The Story of St Brigid and her cloak.

Brigid is one of Ireland's earliest recorded saints, and along with St. Patrick, one of our most famous. It is thought she was born sometime between 452 and 456 AD in Faughart, a few miles from Dundalk in Co. Louth. Where there is a shrine dedicated to her still today.

Brigid's father was a wealthy chieftain named Dubtach. Legend has it that she caused him great annoyance with her generosity, giving away his valuable goods to the poor and needy. It is thought by some that Brigid's mother, Brocseach, was a slave in Dubtach's household.

When Brigid reached marriageable age, she decided to enter the religious life rather than get married. She travelled to Croghan Hill in Co. Meath and asked St. Maccaille, who was a bishop and had a church there, to admit her into religious life. She was accompanied by seven other young girls.

Brigid set up many convents and monasteries throughout the country but it was in Kildare where we get her famous story.

One Day St. Brigid went to the King of Leinster to ask for land to build a convent. She told the king that the place where she stood was the perfect place for a convent. It was beside a forest where they could collect firewood. There was also a lake nearby that would provide water and the land was fertile.

The king laughed at her and refused to give her any land. Brigid prayed to God and asked him to soften the king’s heart. Then she smiled at the king and said “will you give me as much land as my cloak will cover?

Question time!

What do you think happens next?

The king thought that she was joking and because Brigid’s cloak was so small he knew that it would only cover a very small piece of land. The king agreed and Brigid spread her cloak on the ground. She asked her four friends to hold a corner of the cloak and walk in opposite directions

The four friends walked north, south, east and west. The cloak grew immediately and began to cover many acres of land. The king was astonished and he realized that she had been blessed by God. 

The king fell to the ground and knelt before Brigid and promised her and her friends money, food and supplies. Soon afterwards, the king became a Christian and also started to help the poor. Brigid’s miracle of the cloak was the first of many miracles that she worked for the people of Ireland.

The Story of the Giants Causeway. Fionn Mac Cumaill and Benandonner the Giant.

Finn Mac Cumaill was a fierce-some giant in ancient Ireland. He was the leader of a great band of warriors known as the Fianna. Finn lived in county Antrim.

One day when looking across the water to Scotland, another giant known as Benandonner began taunting him from the opposite coast, saying Fionn would be dead if only he could cross the water to lay his hands on him. In defiance, Fionn built a pathway across the sea and challenged Benandonner to cross over and give it his best shot.

Question Time!

Where is Finn?

Remember our geography!!

When he saw the Scottish giant coming however, Fionn realized just how big he really was, and knew he didn’t stand a chance. 

How do you think Finn was feeling here?

The Great Idea:

He made his wife, Sadbh, disguise him as a baby, and she distracted Benandonner by giving him griddle cakes with hidden iron. When he couldn’t eat them, she taunted him, and gave a normal griddle cake to the ‘baby’ to eat.

 When the giant saw this, he became terrified at the prospect of fighting Fionn if his baby son was already this strong, and fled back across the path, destroying it as he went.