A Dublin festival celebrating women will take place on St Brigid’s Day this year.
Brigit 2022 is named after the Celtic goddess Brigit, associated with creativity and wisdom, and the traditional Gaelic festival of Imbolc.
All events will be free city-wide on February 1st, with Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland inviting all to join in celebrating the contributions and achievements of Irish women through the ages.
“I am delighted to initiate this new celebration of women. While acknowledging St Brigid, my inspiration is very much drawn from our Celtic heritage – the fierce yet protective and creative goddess Brigit and the Gaelic festival of Imbolc,” she said.
“The Brigit 2022 programme seeks to provide spaces and opportunities across our city to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions and achievements of women and highlight the rich tapestry of life that they have woven in all walks of life in our society.”
The festival’s inaugural programme spans films, tours, debates, interviews and a performance of songs and stories in a concert featuring Imelda May, FeliSpeaks, Sibéal Ní Chasaide and Tolü Makay.
Projections and walking tours
Brigit 2022 will light up Dublin’s most iconic buildings with imagery associated with Brigit and other “inspiring, exceptional women.”
The Mansion House will host artist Holly Pereira’s Brigit, Goddess of Fire while illustrator Claire Prouvost’s The Spark will be projected on the walls of the Hugh Lane Gallery.
Herstory and the Irish Second-Level Students Union have meanwhile teamed up to create a #Herstory light show featuring work from NCAD and Colaiste Dhulaigh students.
For walking tours, Experience Glasnevin will host a special tour focusing on the women buried there who have played pivotal roles in the social, cultural, and political life of the country including Countess Markievicz, Maud Gonne MacBride, Elizabeth O’Farrell, Delia Larkin and Hanna Sheehy Skeffington.
Amazing Women of Irish History will introduce some of the most iconic women in Irish history, while The Dublin Street Art Tour of Female Artists will tour some of Dublin city’s most vibrant murals and art installations from Ireland’s female artists.
Screenings, exhibitions and discussions
At The LAB Gallery, exhibition New Beginnings will feature emerging female artists in Ireland with work from seven recent art graduates.
At The Lighthouse cinema, a screening of Anne Devlin (1984) will be followed by a Q&A with director and leading feminist filmmaker Pat Murphy.
For the adventurous, 50 First Skates at Capital Dock will teach the basics of skating in an “inclusive, welcoming environment.”
With talks and podcasts also part of the festival, all are invited to enjoy Granny-Powered Storytelling in which the Dublin Book Grannies will read a bedtime story for children everywhere.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin will host a panel discussion Inspiring Women in STEM, with guests including Prof Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin, and journalist Clodagh Finn, author of Through Her Eyes: A History of Ireland in 21 Women.
The Lord Mayor will also host We Were There, We Are Here: Women in Politics, a panel discussion on the lack of acknowledgement of women during the fight for independence, how women's participation in politics has evolved and the barriers to women’s political participation today.
Guests include Dr Mary McAulliffe, historian, lecturer and Director of the Gender Studies Programme at UCD; Haley Brabazon, Gender and the Legacy of the Irish Revolution PhD candidate at DCU; and long-time women’s rights campaigner and activist Ivana Bacik TD.
Details and bookings for all free events are on Dublin.ie/Brigit.
