The Book of St. Brigid
No.1 Bestselling authors
Colm Keane & Una O'Hagan
Published by Capel Island, 2021
Feminist, farmer, abbess, bishop, convent founder and miracle worker, St. Brigid had inspired Irish women and men down
through the ages. She cared for the poor, healed the sick, and managed monastic settlements.
She became patron saint of revolutionaries and women fighting for their rights. She is also credited with inventing
the Rosary beads, brewing ale, and inspiring the first tiered wedding cake and Buy Irish campaign.
Pirate Queen Grace O'Malley, lady Gregory and Maud Gonne MacBride regarded her as a guiding light.
All of them, including Brigitte Bardot, Bridget Hitler and Cromwell's daughter Bridget, are featured in this book.
The book also describes her holy wells, Brigid's Crosses, churches, miracles and cures - providing you with all you
will ever need to know about Ireland's female patron saint.
'A work of great scholarship, but which is simultaneously a page-turner. It's a story of Brigids and Bridgets,
of Bridies and Biddies, of Brides and Bredas, and it entertained me from start to finish. It's a triumph.'
- Pat Kenny, Newstalk
'Colm and Una are the only writers who can get me reading about the lives of the saints. They bring Brigid to life
with their customary colour, great anecdotes, and give context to her extraordinary life.'
- Brendan O'Connor, RTÉ Radio 1
(The text above comes from the back of the book)
Review
This book is indeed a good read, but it does not give me everything I would like to know about St. Brigid,
because unfortunately the source references are missing in this book! A keyword index would also have been nice.
The book is somewhere between a novel about St. Brigid and a study about St. Brigid. Reads well, here and there
take it with a grain of salt, where the data comes from is difficult to check.
Martin