervised by a parent or adult who is in loco parentis.

Activity Sheet: Irish Saints, Stories and Scribes Activity Booklet

Friday 30th January - Tuesday 2nd February, during opening hours

Take our trail and learn about the patron saints of Ireland. Pick up our activity booklet 'Irish Saints, Stories and Scribes' and travel through the Treasury and Medieval Ireland exhibitions at the Museum to discover the objects connected to our patron saints, St. Patrick, St. Brigid and St. Colmcille. Fill in the questions and complete the activities in this activity booklet as you roam through the Museum and learn about the lives of saints in early medieval and medieval Ireland. 

No booking required. Trails will be available at the reception area of the Museum. Trails are available in English and Irish. Partially wheelchair accessible. Don't forget to bring your pencil! Suitable for families and children ages 8+.

Online Talk: Reinterpreting the Shrine of St. Brigid’s Shoe

This is a life-size brass shoe from Loughrea, Co. Galway. Despite its frequent mention in studies and illustrations of the saint, this intriguing artefact has long been misunderstood. In this lecture, Cormac Bourke, a leading expert in early medieval metalwork, presents fresh insights based on new research on the shoe. Bourke will explore the shoe's origins and detailing, how it belongs to the early 18th century and not the end of the middles ages as previously believed, and how it was probably never used to house a relic. This is a unique opportunity to learn about an important object that sheds light on faith, memory, and politics, particularly in the era of the Penal Laws and into 18th century Ireland.

Cormac Bourke is an Honorary Editor of the Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and Vice-President for Ulster of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. He specialises in the study of early medieval metalwork and has published widely on the subject including a catalogue of early medieval hand-bells from Ireland and Britain, published by the National Museum of Ireland in 2020.

This lecture was broadcasted as a live event on Friday 31st of January 2025.
For more information, please see museum.ie or email educationarch@museum.ie