Ireland: New Silver Proof Coins Honours 1500th Anniversary Of The Death Of Patron St Brigid

St. Brigid has long been one of Ireland’s most famous saints and 2024 marks 1500 years since her passing. Many stories and myths surround St. Brigid but all highlight her values, her dedication to helping the poor, her striving for peace and a more just world. Born c. 450, according to tradition in the town of Faughart near Dundalk, County Louth, little is known of Brigid’s life. According to legend, myth and folklore she was born to a noble father and an enslaved mother who were both later sold to a pagan Druid whom Brigid later converted to Christianity. When her newly converted master set the young Brigid free, she returned to her father who offered her to the king of Ulster in marriage. So impressed by her piety, the king removed her from parental control and granted her a plot of land in County Kildare, where she founded the first nunnery in Ireland. The community became both a monastery for monks and an abbey for nuns with the Abbess or, Prioress ranking above the Prior, or Abbot. 

One of the most profound legends of Brigid is the story of Dara, a blind nun for whom Brigid prayed for the restoration of her eyesight. When the miracle was granted, Dara realized that the clarity of sight blurred God in the eye of the soul, whereupon she asked Brigid to return her to what she believed was the beauty of darkness. As such, Brigid is revered as one of the three patron saints of Ireland, along with St. Patrick and St. Columba. In modern Ireland her feast day which occurs on the 1^st February is celebrated with many folk customs and traditions, notably the weaving of crosses out of rushes, reeds or straw. Referred to as St. Brigid’s cross, they feature four arms tied at the ends and a patterned square at the centre. The crosses originate from a story that St. Brigid converted a man on his deathbed. In the process of conversion, she held a cross over him that she had made of rushes found on the floor. They are typically made on the evening before her feast day, blessed with holy water and hung in houses or at the threshold of homes as a sign of welcome to Brigid. 

Because of her great charity and her work for the education of priests and nuns, the Church in Ireland experienced great growth. She also founded a school of art, which produced beautiful illuminated manuscripts of the Gospels. St Brigid died c. 525 in Kildare, Ireland and although she is recognised as a Saint, it was before pre-congregation, which is a saint who was recognised by popular acclaim or by a local bishop prior to the congregation which formalised the process for investigating the cause for sainthood. The Church St. Brigid founded survived for another 600 years and was burned in 1135, no portion of this church now remains, nor indeed of any of the ancient buildings.

The proof quality coins are produced by the Royal Dutch Mint at their facilities in Houten, Netherlands on behalf of the Central Bank of Ireland and designed by Mary Gregoriy. The obverse side includes a stylised depiction of St. Brigid as she looks up toward the heavens. In her left hand, she is shown holding a representation of the inextinguishable Fire of Saint Brigid, and in her right, a staph. Above her head is an image of the St Brigid cross and holding her cape are three hands. The denomination 15 EURO is shown to the lower left rim and the text ST BRIGID is shown below the primary design. The reverse side depicts the national insignia of Ireland, the cláirseach or Celtic harp which is centred. The text EIRE and 2024 are positioned on either side of the harp.

Available from the 26^th June, each coin is encapsulated and presented in a Central Bank of Ireland branded custom case accompanied with a certificate of authenticity. For additional information on this and other coins available from the Central Bank, please visit their retail website.