brigid

The goddess of the Sacred Flame of Kildare and the patron goddess of the Druids. Daughter of Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

The pagan Brigid was part of the Tuatha Dé Danann – a race of deities who are said to have inhabited Ireland before the Milesians, from whom today’s Irish people are descended. Raised among druids, Brigid was the daughter of an enslaved woman and the Dagda, chief of the gods.

Brigid of Kildare (c. 451–521), an Irish saint partly confused with the goddess.

Dabiri noted that Brigid was a woman who lived—in the fifth and sixth century—on her own terms, fought against forced marriage, brewed beer from lakes and cared for the land. While Dabiri was taught about Brigid at school in the 80s, it was never in this light.

A female given name from Irish, equivalent to English Bridget, sometimes borrowed from Irish.