(also Brigid, Brighid, Brigit, Bride) (c. 5th-6th centuries)

A patron saint of Ireland who represents the important role of both women and monasteries in early Irish Christianity. Her feast day is 1 February.

Very little is known about Bridget with historical certainty; indeed, many scholars view her as a mythical personification of the Celtic goddess Brid. She probably did exist as the firs abbess of womens (later mixed) monastery at Kildare (founded around AD 500). She appears to have held episcopal-like authority and therefore hints that the monastic dominance of the Irish church, from the 7th-century onwards, developed from an originally female church structure.

Fun Fact: as a youngster, she reputedly gave away her fathers jewel-encrusted sword to a leper!