Kildare

St Brigid's Fire Temple

In Irish Mythology, Brigid the pagan goddess is the daughter of Dagda and a member of the Tuatha dé Danann. Brigid has always been associated with fire, poetry, unity, childbirth and healing. It is said she kept an eternal flame burning in her temple at Kildare. In the 5th century Christianity spread to Ireland and St Brigid, who was born in Faughart, founded a monastery in 470 AD on the same site as the fire temple. She too kept the flame burning and over time both the Goddess and the Saint have become synchronized.

What we see today are the foundations of a possible temple. The flame was finally extinguished around the time of the reformation in the 16th century. In 1993 the flame was relit by the Brigidine sisters. Since then, the Brigidine Sisters in Kildare have tended the flame in their Centre, Solas Bhride.

The foundations of the Fire Temple