New public holiday to celebrate Irish women,
Lá Fhéile Bríde,
welcomed by Green Party Minister Pippa Hackett
Today (19th January) the Cabinet decided to make Lá Fhéile Bríde (Brigid’s Day) a public holiday from 2023.
The Green Party has long called for St. Brigid’s day to be made a Public Holiday and I’m delighted that this was approved by Cabinet.
In Ireland, we do not have any public holiday dedicated to a woman and we are among the countries with the fewest public holidays in Europe.
St. Brigid, formerly the pre-Christian Earth Mother Goddess Brighid, is widely thought to be Ireland’s first feminist and it is significant that we now have a day to celebrate the Women of Ireland.
Making Lá Fhéile Bríde a public holiday gives us the opportunity to celebrate the Women of Ireland - Mná na hÉireann - our compassion, our collaborative action and our fight for equality
Traditionally associated with the Celtic festival “Imbolc”, St. Brigid is originally said to have been a pagan goddess and is associated with the coming of spring.
Lá Fhéile Bríde will mark the end of Winter and the return of light. This is a time to plant new seeds and to reflect on and celebrate the nature which we have in abundance here. This is a renewed reminder to us all of the need to look after our nature and biodiversity.
The holiday will fall annually from 2023 on the closest Monday to February 1st - unless February 1st falls on a Friday in which case the Friday will be a public holiday.
Additionally, Cabinet also approved a one-off public holiday to be added this year on March 18th, 2022, in recognition of the contribution that workers made during the pandemic.